The bus pulled into Selcuk at 8am and I sleepily made my way to the Urkmez Hotel that I had booked from Istanbul. The reception I got was amazingly friendly and since not many people where staying I immediately got upgraded from a dorm room to a twin room to myself. The guys then invited me to have breakfast with them on their roof terrace, something which I was in desperate need of. I realised that I must have been the only guest staying as staff outnumbered guests 5:1.

After a quick shower, I headed off to look around Town and visit the citadel which was inconveniently closed due to health and safety. Still the ruined basilica of St John was open and I trundled round the ruins. The church was supposedly built ny Emperor Justinian over the tomb of St John who had retired and died in Ephesus (not far away) and had written his gospel here. However since the area is prone to earthquakes most of the church has been reduced to rubble and what does exist is reconstructed.

For lunch I found the most picturesque and quaint little restaurant not far from the ruins, but far enough away from the Japanese tour groups. I had some really good home-cooked Turkish food as sort of tomato and spicy pepper omelette with salad washed down with the local (and national) Efes beer. I resisted the temptation to take a nap and decided to head to what was once one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - The Temple of Artemis built at the site where Androclus killed a boar. The story goes that while looking for a new settlement in Ionia he had consulted the Oracle at Delfi and was (unhelpfully) told to choose the site indicated by the fish and the boar. Having searched for such a place, it was only whilst sitting down one evening as he was preparing to go home that a fish jumped out of the cooking pan and landed onto some hot coals. One of these coals ended up being thrust ito a nearby bush which caught fire and a wild boar that was hiding in it ran out in terror. Androclus and his accompanying fishermen chased the boar for 3km and where they killed it decided to dedicate a temple to the Godess Artemis. Here they built a temple that was greater than the parthenon but which suffered badly from earthquakes, a mad man setting it on fire and British archeological plundering in the 19th Century. These days little more than one mismatched column remains. And as if to add insult to injury some Storks have decided to make their nest on the top of it!

My return to the hotel was greeted witha round of afternoon tea and snacks in true British tradition. That evening I sat on the roof terrace dirnking beer until I passed out absolutely shattered.