{"id":653,"date":"2015-07-03T03:59:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T00:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/?p=653"},"modified":"2015-07-03T13:52:55","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T10:52:55","slug":"summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/?p=653","title":{"rendered":"Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

In another few weeks, we will have been here for a year. \u00a0Predictably, the time has flown past, and I suppose I should be more worried that we don’t have any new buildings yet. \u00a0But I’m still happy with our progress: we’re getting there. \u00a0The bureaucratic checklist is nearly complete and we should be able to break ground on the foundations for the cafe and bungalows soon.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, summer has definitely arrived. \u00a0 Afternoon temperatures are in the mid 30s, and we can go for a couple of weeks without any rain. \u00a0The sea has warmed up and an afternoon swim at Pamucak Beach or in the Dilek National Park is always tempting.<\/p>\n

Visitors continue to give us a good excuse to get out and discover all the fantastic places around us. \u00a0I know I keep going on about ruined Ionian cities, but there really are dozens of them around here. \u00a0Priene was one we hadn’t seen before. \u00a0It sits up on a bluff overlooking the mouth of the Meander river, and is only a few kilometres from the site of the Battle of Mycale<\/a>\u00a0where the Greeks destroyed a retreating Persian force in 479 BC.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The theatre at Priene.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sirem<\/a>

Sirem among the columns.<\/p><\/div>\n

Priene is big enough and famous enough to have a ticket office and a very reasonable admission charge, but like Tralleis and Magnesia, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. \u00a0It is a great spot to visit on a hot day, because the elevation means you get a breeze coming in from the sea, and the encroaching pine forest gives a lot more shade than at other more exposed sites.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>

View from the ruins of Priene out across the Meander Valley.<\/p><\/div>\n

Priene is also close to the half-abandoned, half-restored village of Eski Do?anbey, so we dropped in for another visit. \u00a0I can’t help taking photos there.<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a>

Blue shutters in Eski Do?anbey.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Renovation<\/a>

Renovation project, would suit first-time buyer.<\/p><\/div>\n

Our guest that day was Mark, an old friend of mine from Australia. \u00a0Here he is getting comfortable at Priene. \u00a0Mark was only here for a few days but I hope we helped him to unwind.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A game of thrones: Mark briefly appoints himself king of Priene.<\/p><\/div>\n

The day after Mark left, Joe arrived for a two-week stay. \u00a0Joe is a friend of ours from Southampton, and a former work colleague of mine. \u00a0He wanted to get some sun before an imminent move to Norway. \u00a0Anyone considering visiting us in the future should know that Joe has set the bar very high in terms of helping to build things. \u00a0He helped do the last of the cabinet doors in the kitchen, as well as a large (and very heavy!) storage cupboard for the verandah, and a computer desk on wheels that makes it much easier to watch movies at night in the courtyard. \u00a0Joe, thanks again.<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/a>

Joe enjoys a mug of refreshing ayran (yoghurt, water, and salt) at a lakeside restaurant.<\/p><\/div>\n

The storage cupboard and the computer desk deserve photos but I’m going to wait until they’re sanded and stained, etc., so Joe’s efforts get the best possible presentation. \u00a0Also, for anyone who wants to see Ephesus but only has 37 seconds to spare, I give you\u00a0Joe’s GoPro video of his visit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most of our visitors have arrived at Izmir airport, about an hour to the north, but Joe flew into Bodrum\/Milas, which is south of us and a little further away. \u00a0The drive down there is interesting, as the middle section runs along the shore of Lake Bafa, which was once part of the Aegean Sea until the Meander River silted up and blocked the connection.<\/p>\n

\"Sunset<\/a>

Sunset over Lake Bafa.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Fish<\/a>

Fish restaurant on the lake.<\/p><\/div>\n

On the way back we saw brown tourist signs for “Euromos”, a city we’d never even heard of. \u00a0Very glad we stopped though, as we got to see the sun setting behind the Temple of Zeus.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Temple of Zeus at Euromos.<\/p><\/div>\n

Summer has also brought a different species of visitor. \u00a0We try to be responsible pet owners and get all of our animals spayed as soon as they’re ready. \u00a0But our youngest cat, Sookie, got pregnant sooner than expected and we missed our chance. \u00a0(If your vet tells you six months, do it at five.) \u00a0So we are now the proud and slightly alarmed grandparents to four new kittens.<\/p>\n

\"Kittens,<\/a>

The proud mother with her kittens, less than 24 hours old.<\/p><\/div>\n

We are of course looking for good homes for them all. \u00a0It would be crazy to keep four more cats. \u00a0Totally crazy. \u00a0Out of the question…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In another few weeks, we will have been here for a year. \u00a0Predictably, the time has flown past, and I suppose I should be more worried that we don’t have any new buildings yet. \u00a0But I’m still happy with our progress: we’re getting there. \u00a0The bureaucratic checklist is nearly complete and we should be able […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[63,43,45,30,25],"class_list":["post-653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-around-us","tag-archaeology","tag-carpentry","tag-cats","tag-friends","tag-tourism","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=653"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":674,"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ioniaguesthouse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}