Bergama - Pergamon

More Turkish friendliness:

I'm sitting on a crumbling Ottoman bridge, admiring the crumbling ruins of the pre-Byzantine church in Bergama (one of the 7 churches of the Book of the Apocalypse!), when 2 puppies and their mother turn up to enjoy the sun after the storm. A young man appears and starts talking to me. No English. But he wants me to follow him. The vibe is good, so I follow. All he wants is to show me the crumbling farmhouse that him and his father are trying to turn into a hotel.

The 6 km hike up to the Akropol takes ages, but the views are stunning. Calls to prayer echo through the surrounding valleys. The people here are really poor, but all seem very cheerful, giving a wave, saying hello. Mashallah that the tour busses go straight to the top of the hill and don't stop in town.

The ruins are impressive - especially the steep ampitheatre. The Japanese tour busses are funny. They virtually run through the entire complex in 15 minutes. I stay several hours.

Getting back, I go to buy some groceries. At the bakery, the baker refuses to let me pay for my baklava. I try to insist, but he wins. I get free baklava with pistacchios.