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Latest Selcuk hotel reviews
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I couldn't decide whether to write this warning or not, but I wouldn't wish what happened to me on any woman, so I decided to write it. Three years ago I met two men in Selcuk who changed my life, and not for the better. I knew immediately Marco was a fake out to get what he could - sex or money - from me. But his brother was different. He seemed sincere and gave me no reason to believe he wasn't. After 1 1/2 years of dating Enis long distance, I moved to Selcuk and gave up my career and insurance and travel and friends to live with him in this small tourist town. But I was also ready for a change of career and loved Selcuk, so I was excited to move there for myself, not just Enis. Big mistake. Within a week I felt Enis was just out to see how much money he could get from me. And he was. I tested him to see if he was just out to get my money, and he failed the test. I'd given up everything for this man. But I wanted to take a year off from work and relax, so I stayed put and tried to figure things out. In the year I lived with him, he disrespected me in front of customers and told me just before I left that he didn't have to respect me in front of customers. Which meant he never respected me at all. He was cheating on me the first year and a half, before I moved there, when I lived in China and he in Turkey, but I trusted him at that time. I know, stupid. But he is an excellent actor and I guess maybe I was more lonely living overseas than I thought, because I fell for his act. Enis works at Nomadic Art Gallery, next to Garanti Bank, and his brother Marco owns it. They also have a textile shop across the street, but almost everything in that shop comes from India except the suzanis. They lie to tourists and tell them all that stuff is hand made in Turkey, but the majority is machine made in India, as I discovered on my two week trip to India this year. I knew a lot of it came from India, but it is not even handmade. The suzanis are handmade though and some are even made in Turkey. These two men prey on women for sex and money, as do many other men in Turkish tourism. But after living there and seeing them in action for a year, I saw how fine tuned they are at convincing women to buy or to sleep with them. They don't steal credit card numbers or ship the wrong items. They do fairly honest business with married couples, but they will charge too much if they think tourists will pay it. They simply cannot be trusted. Fortunately, I didn't give Enis the money he so desperately wanted from me, but as a result, he treated me very badly at times. Neither of these men are educated and as a result, they have no respect for women and have very primitive beliefs that stem from their conservative upbringing in Eastern Turkey. I didn't see it at first, but my eyes were opened after living there for just a few weeks. This warning is primarily for women, but anyone doing business with them should be careful to do their research on carpets, kilims, and textiles first. Enis also has several hotel connections in Selcuk as well, and these hotel owners will call and tell him if there are single women staying there that he might possibly sleep with and get them to buy. Hotel owners make commission as well, of course. More than Enis even. Enis provides a free shuttle to Ephesus and other places as well, and uses this opportunity to charm the ladies. Just beware of them and be careful ladies. OF course, they are not the only two men in Selcuk who do this to women. But they are far more successful at cheating women out of money and sex than most.
Updated Feb 10, 2012
Website: www.mytb.org/Tucson
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Ephesus is a great experience, and a trip there is a definate must while in Turkey. However I can not stress enough the right way to go about doing this. #1 Do not go on a tour, go on your own accord, this allows you to go on your own pace. Buy one of the many books offered that give descriptions and history of the site, and use that to reference you. #2 Get there when it opens at 8am. The crowds are horrendous once it hits around 9-9:30. Enjoy an hour or so of undisturbed tourism before the hundreds of people all show up at once. Getting there early will also allow you to avoid the blistering heat. Remember that the ocean used to come right up close to Ephesus, and the city used to have an important port there.
Written Jun 24, 2008
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There is a very nice place in Selcuk that every visitor comes to see here and that is the St. Jean Basilika. In front of this archaeological site are souvenir shops. Many of the shopkeepers approach the tourists to sell postcards, guidebooks and so on....nothing wrong with that.
But there are also several young guys who will try to sell you coins which usually are fake. I would like to warn everybody from even looking at those coins.
In addition to that I would like to warn you from one specific guy who sells those coins, because he is specialized in something even worse than ripping off tourist by selling them coins. He approaches young and not so young women and chats them up...short he is a beznesser of the worst sort. He offers sexual encounters for money and will also invite ladies (and men) for a friendly chat and tea somewhere and "cook them up" until they are ready to give him money. He is well-known in Selcuk and people say that he managed to get many thousand euros from several women. He is not very tall, with dark blond hair, speaks well English and his name is Aladin....beware of this guy and keep your mouth and pocket shut.
Written Sep 4, 2007
If you decide to stay at this hostel don't ask them to buy bus tickets. A bus ticket from Denizli to Göreme costs around 30 - 35 YTL, but they can charge you 33% of comission.
Don't trust in a young man trying always to help you. He gives you wrong information about bus timetables and connections. For example, there is no direct connection by bus from Pamukkale to Göreme.
I have decided to buy a bus ticket in this hostel, as I am used to do in several places. Firstly the young man gave me a ticket reservation with the amount to be paid, 40 YTL for each person. Later, he asked me telling it was necessary to change the tickets for a new ones where he should write ALL PAID instead of the amount to be paid. I asked him why, and he answered me it was a condition do not pay again at the bus station for the definitive ticket. At the bus station they told me the ticket was well and no definitive ticket was necessary. They only informed about a mistake of the departing time from Denizli. When inside the bus, I asked to a person about the fare, and she informed me 30 YTL.
Bus company: AFSINLILAR
Updated Mar 10, 2007
This bus company operates with dishonest people trying to charge you high commissions.
I travelled by night with them and they have a bad service on board. They don't speak English at all and they don't try to understand us even if we try to speak to them in Turkish. They were travelling about 5 hours without stopping and I had to call them twice to tell them I was needing for a WC. Finally they decided to stop along the road!
The driver smokes during the journey. I told them to stop smoking, but he didn't.
Updated Mar 9, 2007
Do not exceed the speed limit when driving. If you do and the police pull you over you may need to pay the police in order to get out of travel. It may cost you between 50 and 100 Lira to make the problem go away. Do not argue with the police.
Written Sep 11, 2005
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be there at opening gates:8.30 a.m
moreover:
2 gates:
upper one:easier to visit the site strolling down,often under an implacable sun...as A LOT of groups...
lower one:less people,you meet first of all interesting amphitheater and celsus library....but you have to climb!
Written Nov 13, 2004
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If you are renting a car, you might end up with a flat tire like we did.
No worries! Just walk to the nearest petrol station. Someone will drive to your car, take the tire off, take it back to the shop, fix it, drive back to your car and put it back on in under an hour for less than USD10!
Updated Nov 24, 2003
Strict punishment if you are caught, and if you are being offered artifacts for sale they are fake
Written Jun 6, 2008
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Reviews and photos of Selcuk attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Selcuk sightseeing.
Strict punishment if you are caught, and if you are being offered artifacts for sale they are fake
2 members live in Selcuk
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1
We ended up choosing Selchuk as our “base” simply because we didn’t like to be in a place as commercial as Kushadasi, and at the same time the closeness to Ephesus had its influence. Selchuk is...
2
This for me, was a nice sized town, with plenty to see & do, and it was easy to get around. I also found that it had a huge amount of reasonably priced outdoor Restaurants with excellent food. I...
3
The drab and surprisingly unattractive town of Selcuk is inextricably associated with its most famous touristic site, the ruins of Ephesus, but is also home to several other features of great historic...
4
I've got some interesting experiences in Selcuk. I'd love to share with you the 18 tips I've written, the 22 photos uploaded, and 0 travelogues I've created.
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You can watch my 35 high resolution photos in the slide-show Meryemana and Selcuk from my Webshot page.
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