The final stop on our Grand Tour was Ephesus, Turkey, somewhere No 1 Son had always wanted to go, not least because of its proximity to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (sadly only one column remains – Ephesus is actually far more impressive).
In case you didn’t know (and I didn’t), Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and then a Roman city. Knowing you’re walking around ruins that are thousands of years old is an extraordinary feeling – and there was plenty to look at. No 1 Son was enthralled.
Even though we arrived at 9am it was already 99F; but it says something about the place that despite the heat, we walked around in wonderment at everything we saw. The blazing sunshine accentuated the beauty of the bleached stone against the sky.
Of course, we were expecting to see ruins, and the very impressive amphitheatre. We also saw Roman loos, which were interesting.
What we hadn’t expected to see though were cats – sunbathing on the ancient rocks, probably in the same way their ancestors have done for centuries. 
They don’t seem remotely bothered by the heat…
(…this is my favourite)…
unlike the dogs, who stick to the shade.
I went to Ephesus in July and was totally enthralled. How clever were those people? I found Turkey generally full of not-very-well-looking stray cats. One tried to run off with our pizza leftovers one night!
The truth about cats and dogs! Interesting! I hadn’t realised Ephesus was so well preserved. It’s now on my bucket list.