Cats of Ephesus

This morning after docking in Izmir, 17 coaches set off for Ephesus where we visited Mary's House and then the extraordinary ruins of the Roman city that once had a population of perhaps 56,000 people.

It felt like there were 56,000 tourists crawling over the site, it wasn't a time and place for quiet contemplation, impressive as it was. It was impossible to take a photograph without people in, until I noticed the ubiquitous and rather well-fed cats that were all over the ruins. This one had found a niche between the feet of a Roman statue that was stood on a pedestal, and he wasn't budging.

A place to go back to, but when? Definitely not just after a massive cruise ship had docked in Izmir that morning.

Today would have been my Mum's 90th birthday, had she lived - one day before my Dad's that we celebrated in Istanbul. Today was also the 90th birthday of the mother of my friend and colleague A, which her family were celebrating at home.