Catching Our First Dolmus - Moving to Selcuk

Check-out wasn’t until 11 am, or a bit earlier if we were ready, so it was a relaxed breakfast and bag-pack morning. The man who owns the hotel was there to say goodbye when we left. His son had printed some visas for us overnight, which we picked up. The owner noticed where we were going and said he hopes to get there himself in early 2026. He’s done a lot of traveling, judging by the photos on the walls. We swapped WhatsApp details with him as well to share information. 👍

We walked to the bus station to catch our first dolmuş. The dolmuş system in Turkey is excellent. They’re minibuses that provide low-cost, frequent transport over short distances. We’ve seen many going around town. To catch one, you simply hop on and hand your money to the driver or a forward passenger. It’s a set price for each destination, usually printed at the front of the bus.

On the walk to the bus station, we passed Keyif Cafe, so we called in briefly to say hello and goodbye. It was great to see that the dad was there and out of hospital.

Since we were catching the dolmuş from its starting point, it was a bit easier. They had labeled bays for each destination. We had checked this two nights ago, so we knew what to expect. We only waited about 15 minutes before the next one was ready to go. From what we could tell, they run to Selçuk every 30 minutes. The cost was 75 lira per person—about $3.20 NZD—for a 40-minute trip.

We’re staying in Selçuk for three nights to visit the nearby ancient city of Ephesus. Two days will give us one morning to explore Ephesus, plus another morning and the evenings to check out Selçuk. It’s a small city of just 38,000 people, so hopefully it will suit us well. Selcuk is pronounced Cell-Chook. 

Oh, and I’m basically pain-free today, which is great. I still have six days of antibiotics left, but recovery is going really well.

The dolmuş journey wasn’t long but was fairly interesting. It went along the coast for a while, passing seaside hotel resorts with aqua parks built into them. One hotel even looked like a small cruise ship. Then we cut inland through a big stretch of scrub and weeds with nothing much in between.

We were dropped off on the main street, right beside our apartment. It was too early to check in, but we had arranged to meet the owner, Ali, at his shop across the road. His nephew greeted us and brought us tea and coffee while we waited in the shade. Ali was at the apartment, checking in on a plumber who was fixing something. About 20 minutes later, Ali arrived. He’s a really nice Turkish guy who makes handmade leather shoes and sells other handcrafted Turkish products. His shop is called La Tulip Art Gallery. No, he didn’t try to sell us anything!

He let us leave our bags in the shop and suggested we wander Selçuk until the apartment was ready—hopefully by 2 pm if the plumber was successful. If not, he had arranged a backup with a friend’s hotel. He directed us toward a bakery he recommended for lunch. 

We found the recommended bakery. It smelt amazing. While we were waiting, a man who I thought was a customer started pointing at items and explaining what they were. I assumed he was ordering for himself, but he turned out to be the owner and had followed us in to help. His assistant then served us: a round breadstick for me, a spinach pastry for Sarah, plus a few tiny biscuits of different flavours to try. We sat outside at café-style tables to enjoy lunch.

Next we decided to find the bus stop we’d need when leaving here in three days—some flashpacking prep! It was not where we were dropped off. Instead, it was on the outskirts of town, about a kilometre away. After a hot walk to it we discovered it was an utter waste of time. Checking with people there we found out that the buses actually do leave from the dolmuş drop-off station. Still, not a total loss—we now know not to come back to that bus station on Monday lugging or packs. We can just stroll across the street to catch the bus.

Sarah is starting to like Turkey now. Before we came, she worried it would be full of pushy or dodgy people trying to drag us into their shops. Sure, plenty of people are making a living selling things, but they’re not overly aggressive and are usually polite. If you’re not interested, just don’t make eye contact and say “no thank you.” You’re left alone to carry on. And we’ve already had some of our best interactions with local people here—many are genuinely friendly and helpful.

To fill the waiting time, we wandered around the smaller streets behind Ali’s shop and popped into the larger local supermarket, a Migros. The shops were a mix of restaurants, cafés, and typical small-town stores. There’s even a gym in the middle of town. One café had groups of men playing Rummikub, and another had chess sets you could use while enjoying coffee or beer.

At 2 pm, we returned to see if the apartment was ready. It was. Ali took us over to the apartment and explained how to get in. Our apartment is the smallest of three on the first floor. We had booked one with a cooktop, but it seemed to be missing or broken. Ali told us to use the kitchen in the two-bedroom unit next door instead—odd, but not an issue for us. We also got access to that unit’s outdoor table, which ours didn’t have. Our balcony overlooks a side street, while the busier main street isn’t far away. We’ll definitely need earplugs—I’ve been using mine every night anyway to avoid having to nudge Sarah when she “breathes heavily” (not snoring, apparently! 😂).

Across the street from the apartment is an open hillside with old Roman ruins and a view of the castle. Google Maps suggests the ruins are an old Roman aqueduct. At the top of the hill is the Basilica of St John, which we’ll check out during our stay.

After settling in, we headed back to the supermarket to grab supplies for breakfast and dinner. We cooked chicken schnitzel, potatoes, corn, capsicum, and eggs. It felt really nice to be cooking for ourselves again. Eating it on the balcony was a great way to finish the day.