The legend of the Seven Sleepers:
According to legend, seven Christians fled from 3rd
century AD Ephesus and took refuge in a cave on the northeastern
side of Mt. Pion. Agents of their persecutor, Emperor Decius, found
the cave and sealed it. Two centuries later an earthquake brought
down the wall, awakening the sleepers who ambled into town for a
meal. Finding all their old friends long dead, they concluded that
they had undergone some sort of resurrection - Ephesus was by this
time a Christian city. When they died they were buried in the cave,
and a cult following developed.
Selçuk'a hos geldiniz! Welcome to Seljuk! Bring your GPS, a
bottle of drinking water, and lots of sunscreen; geocaching and
sightseeing all-in-one! Make a day of this geocache by visiting the
ancient, biblical city of Ephesus and then finding a geocache near
a legendary spot!
- This cache is best found between sunrise and sunset after a day
of sightseeing even though it’s technically available 24 hours;
it’s much nicer (and less creepy) to find during the day.
- If you do go to find this at night, be sure to bring a good
flashlight with you.
- There is no entrance fee or parking fee.
- The location is not hard to find, though there is some steep
walking up the path about the last 20 feet/6 meters.
- The cache was replaced with a Garmin eTrex and had an accuracy
of 18 ft/6 meters due to interference surrounding the site, so be
sure to do a thorough search before giving up! I’ve posted some
spoiler picts to help you.
- When attempting to retrieve this cache, make sure to look
ALL around and check so NO ONE sees you! And PLEASE, don't go
showing off the location of the geocache to your friends as a site
of interest; there are greater things like the ancient city of
EPHESUS to show them!
- Beware of creepy-crawlies when reaching in to retrieve the
cache!
- After retrieving the cache, signing the logbook and
depositing/removing an item, please make sure that you carefully
replace the cache so that no part of the cache is exposed in any
way.
- BRING A PEN OR PENCIL TO SIGN THE LOG
The cache box is a small, clear, circular plastic storage
container hidden in a black plastic bag. The replacement cache
contents include:
- geocache note in English and Turkish
- logbook
- a Turkish blue eye keychain
- a Turkish blue eye bracelet
- a bag of marbles
- two Turkish blue eye pins (from Oya at the Homeros
Pension)
Selçuk is a wonderful little town with more more than just
Ephesus to visit. You can take a swim in the Aegean Sea at Pamukcak
Beach 7 kilometers away; visit the last home of the Virgin Mary as
envisioned by the venerable Katharina Emmerich 9 kilometers away;
visit the location of the Temple of Artemis known as one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world; or you can visit the Basilica
of St. John on the hill above the town.
If you’re looking for a charming,
rustic-yet-filled-with-modern-comforts place to stay in town,
there’s the wonderful Homeros Pension owned by
Dervis Köse and run with the help of his kind and exuberant
sister Oya. They will take good care of you! In the evening,
watch the sunset from their rooftop terrace whilst enjoying a glass
of homemade red wine made by Oya’s husband.
Enjoy this cache with all it's surrounding environs!