Ephesus

We spent two nights in Izmir (ancient Smyrna), from which we visited Ephesus (modern Efes and namesake of a delicious Turkish beer).

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. This is all that is left--doesn't look very impressive, does it?		On the other hand, for those who like birds (we had at least two avid bird watchers on the trip) there were at least a pair of nesting storks to look at.

The jewel at Ephesus is the remains of the Hellenistic/Roman city some distance away from the temple.		The public baths. Every Roman city had them; they were the social hub for the wealthy and wanna-bes.

Gökhan's dissertation: he really did write about terra cotta pipes in Asia Minor and these were some of the ones he studied. The pile gets smaller each year as more are used in the restoration of the site.		The Odeon (music theater) and the Bouleterion (Senate House) formed the administrative center of the city.

The Sacred Way, the main street of the city, leads down towards the market area.		Ephesus was a very rich city, as can be seen from the mosaic sidewalks that it had.

This statue of Hermes stood at the entrance to the market area. Hermes was the patron god of merchants and of thieves--then, as now, people made little distinction between them.		Winged Nike (Victory), which has survived in extremely good condition.

The Fountain of Trajan. Roman emperors like Trajan often endowed city amenities like fountains and baths.		The Temple of Hadrian. Trajan's successor Hadrian was the John Paul II of his time--he traveled everywhere and met with enthusiastic crowds. Unlike JPII, he was not the representative of God, but a god himself.

The Library of Celsus. Probably the most famous building (facade, really) in Ephesus and Chuck's favorite.		This graffito outside the Library shows a woman, a foot, and a heart. It is usually described as a sign pointing people to the brothel next to the Library. It gave "I'm going to the Library, dear" a whole new meaning.

The Theater in Ephesus is the largest in Asia Minor, seating about 25,000 people. In the Greek period it was used for dramatic festivals; in the Roman period it was used for gladiatorial games.		The agora, or public marketplace of Ephesus. This excavated part is only a small part of the whole. Ephesus was a port city in antiquity and its major industries were trade and religious tourism.

The Terrace Houses are blocks of apartments built along the main street of Ephesus. We had never seen them; they had not been excavated when we were last there.		Walls and floor of the building were covered in marble, mosaics, and paintings. This is part of the work area where archaeologists try to piece together "the world's largest jigsaw puzzle."

A partially restored room. As pieces are reconstructed they are returned to the rooms where they belong.		Some of the wall frescoes survive almost intact.

The building housed several apartments on at least three floors. The apartments ranged from opulent to merely expensive.		Storage areas still hold the jars that stored almost all foodstuffs. By burying the jars to the neck in the ground, people were able to keep their food at a cool temperature without refrigeration.

One of the restored frescoes. They are of very high quality.		The Room of the Muses, with frescoes of the nine Muses around the walls.

Floor mosaics took the place of rugs in the houses. There were standard patterns, or you could order a custom mosaic.		Each home had a courtyard open to the sky with a pool in it. These courtyards served to harvest rainwater and to provide a cool place to sit in the summer.

In Ephesus, like Assos, the walls were covered with flowers which seemed to spring from the rocks themselves.		It is good to know that Turkey has Truth in Advertising laws.