Kusadasi & Ephesus, Turkey

We pulled into Kusadasi early in the morning and docked.  With the two port cities of Kusadasi and Ismir, there were seven cruise ships disgorging their passengers that morning.

We met our guide, Ozlem, and we were off to Ephesus.

Mark and Ozlem in front of the remaining column of the Temple of Artemis.  Originally there were 127 columns.

Tour guides in Turkey have to have a valid license issued by the Ministry of Tourism.  They study for several years learning history, art, mythology, etc. and take a series of tests.  At the end of their study they spend 35-40 days touring all of the sites in Turkey so that they will be familiar with each place.  Our guides in Turkey were very knowledgable.  Ozlem was adorable.

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city and later a major Roman city of an estimated 56,000 people.  It was a harbor city, but an earthquake in 614 as well as the river slowly silting the harbor caused Ephesus to lose its access to the Aegean Sea and the trade it brought.  By 1090,  it was a small village.  The Apostle Paul spent three years living there and it is believed that John wrote the book of St. John there.  

It was very crowded in Ephesus.  But the site is amazing.  It was one of the two favorite experiences of the whole trip for me.  

They had running water through underground terra cotta pipes

 This shows how columns were constructed.  The groove would be filled with iron.

The Odeon - used for meetings of the Senate and as a concert hall

 Hadrian's Temple

Fountain of Trajan

 Public latrines where men met to do their business

 Athena Nike - always winged and where the Nike swoosh comes from

The Hospital - with the medical sign that is still used today

 The Prytaneion -  the city hall

Close up of the streets we walked on.  They were very worn and could be slick.  Some of the stones had ancient grooves cut in them to help prevent slipping.

If you ever go to Ephesus, be sure to pay the extra money to go into the terrace houses.  The entire area of the terrace homes is covered by a roof to protect them from the elements, so you might not know what they are.  The large tour groups did not go in.  Consequently, we estimated that only about 10% of the people who visit Ephesus see the terrace houses and that is a shame.  We timed our visit just right because there was a huge downpour while we were inside.

These homes were where the wealthiest people of the city lived.  Built on a hillside, the roof on one house served as the terrace for the house above.  Tile floors, frescoes on the walls, and granite floors and walls were some of the things we saw.  

Dining area with granite on the walls

 Tile floor

 Frescoes on the walls

 If you look closely (or click on the picture to enlarge) you can see that a child drew on the walls of his home.  The picture below shows the spot with an arrow.

 Young girls' bedroom (above) with a closeup of their portraits on the wall (below)

There is also a picture of a young adonis on the wall, the equivalent to modern day teens hanging a Justin Bieber poster in their room.

This shows the terrace effect and the roof that protects the site

About the 2nd century AD, a man named Celsus was the Roman proconsul of Asia with Ephesus being his unofficial capital.  After he died, his son built a monument to his father.  It was a library.

A closeup of one of the statues on the front - this one is Sophia who represents wisdom.  The other three represent excellence, judgment, and expertise.

Across the street from the library was a brothel.  Brothels were common among Greek and Roman cultures, with no stigma attached.  This stone in the street has a foot and a head of a woman painted on it as a sort of an advertisement.

 From the steps of the library, one can see arches leading to the marketplace

An overview of the marketplace

The great theater was the site of a riot in which Paul was almost killed by the silversmiths of Ephesus for his preaching against the cult of Artemis (Diana).  It can seat 25,000 people and is the largest and best preserved theater in the Greco-Roman world.  The acoustics are amazing and we were treated to an impromptu performance of a woman singing Ave Maria.  She was a tourist from California we learned after complimenting her on her performance.

As we ended our tour, we stopped for fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.  Definitely easier than trying to eat a pomegranate!