Never been to Turkey, have no idea of what to expect. All I have are some preconceived ideas that they make silk carpets and Turkish coffee, that it houses Ephesus, and it's a Muslim country. When we left Italy, the ship's staff collected our passports, and said they would return them when we arrived in Athens...so here we are, in the country of Midnight Express, with no passport. Okay, just a little drama...really, I don't buy into this stuff.
We head to our tour bus, with our American educated guide, Kurshot. The bus is decorated with the evil eye, a map, and some Turkish icons. As long as they help the bus driver drive safely, I'm okay with that.
Our guide loves animals, which is fine with me. We stop to observe a nest of storks. Never seen that before.
After traveling for about 45 minutes through the Turkish countryside, and learning that one of Turkey's indigenous trees is the silk worm loving Mulberry (oh, I'm getting carpet fever already), we see our first glimpse of Ephesus.
Kurshot carries cat food with him, and feeds the population along the way.
Before entering, I'm amused by the natural broom,
The baths.
They had plumbing...excavated pipes.
These show how the ruins have been excavated from the hillsides.
Caduceus...
Ruins everywhere.
Walking down the main drag, with the Library of Celsius in the distance. The Terrace houses are on the left.
Some sights along the way.
An ancient sign that this was the home of a Christian family.
This is an important Temple excavation...can't remember why.
How's your Greek? Turkish? What language is this?
Medusa, the Greek Goddess, know as the protectress, is everywhere.
We entered this walkway, to go to the public bathrooms.
Robert called it the crapatorium.
Next stop, the Terrace Houses...these were truly amazing. They're enclosed in a large greenhouse type building. A few are uncovered outside, but let's going inside the protected area.
A shower. See the water pipe?
Painted, fresco walls...beautiful.
The floors were well preserved...I have lots of the mosaic pics I'll post later.
Back outside to the Library. These people had their priorities right. I still use the library...it's my tax payer money for something I like!
Beautiful.
This man was in our group. From the Terrace houses, we had to walk down about 50 steep steps, no handrails. Robert helped him down. I want to be him when I'm his age...he had to be at least 90. His wife stayed on the bus.
A menorah on the library steps,
and another Christian symbol.
Acres and acres of ruins.
As we walked toward the big theater, coliseum, we passed through a gate, that gave homage to a fierce gladiator.
People would sit on this camel's back and have their photo taken. Notice the spit catcher!
Never seen poop catchers on horses before.
We head to our tour bus, with our American educated guide, Kurshot. The bus is decorated with the evil eye, a map, and some Turkish icons. As long as they help the bus driver drive safely, I'm okay with that.
Our guide loves animals, which is fine with me. We stop to observe a nest of storks. Never seen that before.
After traveling for about 45 minutes through the Turkish countryside, and learning that one of Turkey's indigenous trees is the silk worm loving Mulberry (oh, I'm getting carpet fever already), we see our first glimpse of Ephesus.
Kurshot carries cat food with him, and feeds the population along the way.
Before entering, I'm amused by the natural broom,
and the Madison Ave. advertising. East meets west.
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, established thousands of years BC. About 100 BC, the Romans moved in, and made the city a major commercial port. During its heyday, 200,000 people lived there, the city encompassing a 5 mile square area. As silt from the surrounding mountains washed down, and covered parts of the city, it was abandoned. About 15% has been excavated, and what we saw was amazing. It is an open archaeological museum, you are free to walk, touch, sit. I was very impressed.
Our first sight, a small theater.
The baths.
They had plumbing...excavated pipes.
These show how the ruins have been excavated from the hillsides.
The hospital area.
The goddess Nike, and it is believed that Phil Knight got the Nike Swoosh trademark from the fold in her dress...you can see it below her rt. hand (not the one her hand rests on, below the hand). It's plausible.
Ruins everywhere.
Walking down the main drag, with the Library of Celsius in the distance. The Terrace houses are on the left.
Some sights along the way.
An ancient sign that this was the home of a Christian family.
This is an important Temple excavation...can't remember why.
Medusa, the Greek Goddess, know as the protectress, is everywhere.
We entered this walkway, to go to the public bathrooms.
Robert called it the crapatorium.
Workers assemble millions of jig saw puzzle pieces, reassembling marble walls and whatever else. Fortunately, quite a bit is still intact.
A shower. See the water pipe?
Painted, fresco walls...beautiful.
The floors were well preserved...I have lots of the mosaic pics I'll post later.
Back outside to the Library. These people had their priorities right. I still use the library...it's my tax payer money for something I like!
Beautiful.
This man was in our group. From the Terrace houses, we had to walk down about 50 steep steps, no handrails. Robert helped him down. I want to be him when I'm his age...he had to be at least 90. His wife stayed on the bus.
A menorah on the library steps,
As we walked toward the big theater, coliseum, we passed through a gate, that gave homage to a fierce gladiator.
And here it is.
Ahh, the theater! Something for everyone!
People would sit on this camel's back and have their photo taken. Notice the spit catcher!
Never seen poop catchers on horses before.
Tomorrow, the trip continues with our visit to Kushadasi...now, I'm pictured out.
These pics are incredible, Patty! I'm so excited for you to be able to take this trip! I went on a Mediterranean cruise years ago. It was an amazing experience, and among the highlights are the ruins we visited in Italy, among the ashes from Mt. Vesuvius, and the Christian symbols we learned about there. Can't wait to see more of your journey!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen...glad you got to go too! It's a real eye opener.
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