An Afternoon In Ephesus

Practically every cruise ship that visits Turkey includes a potential stop at the ancient city of Ephesus, located along the Aegean Sea on the Western border of Turkey.  The surrounding area had originally been occupied since the Neolithic period.  In the 10^th century BC, Greek settlers moved in and displaced the former inhabitants.  Ephesus flourished during this period, becoming one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League.  Eventually, the legendary Lydian King Croesus conquered the region in 560 B.C. and Ephesus came under his control.  However, within 15 years, the city was absorbed into the Persian Empire when Croesus was defeated by Cyrus the Great.  Later, Alexander the Great freed the city when he destroyed the Persians.  It later joined the Seleucid Empire after his death.  In 190 B.C, Ephesus was bequeathed to Rome, when its ruler died without leaving an heir.

Under the rule of the Emperor Augustus, the city thrived.  It became the capital of the Roman province of Asia.  Commerce flourished as Ephesus developed as the western-most terminus of the Silk Road.  It eventually became one of the largest, most important cities in the entire Roman Empire.

However, nothing good lasts forever.  Despite dredging efforts, the harbor of Ephesus eventually silted up.  Without its access to the Aegean Sea, trade and commerce plummeted.  The great city eventually declined until it was completely abandoned in the 15^th century.  It was completely forgotten until archaeologist rediscovered the site in the mid-19^th century.  Over the past 150 years, the ruins have been excavated and rebuilt. 

The patron of Ephesus was the goddess Artemis.  Over the centuries, three temples dedicated to the mythical deity were built in the Ephesus area.  The Temple of Artemis was so marvelous that it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Like most of the other structures that made the list, it now lies in ruins.  Our journey to the Western coast of Turkey would start with a visit to these ruins.

*****

We hopped on a 8 AM flight from Kayseri to Izmir on Pegasus Airlines.  Despite it being a discount airliner, the seats were mainly comfortable and clean.  Oddly, there was a discrepancy in legroom between my aisle and that of The Wife's despite us paying for the same class of fare.  I had ample space to relax while she was squeezed into a tight area.

We had reserved a car for the next five days through Argus Car Hire.  They are an Irish-based car company with mixed reviews on the Internet.  For a reasonable price, we got a diesel-powered Audi A3 from Central Rent A Car.  The car was in perfect condition without any scratches or dings and with a full tank.  The only downside is that it was a bit smaller than I had expected.  There was actually less trunk space than in the Hyundai Accent.  We had to cram our suitcases in the trunk and stuff other bags in the backseat with The Kids.  The car company's service was friendly with an English-speaking agent.  They provided us with a HGS toll card and helped us load it with money.  They even supplied us with two complimentary Red Bulls.

Since the GPS was worthless in Cappadocia, we didn't rent one on this journey.  Instead The Wife navigated using Google Maps.  She expertly guided us out of the airport and through a series of turns and small roads until we ended up at a Turkish military base.  A soldier with an over-sized assault rifle motioned that we needed to turn around. 

We finally found the correct road to get us onto the otoyol (the toll expressways).  Once we passed through the HGS toll booth, The Wife expertly guided us on the northbound highway.  Unfortunately, Ephesus is to the south.  Since there are very few turnoffs from the otoyols, we had to drive another 20 minutes the wrong way before we were able to pull an illegal U-Turn at the next toll booth to head in the correct direction.  

These otoyols are worth the toll price.  The roads are mainly straight and perfectly paved.  There are three or four lanes, and are equivalent to the German Autobahns.  Although the speed limit is supposedly 120 km/hr (75 miles/hr), most other drivers demolish that as there are no traffic police present.  I was glad that I spent more for the Audi, because the motor of a lesser car would not have made the ride as fun.  I was able to get the car up to 167 km/hr (104 miles/hr) before The Wife scolded me to slow down.  Even at that speed, I was STILL getting passed by other vehicles.

Less than an hour later, we pulled into the town of Selҫuk, located around the ruins of Ephesus.  We had reservations to stay at the Villa Dreams II, a hotel on the outskirts of this small town.  The route took us through some narrow alleys where we had to avoid small children and chickens, all of which roamed freely.  The inclines of some of these roads were so high that they made the streets of San Francisco seem like the plains of Kansas.

Despite the difficulties in getting to the Villa Dreams II, it was completely worth it.  Since it was on a high hill overlooking Selҫuk, the view was amazing.  

Although the pool looked very enticing, the temperature was a bit cool for a dip.

We reserved a reasonably-priced family room with a balcony overlooking the swimming pool and town.  Since it was a small establishment, one friendly, laid-back guy worked the front desk and all the other customer service jobs.

We stayed in the family suite which contained one double bed and two singles.

The accent tiles gave the otherwise
monochrome bathroom more color.

Technically, our room had an ocean view as the Aegean Sea was visible miles away on the horizon.

We had initially planned to take it easy that afternoon and see just a couple of local sites.  However, the weather forecast for the following morning showed rain throughout the day.  We didn't like the prospect of coming all of this way to see Ephesus, yet have the day spoiled by rain.  Therefore, we skipped lunch and immediately started our sightseeing.

We drove the car for about 10 minutes to the Ephesus Museum.  The price was inexpensive, and The Kids got in for free.  For the next hour we wandered through the several exhibits displaying the artifacts that were discovered in the last 150 years of excavating the city.  

The sculptor must have been high when he created this statue of Eros (Cupid) riding a dolphin.

Beware of Commodus!

"We know that name...look him up...It's under So-Crates"

Small golden statues of an Egyptian priest...

...and The Mother Goddess were also on display.

Statues of the fertility god Priapus often depict him with a large...

...head.

Two of the more wondrous findings were the statues of Artemis.  On the Greek mainland, Artemis was depicted with a bow and arrows to symbolize her role as the goddess of the hunt.  However, in Anatolia, she received a higher status and symbolized fertility.  

In these statues, her thorax is covered with many nodes.
Some have postulated that they represent breasts.

Others reason that they are bull testicles
which were given as offerings in her temple.

After finishing at the museum, we drove a few more minutes to the parking lot at the northern gate to Ephesus.  We then spent 20 TL to take a taxi to the southern-most entrance which most visitors consider the “start” of the tour.  The idea is to begin the 2 km stroll at the highest elevation and walk downwards.  We were concerned that the place would be packed because two cruise ships with a potential of over 5,000 visitors would be docking at the nearby port of Kuşadasi.  Fortunately, by the time that we arrived after 3 PM, most of the huge throngs of tour groups had dissipated.  Nevertheless, there were still a good number of smaller groups and children on field trips that interrupted the serenity of the ruins.

Most of the once-beautiful collonaded streets in Ephesus lie in ruins.

A couple of impressive arches
still remain to this day.

Instead of hiring a guide, we used the free Rick Steves podcast that The Wife had on her iPhone.  That way, we were able to visit the locations at our own pace.  While there are signs that explain some of the important landmarks, some of the nuances of Ephesus would be missed without a guide or the podcast.

The Girl is surprisingly
stronger than The Boy.

Ancient ceramic pipes carried water from aqueducts throughout the city.

In the bouleuterion, The Girl's recitation from the Book of Ephesians gets mixed reviews.

The ancients thought of everything--the
lion-pawed structures are actually arm rests.

The main path, Curetes Street, led down a steep hill.

The marble stones on the road were scored to decrease their slipperiness when wet.

This sign with the Staff of Asclepius
pointed Ephesians towards medical care

Swoosh.  This broken relief contains the image of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

The road through Ephesus forked with Domitian Square to the left and the harbor to the right.

Statues of the hero wearing the skin of the
Nemean Lion adorn the Hercules Gate.

The Temple of Hadrian contains images of Medusa and Tyche, the goddess of fortune.

It's hard to get clean nowadays at the Varius Bath.

It was truly amazing how much delicate excavation and restoration was performed on the city.  We also paid a little extra to visit the Terraced Houses.  These structures were inhabited by the wealthier citizens of the Ephesus over several centuries.  

Archaeologists have carefully restored several frescoes and marble tiles in the Terraced Houses.

Delicate designs have survived 2,000 years.

The floor of each room was covered by a unique mosaic.

Restoration of the Terraced Houses continues despite thousands of tourists each day.

Oddly, enough the opulent Terraced Houses were directly across the street from the town’s latrines.  The toilets were all set in rows with a severe lack of privacy.  Running water underneath the crappers carried the fecal waste away.  After finishing their business, the citizens of Ephesus would wipe their bums with sponges attached to sticks.

How are two people supposed to use the corner stalls at the same time?

The Celsus Library is probably the most impressive structure in the City.  Erected in 135 AD, it used to be the third largest library in antiquity (only Alexandria and Pergamon had larger ones).  However, the Celsus Library was destroyed a century later by an earthquake and a Goth ransacking.  

Only the facade of the Library of Celsus remains.

The Corinthian columns and detailed carvings...

...reveal how magnificent the structure was in antiquity.

The wall contains exquisite reproductions of
statues that once adorned the Library of Celsus

The statues inside are of much poorer quality.

The road led to an open area which was once the covered marketplace (agora) for Ephesus.

Carved symbols informed the townspeople which products each merchant was selling.

The last major structure on the tour was the Great Theater.  Plays, religious acts, and philosophical debates were performed there.  It was also the site of the "riot of the silversmiths."  Around 100 A.D., the Apostle Paul established a church in Ephesus that converted many citizens to Christianity.  That angered the local silversmiths whose livelihood was threatened because they made their living by selling statues of Artemis.  They incited the populous against Paul.  They captured two of his companions and brought them to this theater with the intent of putting them on public trial. Fortunately, a respected leader of the city peacefully disarmed the situation and dispersed the mob.

The Great Theater had a seating capacity of about 25,000 people.

After spending two hours wandering through Ephesus, we were hot and tired.  Instead of doing any further sightseeing, we decided to visit the village of Şirince, located about 10 km away from Selҫuk.  

A small, two-lane road led us up the mountains to this quaint town.

The town was originally occupied by Orthodox Greeks.  The name was originally know as Ҫirkince, which paradoxically means "ugly."  After Turkish people took over the city in the 1923 population swap, they changed the name to Şirince, which appropriately means "charming."

The area is gorgeous with 19th century-style buildings, goats, and colorful flowers dotting the hillside.

As soon as we parked our car, we spied a local man eating some small fruit off a tree.  He beckoned us to try some of it.  These small dark berries were delicious.  I realized that this was a mulberry tree.  The Kids spent the next several minutes gorging themselves on them. 

We would later find more of these mulberry
trees growing copiously throughout Turkey.

These large fruits bristled with sweet, delicious juice.

Unfortunately, much of the town seems like it is also geared towards the tourist trade.  Both foreigners and local Turkish tourists have long flocked to this village on day-trips to enjoy the ambiance.  

Shops selling all kinds of knick-knacks line up along the main road.

For such a small town, there is an
inordinate amount of restaurants and cafes.

Interesting things can still be found in Şirince.  The area is primarily known for its fruit wines, lace products, and vinegar made from pomegranate juice.  

We stopped at one of the many wine shops in the town to try some of their fruit-based beverages.

We purchased two bottles of their blackberry
and strawberry wines, each for 20 TL ($8).

The Wife also bought a few jars of pine honey that were delicious.  Normally, honey is produced by bees that harvest the nectar from flowers.  In the case of pine honey, a small insect feeds on the sap of pine trees and produces a sugary waste product called honeydew.  The bees then collect this honeydew and convert it into honey.  

Stalls such as this sold locally-produced honey, jams, juices, and olive oil. 

As the afternoon turned into the evening, the crowds of day-trippers disappeared.  We ate at a local restaurant called Sirincem.  Our table had a great view of the beautiful hillside.  The food was pretty good and the price was very affordable.

Their salep seemed like it was made with water instead of milk.

Kabak Çiçeği Dolması (Stuffed pumpkin flowers) 

Yogurtlu semizotu (moss rose with yogurt)

Enginar (artichoke with peas and carrots)

Musakka (Meat and eggplant in tomato sauce)

Güveç (stewed vegetables and meat)

I wasn't too crazy about making the drive back on that hillside road in the darkness.  Luckily, the sun sets late in the summertime, and I had plenty of daylight to spare by the time we made it back to the Villa Dreams II.  

We enjoyed the view of the Basilica of St. John as we relaxed on our hotel balcony.