Another Idyllic, Small, Central European Capital

August 10-12 is when these events occurred. Ljubljana, Slovenia. [lyoob-lyee-AH-nah. It took me a while to get it right. Although after all that practice, one of our Slovenian guides (who spoke perfect English with a clipped, crisp British accent) told us to just forget about pronouncing the "j's."]

I. August 10th
The trip out of Zagreb went easily and smoothly. We were soon back on the toll road and after paying one toll, we were quickly approaching the Slovenian border. We stopped at a gasoline station and attempted to exhaust our accumulation of kunas with a fill-up. When that did not suffice, we purchased almost $14 of junk food and drink.

I was surprised that even through we were passing from one EU country to another, we still had to go through immigration for both countries. However, the crossing went smoothly and quickly.

Slovenia is a very small county. It is half the size of Switzerland and has about 2 million residents. It has a very different feel than the other Balkan countries that we visited. It seemed to be more prosperous, more organized, more punctual and more western than those other countries. Indeed, it is a bit hard to fathom that it was once part of Yugoslavia.  Unlike Serbia and Georgia, and to a lesser extent Croatia, we did not see any Soviet era rusting factories or hulking, ugly, apartment buildings.  The country was long ruled by the Habsburg dynasty and has a strong Germanic flavor, but it seems nicer and more laid back than Germany or Austria. In 1990 a reformer was elected in Slovenia's first free elections and the communists were removed from office. The new leader sought to pursue a Swiss-style confederation with the rest of Yugoslavia, but he was rebuffed. In the face of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's nationalist rantings about protecting Serbs no matter where they resided, [It seems that Putin's playbook is not original.], when a vote on independence was held later in the year, 88% voted in favor of independence. In 1991, Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia and declared its independence. Slovenia is 90% ethnic Slovene, and because Milosevic was probably preoccupied with the Serbs in Croatia and making war on the also newly-independent Croatia, Slovenia managed to escape Yugoslavia with only a 10-day war and a few dozen deaths. No one else in the world speaks Slovenian, so virtually everyone, at least in Ljubljana, the capital, speaks English.

It took us less than an hour after we crossed the border to reach Ljubljana. It was a toll road and like Turkey, without any means to pay the toll on the road.  However, while Slovenia is in both in the EU and the euro zone, T-Mobile does not have a plan there.  So as we entered Ljubljana, we were driving blind when we were seeking our hotel, Lev. However, Ljubljana is not very big, but also not very car-friendly, and after driving around, but not in, the center city (which is largely a pedestrian zone), we spotted signs for our hotel and arrived there easily in mid afternoon. We were given a nice room on the tenth floor as they took our car away for parking.  [By the way, a portion of the pedestrian-only areas is a result of the super-efficient, keep-your-promises, popular mayor, Zoran Jankovic, who turned to politics after being forced out of his supermarket corporation.]

Ljubljana's history goes back a long way. It too has a good founding story. The local legend is that when Jason and his Argonauts (we have encountered that group several times on this trip) were passing through on their way home with the Golden Fleece, they were overtaken by winter and stopped at, and founded, present day Ljubljana. The legend also says that he killed a dragon while out in the marshlands and that is the reason the dragon is the city's mascot.

More likely is that the marshes outside of town were settled by lake dwellers. In the City Museum we saw the remains of what is claimed to be the world's oldest wheel, used by the lake dwellers around 3300 BC. The area was at various times overrun and ruled by the Celts, Romans, Huns and Slavs, but from the 14th century it was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, which accounts for the pronounced Germanic flavor of the city. During a brief period of Napoleonic rule, Ljubljana was made the capital of the Illyrian Provinces, Slovenian became an official language, and the Slovenes got a taste of nationalism. However, after the Congress of Vienna, they were stuffed back into the Habsburg box under Austrian rule.

During WWI there was extensive fighting in what is now northwest Slovenia on the Soca/Isonzo front. Unlike the western front which got much more publicity, this was fought in the mountains in trenches that had to be dug into rock. Soldiers from 22 different nationalities (mainly from the disparate parts of the Austrian Hungarian empire, but also from Italy's colonies) fought on this front. With German assistance, the Austrians were beating the Italians -- even today, Italians supposedly refer to a disaster as, "at least it's not a Caporetto" (their name for the battle). However, when the Germans pulled out, the Austrian army collapsed under the weight of British and US assistance to the Italians.

There were two notables who participated in those battles. Erwin Rommel experimented with Blitzkrieg tactics that he later employed very successfully in North Africa in WWII. Earnest Hemingway served in the Red Cross Ambulance Corps on the Isonzo Front. When his ambulance was hit by a mortar shell, he allegedly packed his wound with cigarette butts to stop the bleeding. "A Farewell to Arms" was based on his experiences in this fighting.

After WWI Slovenia was included in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia (south Slavs). During WWII Slovenia was occupied first by the Italians, and then by the Germans. The latter found the Ljubljana resistance movement too difficult to suppress, so they encircled the city in barbed wire and turned it into a giant prison for three years. It has lots of schools and the average age of its population is 30, the youngest of any capital city in Europe.

[A digression:  There was a large Slovenian emigrant community on the west side of Cleveland when I lived there, and for years it was represented in Congress by Dennis Kucinich, a perennial candidate for President for a while and Mayor of Cleveland when the Cuyahoga River caught fire (not his fault) and the municipal electric utility went bankrupt. The latter was his fault. I occasionally went over to that side of town to eat.]

We discovered that a Ljubljana Tourist Card gets you free admission into most of the city's sights, free travel on city buses (there was no tram system) free guided tours and, as the booklet said "much much more." So we purchased two-day passes online (10% discount for that), but then had to find the Tourist office to pick up the passes. The walk into the town center was less than 5 minutes. We found the first tourist office, which directed us to the tourist office that handed out the passes.

We signed up for a one-hour riverboat cruise (Ljubljana River) that was leaving soon and after that, a tour of the Castle and a city walk. Just flash the pass.  The river cruise was guided by a young Slovenian who spoke English with an English accent. No explanation for that. The only other cruisers were an Australian couple. The river is lined with cafes and restaurants and is forded by many bridges, most with a unique history. Butchers Bridge is based on a design by local famed architect Joze Plecnik, and has several bizarre small sculptures along the railings. It also has Adam and Eve statues and lots of padlocks, following the Paris craze. Dragon Bridge has four dragons and commemorates the 40th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joesph's rule, 1848-1888 imprinted on the side. Cobbler's Bridge is a columned bridge also based on a Plecnik design, (the original bridge was lined with cobblers, or  shoemakers as we know them) which new design was conceived as a square over the river. (The cobblers did not make the cut on the replacement.) Finally, there is the Triple Bridge that joins Ljubljana's main public areas, Preseren Square and the Town Square. The middle span is the widest, but Plecnik added two other spans to help funnel traffic out of the square.

The riverside market and colonnade is yet another Plecnik design and is based on an ancient Greek agara design, similar to what we saw in Ephesus.

Plecnik was a native of Ljubljana and through his work in the first half of the 20th century, he has had a strong impact on how the city looks today. His style seems to be a synthesis of historical and modern elements. He was also the chief architect for the renovation of the Prague Castle after WWI. He was very religious and fell out of favor with the post WWII communist regime. After his death in the 1990s, his reputation was revived and his designs have been incorporated into several recent projects; his work definitely gives Ljubljana an idiosyncratic sense of style.

After the boat ride, we walked over to the Town Square for the next tour. The tour began in the Town Hall. Built in the 15th century and still used as the city hall, it has lots of artwork in the courtyard and a big clock tower. The fountain in the square is the Fountain of Three Carniolian Rivers, representing the areas' three main rivers, the Ljubljana, Sava and Krka. It resembles the fountains in Rome, which is not surprising since it was designed by an Italian, Francesco Robba. His claim to fame is that in all his sculptures, he joins together the two middle fingers on the left hand. He has many sculptures in Ljubljana, which can be spotted by the hand signals.

We then took a tourist train up to Ljubljana Castle. The hill upon which it sits has a commanding view of the town and countryside looking out as far as the Julian Alps. It has had settlements going back to prehistoric times. The Romans built the first fortress and it was added to over the years. In the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used as a penitentiary and a POW camp, and has been rebuilt as a tourist attraction. We toured the free exhibits, the penitentiary, a small chapel and the Slovenian history exhibit. The Italians do not get "credit" for this, but they ran some pretty bad concentration camps, too.

We walked down a long winding ramp to Gotnji Trg (upper) square which is one of the town gates of medieval Ljubljana. That led into Stari Trg (old) square that constitutes the center of old town Ljubljana, with the castle overshadowing it. This street is now lined with shops, restaurants and cafes. Most of the buildings along this street had only three horizontal windows, the medieval city's vehicle for limiting the size of buildings within the walled city. The Schweiger House was purchased by a rich merchant who combined two houses for his mansion (thus, six windows wide).

We ate dinner outside at a restaurant on Stari Trg that employed disabled people and thus was subsidized by the government. It served Slovenian food, and we had kranjska klobasa, a Slovenian sausage as well as Slovenian wine and beer. The former allegedly has a growing international reputation. We followed that up with some very good ice cream at a shop on the same street.

II. August 11

The breakfast at the Lev had the largest selection of foods that we encountered on the trip. No cooked to order, but it had multiple fruits and an unending supply of chocolate coussiants.

After breakfast we took the bus (just flash the pass) to the National Museum of Contemporary History that is located within Tivoli (shades of Copenhagen) Park. This museum focused on Slovenia's history from the beginning of the 20th century, essentially starting with the last years of Habsburg rule. During WWII Slovenia was invaded by and chopped up between Germany, Italy and Hungary. There were exhibits of the socialist era that were not as negative as those we saw in Georgia and Croatia. However, they also showed the prison camps and secret police of the early Tito years. Tito remains popular here and there was both his bust and a book detailing his trips to Slovenia. There was great focus on the War for Independence in 1991 and the actions of civilians in blocking the barracks of the Yugoslav People's Army, some of whose conscripts were Slovenians There is one exhibit which decries how Yugoslavian bombers at one point were herded to the city but were called back by a Yugoslav officer who was Slovenian.  It culminated in the Army sailing away with its equipment. The most moving exhibit was one describing the trials and tribulations of about 30 Slovenes who had been displaced by various wars and their efforts, sometimes over many years, to return to families that had no idea they were still alive. One of these returnees even ended up in Ft Dix in New Jersey as a POW.

Then we took the bus back to the old town area and explored the artificial rain storm in Preseren Square. This is now pedestrian only. (The current mayor has made large sections of the center city car-free. A boon for pedestrians, but I imagine a burden for people who live in that area.) At the center of the square is a large statue of France Preseren, a 19th century nationalist poet. In most other countries you would find a military hero there. The statue shows him being inspired from above by a naked Muse. That did not sit well with the local Bishop whose church, Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, sits on the square and faces the statue. I was told that for years the church covered the scandalous statue each night with a tarp, and the model who posed as the Muse could no longer find work and had to permanently emigrate to South America. Preseren's gaze is directed to a picture in a second story window of Julija, the unrequited love of his life. Not as romantic as it sounds. I was told that they met when he was in his 30s as a teacher in her father's house and she was a child. She might have inspired him, but she married another, opting for wealth and status. All he could offer was poverty and fame.

We then took a cirquitious route to the City Museum. Lots of city history which showed how the city has been ruled by 10 different states during the past 200 years. Imagine being the buyer in the school district trying to keep up with the different textbooks. They had an old Fiat Zastava 750 car that was popular in communist Yugoslavia. There was a Faces of Ljubljana exhibit, a Roman road and and an exhibit on water usage. Seems to me that unlike California, they have plenty of water here. I even drank it without getting sick, another sign that we had returned to Europe.

After that we crossed back into old town and took the funicular (just flash the pass) up to the Castle. This time we used our pass to visit the paid exhibits. Most prominent were the torture museum (it is amazing how creative, and cruel, people can get when they want to torture someone) and the puppets museum. We ate dinner in the Castle's courtyard at the Gostilna na Gradu restaurant. Nice dinner of Slovenian food with small portions, but affordable prices.

On the way back to the hotel, took a detour, maybe even got a bit lost, and so we passed through Congress Square and Square of the Republic. The former is ringed by cultural buildings while the latter is ringed by commercial buildings and is where Slovenian independence was declared in 1991. It also houses a tower with a gigantic digital sign flashing the time, temperature and date. We also passed the US embassy during our walk, which I think is the only US embassy, other than the US embassy in Delhi where my son works, that we saw on the trip.

III. August 12
Another big breakfast at the Lev. We then walked back to center city. First we went to the post office to purchase a tollway sticker. 15 euro for one week. Then we went to an athletic store to purchase running shoes, thinking that they would be too expensive in France. Turns out they were expensive here too, but good on French country roads. We then turned away from old town and passed a big department store, Galerija Emporium that dates back to the late 19th century, the Grand Union Hotel, (where I wanted to stay, but it was pretty expensive), with its domed spire that has been replicated on many other buildings in the city, a government building that was hideously painted in red, blue and white colors (Slovenian flag) and finally, a noisy, pink zigzagged building that houses a bank.

By early afternoon we took off for Germany, not knowing where we would stay, or even in what city, but secure in our knowledge that we were good with the Slovenian toll road authority.
     

Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis - One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

July 27-29 is when these events occurred

I. July 27
It was surprisingly easy to get out of Konya and get on our long drive to Selcuk, the living town outside the ruins of Ephesus. The drive passed through a lot of the Turkish agricultural heartland. There were many fields of grain, primarily what seems to me to be corn and wheat, acres of tomatoes [We saw lots of 18-wheel trucks whose trailers were loaded with tomatoes. I could only wonder what shape the tomatoes at the bottom were in.] and cucumbers, sun flowers, scores of vineyards and lots of grazing cattle. Otherwise the drive was pretty nondescript. The roads were four-lane, well-maintained highways until the end, and they did not have a toll. Even when we turned off at the end onto a two-lane road, it was very good.

We arrived in Selcuk in the early evening and, except for one missed turn, we found our hotel fairly easily. We stayed in the Akay Hotel, an older hotel which is just across from an imposing 16th century mosque, Isa Bey Camii. It is supposedly run by a Swiss family, and while it had very good service and lots of attention to detail, most of the staff did not speak English. The rooms were comfortable, but a bit old. We parked on the street right in front of the hotel. It has a terrific pool and is located within walking distance of some of Selcuk's major sights and the downtown eateries.

After settling in the room, I went out to the pool for a very refreshing swim. Since it had turned dark by the time I finished, we chose to eat dinner at the hotel's rooftop restaurant. The chef prepared a meal for us that began with melon, offered a main course of grilled chicken and beef with vegetables and ended with a plate of watermelon. Washed it down with some Turkish beer and wine.

II. July 28
After returning to the rooftop for a somewhat standard breakfast of cheeses, meats, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs and bread the next morning, we set out for Ephesus.

Understanding how the south Aegean coast in general, and Ephesus in particular, were so important 2000 years ago requires one to visualize bays, islands and peninsulas where they no longer exist. At the time when the Mediterranean Sea was effectively a Roman lake, the coastline was 6km inland from where it is today. Over time, the Cayster River silted the area, the island of Ayasuluk became a hill and the thriving ancient port cites that were fully integrated into the Greek and later Roman worlds, became landlocked and eventually abandoned.

The legend surrounding the founding of Ephesus is one of the more endearing founding legends that I heard on this trip. According to the Greek historian Heroddotus, Ephesus was founded by Greek colonists coming from the west during the 10th century BC (that was before Homer composed the Odyssey) when Kodros, the King of Athens was told by the oracle before one of Athens' many wars with neighboring states, that the armies of the king who will die first will be victorious. Kodros died first, his army won and then a quarrel broke out among his sons over who should rule his kingdom. Androclos, one of his sons, lost out in that struggle and rather than sticking around sailing yachts and collecting mistresses, he consulted the oracle and asked about locations to start a new city. The oracle told him that he will know the right place when a fish and a boar indicate to him the exact place. Androclos and his men set sail into the Aegean Sea and landed on the Anatolian shore near today's ruins of the Temple of Artemis. While cooking dinner a fresh fish they had caught was so fresh that it jumped out of the pan, knocked over some coals and started a fire, which fleshed a wild boar out of the woods. Androclos killed the wild boar, ate it [I guess the fish was burned or dirty], and decided to build Ephesus on that spot.

In fact, that area had already been settled by the Lelegians and Carians, the latter of whom subsequently attacked the new settlement and killed Androclos. However, the former worshipped the Anatolian fertility goddess Cybele. The Greeks adopted portions of the Lelegians fertility rituals and and created the Artemis of Ephesus. It became a tremendous religious and commercial success, indeed a cult that inspired pilgrimages to the Temple, which had been rebuilt several times after floods and invaders damaged the temple. The wealth that the pilgrims and maritime trade brought led to Ephesus' first golden age in the 6th century BC. That success attracted the attention and envy of King Croesus [he had early spring bulbs named after him] of Lydia, who sent troops to conquer the city. The Ephesians supposedly had such faith in the powers of Artemis that they protected the Artemision (the Temple) and city with a simple rope to block passage. The rope did not keep the Lydian troops out, but Croesus did not destroy the city. Instead he renovated the Temple. Persia then attacked and defeated Lydia, and captured Croesus. He was about to be burned to death when he cried out, "Oh Solon". The Persian king asked what he meant and Croesus told him that he had previously asked Solon the Athenian philosopher if there was anyone happier than him. The philosopher replied that he could not tell if he was happy until he saw him die.  Croesus said that now that he was about to be burned to death, the philosopher was right. The Persian king was so impressed he terminated the bonfire and made Croesus the world's first consultant.

Ephesus was subsequently involved in the many Greek Persian wars, ultimately picking the wrong side and ended up under Persian rule. On July 21, 356 BC a notoriety seeker, Herostratus, burned down the Temple of Artemis, reasoning that by doing so his name would be forever remembered. The disgusted Ephesian government immediately executed him and decreed that a similar fate would befall anyone who mentioned his name. However, here it is, centuries later and he is still remembered.

Alexander the Great passed through in 334 BC and offered to fund the rebuilding of the Temple, if it was dedicated to him. The proud citizens of Ephesus cleverly declined by pointing out that it would be unfitting for one god's temple to be dedicated to another. When it was finished, it was about 350 ft long and 120 ft wide with about 127 columns, and was the largest marble temple ever built -- one of the wonders of the ancient world. Now all that remains of it are portions of the foundation and one reconstructed column.

Rome took over the city in 133 BC and ushered in Ephesus' second golden age. Ephesus was made the capital of the Roman province of Asia in 33 BC, and thus became the most important city and trading center of Asia Minor. Its population swelled to 250,000, who were drawn from all parts of the empire. The annual festival of Artemis (Diana to the Romans) was a month-long party that drew in tens of thousands.

St. Paul came through and began to convert people. That caused a riot among the silversmiths, who made a living selling statues of Artemis and were suffering losses. St. Paul fled to Rome where he was ultimately beheaded.

During the period of Roman rule there was a large amount of construction. However, all good things usually come to an end. Despite repeated efforts to drain the harbor, or even divert the river, the harbor continued to silt up and eventually the port was lost. Ephesus' increasing Christian composition meant less funds for the Artemis cult. In 263 AD the Goths sacked the city and burned the temple. The Byzantine emperors, particularly Constantine in the 4th century and Justinian in the 6th century, made efforts to revive its fortunes; but as Izmir became a viable port, Ephesus continued its decline, and following invasions by pirates from the sea and Arabs from land, it was abandoned in the 10th century. Imagine the disappointment of the medieval Crusaders who, when passing through on the way to killing Muslims, (if schooled in the classics) came to Ephesus expecting to find an epic ancient city, but instead found a forlorn little village populated by a few ancient residents.

Ephesus has been privatized now. It is run by a Turkish company and all the continuing archaeological digs are run by the Austrians. We parked at the Koressian Gate (not the city's main entrance), and it cost 7.5 lira to park, 25 to enter and 15 to visit the terraced houses. There are scores of vendors at the Gate.

There is a lot in the city. We first saw the Gymnasium which had exercise rooms, a swimming pool, fields, baths and a ceremonial hall. There was an adjacent stadium for athletic contests. Wrestling was a big deal. Then we walked onto Harbor Street. This street linked the harbor with the great theater. It was a later addition to the city as the harbor retreated. It had underground water and sewer pipes and 50 streetlights on its colonnades. Street lighting was very unusual during that period and only three cities in the empire had that. The length of this street shows how far the sea receded. On a side street off this street is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who was brought here to live by St. John. The Ecumenical Council of 431 took place here. It was precipitated by an assertion from the Bishop of Antakya (this is when most of Asia Minor was Christian) that the Virgin Mary did not give birth to Jesus as God, but to the man Jesus, who was the bearer of the word of God -- or something like that. That caused a huge uproar, so the Emperor called a council in Ephesus of all the Bishops, who decided that the Virgin Mary did in fact give birth to Jesus Christ as a complete man and complete God, and that she had indeed lived in Ephesus after the death of Christ. End of controversy.

The Great Theatre had a seating capacity of 25,000 and was the largest theatre in Asia Minor. It is in very good shape. It was originally built by Lysimachus, one of Alexander's generals, but it was rebuilt and expanded by the Romans in the 1st century. As you climb up the theater's seats they are pitched steeper, as I noted when I walked to the top, making the viewing still good from the nose-bleed seats.

We then proceeded up Marble Street, which connects the Theatre with the Library of Celsus and is the third longest street in the city. On the right is Lower Agora that was a large commercial place. It had a massive colonnade with a wooden roof that sheltered the vendors.

At the end of Marble Street is the Celsus Library. This is the star of Ephesus. It was built in the 2d century by Counsel Aquila to commemorate his father who was governor of Asia Minor and was buried under the library. It was three stories, (only two remain) and it was the third largest ancient library, behind only Alexandria and Pergamum. It protected its contents from temperature and humidity extremes with a 1 meter gap between its inner and outer walls. The front has replica statues (the originals are in a Vienna museum) of the Greek virtues: Goodness; Thought; Knowledge and Wisdom. By now it was about 10:30 am and the crowds from the tour buses (which all seemed to arrive at about the same time), were arriving down Curetes Way from the Upper Gate.

So we walked the length of Curetes Way to the Upper Gate. Had some ice cream and a cold drink and then began to walk back over the route, now devoid of crowds. Like most Roman cities, at the main entrance you find the Baths so people entering the city can clean themselves. There were visible cold and hot rooms. On the plaza in front of the Baths was the State Agora. This was not a market, rather it was a square used for political and social meetings. In the center is a small Temple of Isis, a tribute to the Egyptian Goddess, because there was hope of a second life in the other world and she ruled over that.

The Odeon was a 5000-seat auditorium that served as a meeting place for the Senate, the Popular Chamber and a concert hall. It had marble seats and Terra-cotta piping that was part of the aqueduct system. The Prytaneion was where the eternal flame was maintained by the pytane, youngsters who were only from noble families and performed this duty without compensation. (Even then the desirable internships were unpaid.) Here I thought I saw differences between Greek and Roman architecture.  The former's columns were spiraling and ornamental, while the latter's were smooth and unadorned. Down a side street is a two-story building that is believed to have been Ephesus' hospital and possibly its medical school. There was an image of a snake on the building.

Next to that is Domitian Square and the ruined Domitian Temple. It was built by Emperor Domitian in the first century. He banished St. John to the island of Patmos for three years and executed his own nephew after the boy showed an interest in Christianity. He was so disliked that his Temple was demolished when he died.  In contrast is the temple of Hadrian, a beloved emperor who restored Ephesus' status in the empire. His temple has two preserved arches which are supported by central keystones without the need for any mortar.

These and other buildings lined Curetes Way, which was Ephesus' main thoroughfare and was named after the religious order that held an annual procession on the Way to celebrate the birth of Artemis. There are several large fountains and public latrines, at which one could purchase a private spot. Across from that is a building that allegedly was the brothel.

Another star attraction is the Terraced Houses. This was a rich residential area. The homes were large and multi-storied. There were lots of colorful mosaics and frescoes and a central heating and cooling system supplied hot and cold running water.  They had richly decorated inner courtyards and servants quarters. As I walked the the stairs that snaked throughout the structures, I wondered whether it would be better to live like that then, or a middle-class existence now.

That was the end of our two-person tour, aided by our Ephesus guide book, so we trudged back to the car and drove back to the hotel. After some pool time, we walked to downtown Selcuk and passed a group of older women eating large slices of watermelon. We ate dinner outside at the Ejder Restaurant. There was a very energetic host who proudly showed off his guestbook that included a visit by then President Clinton. There were also lots of cats. The restaurant was opposite the Byzantine aqueduct and next to a fountain that was lit up with many colors.  The tops of the aqueduct are now home to huge nests of storks which seem to stand guard over both their nests and the aqueduct. We had a couple of grilled meat Turkish dinners. Then walked around the still lively town and got some ice cream. On the way back, we spoke at length with a Kurdish store owner. He too spoke very negatively about the government. It was a long day.

III. July 29

After breakfast and a morning swim, we walked over to the Basilica of St. John. (It is amazing how in a predominately Muslim country, there are so many Christian antiquities; but until the Seljuks and later the Ottomans swept in to weaken and then destroy the Byzantine empire, this was a Christian area.) St. John came here in the first century, after being chased out of Jerusalem, bringing with him the Virgin Mary. Except for the time he was expelled, he lived here most of the rest of his life and was buried here. In the 6th century Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora caused to be built what was then the largest church in the world, and even today, would be the seventh largest, if it were still in one piece.

The Ayasuluk Fortress at the top of the hill is very big, and its partially restored structures reflect the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman eras. It also has vestiges from the pre-historic peoples who first settled this area when Ayasuluk was an island. From here you could see the balcony outside our hotel room. Fortunately we had taken in the laundry we had hung out to dry.

We then walked over to the Isa Bey Camii, a 14th century large mosque that is post Seljuk and pre Ottoman. It had an interesting square courtyard with several minarets that had been rebuilt following earthquakes.

We then got in the car and drove over to what little remains of the Temple of Artemis. The Temple had the privilege of providing sanctuary to those who took shelter in it. Over the years sanctuary inflation occurred. Alexander expanded it to the grounds of the Temple. King Mithridates expanded that to include the area where an arrow could be shot from the Temple. Marc Anthony doubled that area. I imagine that by the end, there was probably a colony of outlaws surrounding the Temple.

We then drove off to the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers, or the Ephesian version of Rip Van Winkle. As I understand it, the main source of conflict between the Christians and Romans was that the former refused to follow the cult of the Emperor and participate in the sacrifices made on the altars of Temples to the Roman gods. That caused the Romans to feed lots of Christians to lions. When seven young Christians were threatened with death in 250, they took shelter in the grotto and fell asleep. When they awoke and went out for food, they realized that they had been asleep for 200 years (luckily for them they did not sleep for a 1000 years, or they would have woken up in a Muslim country) and learned that Christianity had become the state religion. The Emperor deemed their resurrection as a miracle and when they died they were buried in the grotto and a chapel was built. Excavations have revealed that the site was a necropolis (I had to look that up) and there were hundreds of tombs there.

The house of the Virgin Mary was closed, but there was a very big statue of her (placed by an American society). The house's history is the product of a disabled 18th century German nun, who had visions of the location of the house. The Pope has now declared it a pilgrimage site.

We then walked to the Ephesus Museum. It contains many of the artifacts that have been excavated from Ephesus (although others are now displayed at various western museums). The highlight was the two multi-breasted, multi-armed Artemis statues

For dinner we again walked into downtown Selcuk and ate outdoors at the Wallabies Aqueduct, which was adjacent to the restaurant we ate at the prior day. That owner acknowledged us. The meal was again Turkish and very good. We received bowls of complimentary soup. After dinner we went back to the store owned by the Kurd and purchased some evil eyes.







           

Diyarbakir

July19 is when these events occurred

The breakfast at the SV Business Hotel was pretty good. Nothing was cooked to order, but the selection was extensive, the fruit and bakery items were fresh and there were lots of vegetables.

We started the day by returning to the area we had been the prior evening, but before we got there we went up onto the City walls. Diyarbakir's single most conspicuous feature is its almost 6km circuit of walls and gates that circumvent the old city. It was claimed that the walls are second in length in the world, exceeded only by the Great Wall of China. The walls were originally built by the Romans, but their present size dates from the 5th century when the Byzantines did major renovations. The walls are being restored, but that process is not complete.

We climbed up on the north Harput Kapisi Gate and walked along the top of the wall for a short distance. We then went back to the complex of buildings and museums that we had been unable to visit the prior day. It was a Sunday, so the park that these buildings surrounded was filled with families and strollers. We spoke with a few people, several of whom had some loose American connections and a few of whom had a German connection. There was an art museum that we quickly ran through, but we spent a lot of time in the history/archaeology museum. This area falls with the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys and the museum had relics from mankind's presence here going back to 8000 BC. The history of empires in this area that was displayed in the museum started with the Hurrian and subsequently included Assyrian, Persians, Alexander the Great, the Suleucids, the Romans, the Arabs (who gave the city its present name, Realm of Bakr, and its religion), the Safavid/Persians and finally the Ottomans. We met two college girls in the museum who were visiting from the Trabzon area where we had been in May.

After we left there we got lost [it turned out that we were not far from where I wanted to be] attempting to get to the Mardin Kapisi, south gate of the walls. We asked a few people for directions, and then were sort of adopted by a woman, who is a primary school teacher, and one of her of students. (It was never clear to us what their relationship was.) For the next several hours she took us on a whirlwind tour of Diyarbakir.

We walked down a main shopping street and visited the Ulu Camii, the city's most impressive mosque. Its courtyard was rectangular, Arab style, unlike virtually all of the other mosques we saw in India and Turkey that were square.There were sculptures of a huge lion and bull framing the entrance and reliefs on the walls featuring fruits and vegetables.

The Diyarbakir house museums were built and for a long time owned by Armenians. (They were largely killed or run out of Turkey in 1915 by the Ottomans in what the Turks characterize as the fog of war, and the Armenians describe as the first genocide of the 20th century.) They had summer and winter quarters. The summer area had a center courtyard with a fountain. Sleeping was on wooden platforms in the courtyard to catch breezes. We were able to enter the house of poet Cahit Sitki Taranci that was built in 1820 of black basalt stone. He lived in the first half of the 20th century. Some of his poems were printed on charts and there were many photographs of him, his family and the period when he lived. One of his more famous poems is Age Thirty Five:

"Age thirty five! It is half the way.
We are in the middle of life like Dante.
Jewel in our young ages
Begging, imploring is useless now.
It goes with having no pity on.

"Did it snow to my temple?
Is this face with wrinkles is it really mine?
And black circles under my eyes?
Why look so hostile now,
All mirrors I mistakenly deemed as a dear friend?"

Just wait until he gets to 65!

The Dengbe Evi, a Kurdish storytelling house, was closed on Sunday.

We then went to a shopping area and had some coffee, our self-appointed guide spilled some on her blouse, and she then took us to a tacky shop that sold tourist stuff. We then went to the courtyard of an older, elegant hotel that was setting up for a wedding. We stopped for beers and cold drinks in the courtyard.  Our guide put us on her Facebook page and decried teaching in Turkey. All references to Kurdish language and customs is forbidden. She said that she was getting burned out on teaching and wanted to come to the US.

At this point I was wondering if we would be able to get rid of our guide. She took us through a maze-like set of streets until we emerged at the Mardin Kapisi, the gate I wanted to go to.  We were able to go under the wall into a cave-like area that used to be a caravanserai, a fortified way station for caravans, which now contained some shops and a small chapel. There were two towers in the vicinity, Nur Burcu and Yedi Kardes Burcu. (Tower of Seven Brothers -- I forgot the story.) The latter had an informal concert going on it, with lots of people gathered around. It also offered great views of the Tigris River, the Bridge of Ten Eyes (arches) and the surrounding countryside.  Wedding pictures were being taken on the ramparts and our guide somehow managed to get Karen included in some of the pictures. When we were watching the concert we spoke with a Turkish family. By the end of our visit to the Mardin Gate, our guide somehow persuaded this family to give us a ride in their car to our hotel.

After we got out our guide then requested 50 lira (about $17). I half expected that was going to happen, but I was too tired to protest and just paid.  While I was doing that, Karen complimented the younger girl on her earrings, and our guide instructed her to take them off and give them to her.  It took protests and sneaking them back to the young girl when the guide was turned away to get them returned.

I used the hotel's fitness room and sauna. That was refreshing, but we were too tired to go out to eat so we just ate some of the fruit and snacks we had been carrying around. Watched Al Jazzera International's report on the bombing that occurred in the Turkish border town of Serca, about 200 km to the east and called it a night.

P.S.:  During our first trip to Turkey, it was on the eve of parliamentary elections.  In those elections a Kurdish party, the People's Democratic Party ("HDP") won 13% of the vote, for the first time clearing the 10% threshold needed for representation in Parliament. That was a singular achievement for Turkey's long-suppressed Kurdish minority and was cited repeatedly by Kurds with whom we spoke. The HDP's success was largely based on the Kurdish vote, but it also attracted the votes of liberals and secular voters who flooded the streets of Istanbul two years ago in anti-government protests. That success upset Turkish politics and denied President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, ("AKP," an Islamist party that has governed Turkey in an increasingly autocratic manner for over a decade), a majority in Parliament.  The political parties were unable to form a coalition government. Some Kurds told us that Erdogan was unwilling to enter into a coalition and thus made unreasonable demands thereby forcing another election. Others, including the Islamist wife in the couple with whom we ate lunch on the tour in Cappadocia, said that the HDP and a right-wing nationalist party were racists and they both were the ones who were unreasonable during the coalition negotiations.

Subsequent to our departure from Diyarbakir, the Turkish government launched air strikes against the Kurdish fighters in Iraq ("PKK") and Syria ("PYD") and instituted a new wave of repression against the Kurds in Turkey. (Ironically, it did this after announcing an agreement with the US to let the US use the Turkey's Incirlik Air Base to better bomb ISIS.) Yet those Kurdish fighters have been among the most effective in fighting ISIS. This reignited the conflict with the Turkish Kurds, lead by the PKK and resulted in PKK bombings of Turkish military and police installations in the Diyarbakir area.  Some Kurds told us that Erdogan's objective in all of this is to rouse nationalist feelings within Turkey and tar the HDP as a terrorist front for the PKK in order to win votes from the other two parties, thereby regaining the super majority his AKP previously had in Parliament and resume his march to make Turkey a one-party state and to grant him an imperial Presidency.  That opinion is shared by a former US Ambassador to Turkey in a NY Times op-ed piece. This all may be a good political strategy for Erdogan [We will see; the election is in November.], but it does not help in the fight against ISIS [Ultimately it is impossible to win a war without good troops on the ground.] and runs the risk of plunging Turkey back into the armed conflict that it had for 20 years with the PKK.