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.
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.
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