Around Telavi, Georgia and back to Tbilisi

June 1

Breakfast again with the kittens and served by the Ukrainian hostess who seemed very distracted. The breakfast was mediocre.

We packed up and set out according to a plan to visit the villages and countryside in a vast circle around Telavi. The GPS was not working, but we had a good local map which proved to be very effective since we did not get lost anytime during the day. Our first stop was the Ikalto Monastery, about 8km northwest of Telavi. Easy to find, about 2km off the main road and up a hill on a dirt, but smooth road. The monastery was founded in the 6th century by a Syrian Christian and 600 years later it was converted to an academy by King David (the Georgian, not the Goliath slayer). The main church was in good shape and had an 19th century cupola. The academy was ravaged by the Persians and is now roofless. Behind all this were a large collection of clay vessels in which wine was produced.

We got back on the road and drove to the Alaverdi Cathedral. This was gigantic. It is 50m high and was the tallest cathedral in Georgia for 1000 years after it was built in the 11th century. The outside wall was encased by a colorful rose garden. To me the cathedral looked like what a cathedral should look like. Its exterior is classically proportioned with rounded arches, but minimal decorations. Inside it was very spacious and much better lighted than most European cathedrals by a large 16 windowed cupola. The interior also contained many frescoes in varying stages of decay. As we saw throughout Georgia, there was a St. George and dragon over the main entrance. It is a working monastery. I had to put on long pants to enter and they are still producing wine here. After the visit to the monastery we went across the street and had a cold yogurt dish.

Next on the tour was the Gremi Citadel. It is a very impressive structure.For 250 years from 1466 Gremi was the capital of the Kakheti state and the brick citadel guarded the town. But the Persians under Shah Abbas came through and reduced the town to ruins. As part of that conquest the Persians tortured Queen Ketevan to death for refusing to renounce Christianity. Seems that things have not changed in this area of the world in the last 500 years. The Citadel was well preserved and in the process of climbing into and through its bell tower it afforded great views of the river and surrounding countryside.

It was getting late so we skipped a couple of destinations and drove back toward Telavi to go to the Chavhavadze family estate in Tsinandali. This estate was built by a Georgian aristocrat whose father was Georgia's first ambassador to Russia and a godson of Catherine the Great. Alas in the mid 19th century some marauding tribesmen from Dagestan ransacked the estate and kidnapped 23 women and children. The builder's son had to mortgage the estate to ransom the family. He could not pay back the loan so the Czar scouped in to pay of the loan and ended up with the place. Most of the family is now in France. The house is now a museum, and like most places in Georgia has a vineyard and winery on the premises. For 20 Lari we got to sample  several wines and thus walked around the grand grounds very happy.

We then pointed the car back to Tbilisi. It was a straightforward, but exciting drive going over the 5000 ft Gombori pass. Fortunately there were lots and lots of switchbacks so the car slowly made it.

We cruised back into Tbilisi and checked back into the Renaissance hotel for the third time. We walked over to old town through a park at the base of the hill where our hotel was located and had dinner in an organic restaurant, albeit with lots of meat. After dinner we walked back over the Peace Bridge and entered a park. It was 10:00 pm but there were lots of young families there and vendors selling all sorts of food. We had some sweets and frozen dessert.     

Rovinj - Seems like a Great Place to Live

May 6, Wednesday

Rovinj is a wonderful Old World oasis on the Adriatic coast. We were told that the Croatia coastline consists of mostly pretty, interchangeable, tacky, tourist towns. Rovinj is not like that. Its streets are delightfully twisty, its houses crumbling in a romantic way and its harbor seems to be a working facility alive with fishermen and their boats, along with a birth for a cruise ship. After 500 years of Italian rule, mostly by the Venetian Republic it has a very decided Italian cultural, linguistic, gastronomical and architectural flavor. Indeed Italian seems to be spoken as much as Croatian and many highway signs were also in Italian. The Austrians got the place after Napoleon was defeated. However they put their development money on the Istria peninsula into Pula and Trieste so Rovinj just seems to have lingered in Old World quaintness. This is a real place with skinny houses, not palaces and working fishing boats, not Russian oligarch yachts. During tourist season, we were too early for that, I was told that lots of Germans come here. The map noted the free body culture beach, which I was told was international shorthand for nudity, or as our guesthouse host lady said, pudgy nude bodies. 

After we got up we went to the small market across the street to buy some food. Focused on breakfast, fruit, milk and cereal, but also some items for dinner. Prices were pretty comparable to those at home. We then walked into town past the bus station and taxi cab stand, along the harbor waterfront and to the cruise ship (small) dock just outside old town. From here there is good view of the old town with the Venetian looking buildings seeming to rise straight out of the water. At the top of the hill is a large church topped by a bell tower with a weather vane in the shape of Rovinj's patron saint, Euphemia. If she is facing land, bad weather is soon to follow.

We then went over to the Communist era monument. This is a huge, ponderous stone that celebrates The Yugoslav Partisan's Army WWII victory over the Germans and commemorates victims of fascism. It is a bilingual memorial. and without any subtlety shows prisoners being prodded by guns in their backs from a soldier wearing a Nazi style helmet. The whole scene is very jarring in the context of the old town. Many of the Croatians we spoke with praised Tito, particularly for the peace and prosperity that they enjoyed under his rule, but younger Croatians praised independence and the absence of communism.

We then went to a large open air market. Purchased many vegetables and greens. These prices were low compared to our local Farmer's Markets and, perhaps due to the lateness of the hour, many vendors pressed additional goods into our bags.  There was a large Hapsburg era fountain in the center of the market. Exiting the market we walked down Garibaldi Ave (he of 19th century Italian reunification) and into Square of the Bridge. In the Middle Ages under the Venetians, Rovinj was an island. The Italians lived there and traded, while the Slaves farmed on the mainland and the two groups mixed only by crossing the bridge at this site. In 1763 the waterway was filled in, the populations mixed and Rovinj became a peninsula. There were lively cafes, bars, ice cream shops and a cultural center around the square.The latter showed off the flat-bottomed fishing boats used by the locals and had announcements of musical events.

We walked out of the square past the Town Hall (under reconstruction) with a Venetian lion and into the larger Tito Square. There is a fountain in the center with reliefs of stiff, socialist workers and a boy holding a water spouting fish. This commemorates the building of a town water system in 1959. Before that people hauled water from fountains to their homes. Many of the fountains remain. We walked out on a concrete pier that lead into the harbor and viewed the early set ups for a photography exhibit. From the pier we saw across the harbor a monstrosity for workers' vacations from the Tito era.

We then walked through the Balbi Arch constructed by the Venetians and started up the hill into the heart of Old Town. We passed through a little square that had a restaurant which was once a cistern that collected rainwater and up Grisia Street. This is the main shopping street, actually a narrow twisting lane, that had many small art galleries. Off this street there were many very small courtyards, nooks and crannies with houses poking out at many angles.

At the top we entered the Church of St. Euphemia. It dates from 1754 and is topped by a 190ft bell tower that looked very much to me like an imitation of the bell tower in St Marks square in Venice. Euphemia was the virtuous daughter of a prosperous Roman official in Istanbul in the 3rd century AD. She converted to Christianity and gave her fortune away to help the poor. Unfortunately she was doing this during the reign of Emperor Diocletian who was not happy with Christians. He had her arrested, tortured and thrown to the lions. The lions, clearly early converts, miraculously declined to attack her. All of this is documented in paintings within the church.. Euphemia's big marble sarcophagus supposedly floated from the Adriatic up to Rovinj's shores in 800. It was very heavy, but through a miracle a young boy with two calves moved it up to the hill top church were it resides today.

We walked back down through another restaurant row and stopped for some drinks and a bathroom break. Returned to our apartment and cooked dinner with our purchases. After dinner we walked back into town for a night time stroll and some ice cream. 

         

Coratia - Debrovnik is the darling, but Split has the Sizzle

Saturday May 9


Split is the second largest city in Croatia (Zagreb is the largest and the capital and where we will visit on the way back) and is decidedly not just a coastal tourist town, although it is a cruise ship port. It is real and vibrant with an ugly urban sprawl that surrounds an interesting Old Town. Coming from Rovinj it seemed as if we were returning to civilization.

Our guesthouse host presented us with an eclectic  breakfast, coffee, Danish and some Croatian noodles, and then gave us directions to old town. Upon leaving our "soba" we came upon a basketball game at a schoolyard court. We continued down to the City Harbor area and passed through the large open air Green market that was both bustling and offered for sale just about any type of food and clothing that one could imagine or desire.

The core of Split's old town is Diocletian's Palace. Diocletian was the Roman emperor from 284-305 AD. His two main claims to fame were his decision to administratively split the empire into four regions, each ruled by an emperor and his campaign of torture and execution against Christians. The Roman empire contained many religions and the empire was tolerant of them, so long as they recognized and accepted the emperor as the top guy. The Christians would not do this, so the empire killed them. Both of these did not work out well. The administrative split facilitated the splintering of the empire and lead to its permanent division into eastern, the Byzantine and western/Roman empires. The former survived for another 1000 years but the latter soon succumbed to the Huns, Goths, Visigoths and other assorted barbarians. Torturing the Christians (it is believed that only a few thousand were killed) neither convinced them to change their views nor stamp them out. Shortly thereafter Diocletian's successor, Constantine, (with a big boost from his wife) legalized Christianity, made it the official religion of the Byzantine empire and converted on his death bed. In that polity Christianity, Eastern Orthodox version, prospered into the fifteenth century until crushed by the Ottomans.

Diocletian was from this area and like a good bureaucrat he worked his way up the Roman hierarchy to the top spot. As he grew older he decided to return to his homeland for retirement. (I was under the incorrect impression that Roman emperors, like Popes did not retire, I thought that they died in office, in the latter years of the empire, frequently by unnatural means.)  To facilitate the move he commissioned the construction of an enormous retirement palace complex which is located on the harbor in the heart of the city. It took 11 years to build. Its two major elements are the royal villa and a fortified Roman town. By the 7th century the villa fell into ruins and was occupied by Slavic invaders. When the Venetians conquered this region in the 15th century they rebuilt the palace with a layer of Gothic Renaissance architecture.

After going through the market we ended up on the Riva, the waterfront strand. Lots of ice cream stands. There was also a car sized model of the old town. We entered the Palace through its backdoor, the Brass gate, which originally served as the Palace's water entrance and the water came right up to the gate.  This portion of the palace wall is over 600' in length, but in many areas is obstructed by two story residences erected by the Slavs. There were scores of large arched windows which illuminated the back of the palace where the emperor and his family lived.

We walked through the palace to the east and into Slavija Square and then out of the palace through the Iron Gate to Radic Brothers Square. Not crowded since the cruise boats had not yet disgorged their inhabitants. It contained a large Venetian citadel that was supposedly designed both to ward off Ottoman incursions and discourage the citizens of Split from entertaining thoughts of rebellion. There was also a large sculpture by Ivan Mestrovic of Marko Marulic. The former was a first half of the 20th century ardent Yugoslav nationalist, devout Catholic and thus an anti communist. He rejected Tito and was embraced by Eisenhower who conferred American citizenship on him. We saw his worked throughout Croatia. The latter is considered the father of the modern Croatian language. On the harbor side of the square was Croata, a boutique necktie shop which explained how Croatia invented the modern necktie. Croatian soldiers during the thirty years war tied their scarves in a distinctive manner. The French, their opponents in the war, adopted the fashion and gave it to the modern world. The ties, although very distinctive, were also pretty expensive, from about $85 to handmade ones with 24 caret gold accents that were priced at $675. (We later saw a similar store in Zagreb.)

We then went to the bigger People's Square, which is the center of the old town. Very busy with lots of cafes with outdoor seating. There was a big relief of St. Anthony. The former City Hall, which now is a museum, fronted on the square. We had lunch at a second story Croatian restaurant off an alley off the square. Good value and lots of food.

After lunch we went back into the Palace through a number of narrow alleys lined with attractive shops and walked up to the Golden Gate. This was the inland, largest and main entrance to the Palace. It had a double door design and at the top of the gate was a nicely landscaped terrace garden. Just outside the gate is another Mestrovic statue of an over sized Bishop Gregory of Nin, a 10th century Croatian priest who changed the mass in Croatia from Latin to Croatian. You rub his big toe for good luck.

Back in the fortified town we walked to the Split Synagogue. We rang the bell, but no one came out. This is supposedly the third oldest practicing synagogue in Europe, after Dubrovnik and Prague.

After that we walked to Peristyle Square, which is the center of the Palace. There was an inviting bar, the Luxor on the west side. It provided red cushions on the steps to drink outside. There was live music there, a male guitar player singing popular western songs. We walked around to the side of the Cathedral of St. Dominus, but before we went in we walked to the back of the palace on the roof. We saw a fashion photo shoot. We climbed the 200 ft. high bell tower, 183 steps (I counted them), for a sweeping, 360 degree view of Split. We then descended into the crypt, a musty domed cellar with weird acoustics. It was turned into a chapel and there were lots of scraps of paper with scrawled prayers to Saint Lucia, who was martyred by Diocletian. Finally we visited the Cathedral. We had to enter from the side and climbed up stairs. We first looked at the treasury/museum. That was skippable. The building was originally the site of Diocletian's tomb. When he died there were riots of joy and by the 7th century the building was enlarged and his mausoleum was converted to a cathedral dedicated to Bishop Dominus of nearby Salona whom he killed by drowning. Jupiter's temple was also added.

The last stop in the Palace area was the Cellars. The land sloped down to the water's edge so there was plenty of room down here. Now it is a gallery and a souvenir shop.

We left the Palace area by way of the Cardo, the main north south street in a traditional roman street plan. We passed a bank office in which modern computers were visible around the exposed Roman ruins. We walked past a park in which they were setting up for a concert. As we walked back to our room, a torrential downpour occurred. We waited that out under the stalls of the now deserted market with a French couple.   

We had some snacks and rest in our room before heading back out in the evening to walk along the Riva and further west of the Palace. We ate dinner, had some ice cream and went back to the park to listen to the concert for a while.          

Across Italy, Slovenia, and to Rovinj, Croatia

Tuesday May 5

We awoke to rain in Aosta, in the Italian Alps. This town is not in the Lonely Plant guidebook, so we were on our own. Outside the old town the town has a definite ski vibe. After breakfast we drove into the old town. There was limited and expensive parking. We meandered from a roaring river and through lots of Roman era ruins. There was an arch, old town walls, an outdoor theatre and a post office, my partner is beginning a mission to mail postcards to her mother from every country we visit. Mailing postcards from Italy to the US is very expensive, over 4 euros. We were aided in our walk around by some very helpful high school students who seeing our obvious confusion, came to our assistance with directions.

We left Aosta in the early afternoon and set out on what turned out to be a boring, long drive across northern Italy largely on expensive toll roads and were fueled by expensive gasoline. As a result of our later than planned departure from France we decided to not stop in Italy and began a practice of making lodging reservations on the fly from our mobile devices.

We crossed into Slovenia without any immigration checks. However going into Croatia was confusing. We first came to an immigration station that exited us from Slovenia. Less than 10 meters after that we came to the Croatia immigration post. Neither did more than a perfunctory check and we were off to Rovinj, a coastal town on the Istria peninsula. The toll road in this area was very good, largely deserted and expensive.

We had rented a small apartment, "soba", for two nights. We had little difficulty finding its general area, but it took a bit of time to find the exact location. Parking was on the street, but it had a separate kitchen dining room and the Internet was very good. There was a small market nearby where we shopped for breakfast food. The host spoke good English and she was both helpful and talkative.

It was located just a short walk outside of the old town. we walked into town fro dinner and ate at Agua, a harbor side restaurant. This was before the summer tourist season so there were few tourists around. The meal was a large seafood platter. the waitress was a twenty something who discussed the continuing effects of the Yugoslav wars. She said that many people still do not know what happened to their relatives and that many Croats came from the interior to live in the tourist hotels and rooms during the war to escape the fighting.

Nice evening walk back to the apartment.     

  

 

Straddling Two Continents

July 30-Aug 1 The events described occurred on those days - Istanbul

I. July 30 The drive from Selcuk to Istanbul looked like a long one, over 500 km. It turned out to be longer than expected.

Before leaving the Arky Hotel I took another pool swim and then had another acceptable breakfast, but I was still sweating after bringing our luggage down from the second floor and loading the car. We got out of Selcuk without any problem and started the drive north. We passed through the outskirts of Izmir, once the center of Greek life in Asia Minor, but now Turkey's third largest city, through Manisa with many minarets and then into the mountains. Lots of ascents and tunnels which slowed us down.  We passed through Balikesir, which seemed like a big city, but was not even mentioned in the tour book and then Bursa, like Konya, a center of Islamic traditionalism.

After about 6 hours of driving we came in the mid afternoon to the Topcular ferry that would take us across an arm of the Sea of Marmara (and avoid another 160 miles of driving.). There seemed to be a score of large auto ferries plying these waters and as soon as the boats were full, they took off.  The fare was 60 lira and they only took cash, which just about exhausted our supply of lira. The trip took about 30 minutes. A very pleasant voyage with the sun descending in the west and lots of boats. I saw off to the east that a suspension bridge was being built that when completed I assume will put most of these ferries out of business.

Once we disembarked from the ferry the drive into Istanbul was now only about 45 km and should have been completed in an hour. I forgot to account for the bottleneck at the Bosphorus Bridge. There are only two bridges that cross the Bosphorus, and this one had 6 lanes from two roads converging into two lanes. It took us over an hour to get onto the bridge. I should have recalled the long line of cars I saw approaching the bridge when we left Istanbul in May, but I forgot. In any event, the only other alternative would have been a ferry. After that our GPS directions were perfect and to my amazement we arrived at our hotel without getting lost. That was in stark contrast to our first trip to Istanbul in May when I drove around for almost an hour and even then could not make it exactly to the same hotel. A little bit of experience goes a long way.

I booked into the Blisstanbul Hotel, located in the Sisili neighborhood.  We stayed there during our brief first trip to Istanbul in May and enjoyed the hotel and its staff so we rebooked. I was surprised that several staff members remembered us when we checked in. The desk clerk, who had worked in the US, had a Virginia drivers license and liked US basketball, warmly greeted us. The shift manager who had chided us about not inquiring about the breakfast hours and the chef also warmly greeted us. We were given a room on the 7th floor. However the elevator only went up to 6. The bellman carried our bags. The room was smaller than the prior stay and overlooked an air shaft. But dinner that night in the hotel restaurant, again the menu being selected by the chef, and the breakfast the next morning were very good.

II. July 31

Istanbul is a very large city. It has over 12 million inhabitants and is the fifth largest city in the world in population. We drove through large sections of it on the Asia side coming into town and it stretched for miles on our departure three days hence. We only scratched the surface and hit the tourist highlights in our 2+ days there.

We began our tour of Istanbul pretty early. The Metro station was a 7 minute walk from the hotel, but we wasted some time trying to find a place to purchase the transit card "Istanbulkarts", to get into the Metro. We ultimately had to walk to the next station where were offers some cards by a "scalper", but I finally found a vending machine that sold the cards. 10 lira to purchase the card which can be used by multiple passengers and which the tourist book said was refundable, but none was provided when I sought one at the end of the trip, so I have a souvenir. Metro fares with the card were 1.75 euro regardless of trip length or transfers.

Six stops on the Metro took us to the Sultanahmet district, the heart of old Istanbul and site of many tourist attractions. But first we had to navigate the walk from the Metro stop to that district. We made several wrong turns, but encountered groups of college age kids dressed in blue shirts who were there to help. They were very friendly and I think volunteered to practice their English, but they ultimately got us pointed in the right direction. There are a lot of mosques in Istanbul and there are frequent and loud calls to prayer five times a day. All the mosques do not start at exactly the same time nor are their prayer calls the same. It is quite a cacophony of, sometimes annoying sound throughout the day. Luckily our hotel was not near a mosque.

We passed by the Suleymaniye mosque, one of the largest and grandest in the city. It was built in the 16th century at the direction of Sultan Suleyman I, "The Magnificent". He reigned for almost 50 years and presided over the Ottoman golden age. He codified Ottoman law, enjoyed military victories over the Hungarians conquering Rhodes, Belgrade and Budapest, conquered the North African coastal areas of what is now Tunisia and Algeria, and was the first Sultan to marry. Alas he did not enjoy martial bliss and palace intrigue brought about the death of his first two sons. He was the last Sultan to lead his army in the field and he died campaigning along the Danube. His mosque was designed by Mimur Sinan. Mimur was a Christian who was converted to Islam when he was recruited into the janizaries, the Ottoman army. His mosque design with a large central dome surrounded by smaller domes and semi domes became the standard in the Muslim world.  We passed by Istanbul University and came to a main street on which a tram line ran. After changing some money, and also changing our Georgian money for lira (a bank previously refused to accept the lari) we followed the line past the Basilica Cistern, a former subterranean water storage facility that we did not enter due to a long line, and found the Aya Sofya.

There was a line at that too, but after being unable to use the machines to purchase a pass, we purchased a three day museum pass from a van (only cash). That not only provided a discount, but it enabled us to bypass the lengthy lines.  While looking for a means to purchase the pass we were frequently approached by touts who graciously welcomed us and offered to help, but ended up wanting to take us to their rug, jewelry, or textile store or restaurant. One guy even promised to meet us when we came out and escort us to his restaurant.

The Aya Sofya is quite an extraordinarily beautiful building with an interesting and varied history. It was built at the direction of Byzantine emperor Justinian (yes, he was the same guy who directed the building of the Basilica of St. John in Selcuk. His building projects exhausted the treasury and weakened the Empire.) in the 6th century and began life as the Hagia Sophia church. One of the many mosaics in the building pictures him. The building functioned in that role until the 15th century when the Ottomans under Melmut the Conqueror conquered Constantinople, destroyed the last vestiges of the Byzantine Empire and converted the building into a mosque. Ataturk the nationalist declared it a museum in 1935.

As you enter the building through the huge Imperial Doors, they roll on wheels, there are several religious mosaics. As you pass those you enter a huge main space with a huge dome overhead. The latter collapsed two times due to earthquakes, but was rebuilt. There was a throne placed on a section of inlaid marble on the main floor where the Byzantine emperors were crowned. The Ottomans added 4 very large medallions overlooking the main floor, plus several other minor items, but it still seemed like a church. Next to a side entrance is a worn copper sheet attached to a pillar with a hole known as the Weeping Column. This pillar was blessed by St. Gregory the Miracle Worker and if you stick your finger in the hole your aliment(s) will be healed. The balls of my feet and toes still tingled at the end of the day.

Upstairs, which is reached by a ramp with lots of switchbacks, you get a terrific view of the main hall. The empress' throne (there were three Byzantine empresses who ruled in their own right) and more mosaics were up here. The tomb of Enrico Dandolo, the Doge of Venice in the 13th century is up here. I find it incongruous that he is buried here since he conquered and ransacked Constantinople during one of the Crusades yet ended up having an honored place in a church whose descricration he presided over. We exited through the Beautiful Gate which has a 2d century BC bronze frame that was brought in from Rome.

We then walked to the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts. It was housed in a former Ottoman Palace and was built on the edge of the Byzantine hippodrome. The Palace was built for Ibrahim Pasa whose life was a roller coaster ride worthy of a Fitzgerald novel. He was born a Christian in Greece and sold as a slave into the Imperial Palace There he became friends with Suleyman who was his age. When Suleyman became Sultan he freed Ibrahim who rose through the ranks to become Grand Vizier (essentially the Prime Minister) I imagine that his success was aided by, or reflected in the fact that he married Suleyman's sister. Alas, Ibrahim's good fortune did not last. One of Suleyman's wives, Roxelana, convinced Suleyman that Ibrahim was disloyal and Suleyman had him strangled 12 years after he moved into the Palace. I do not know what happened to the sister. The museum housed a lot of calligraphy and carpets from throughout the Empire as well as the history of the Ottomans.

We then took a long walk to the Galata Bridge that spans the Golden Horn. I was seeking to eat one of the city's famous fast food fish sandwiches. However what we ended up doing was eating a full dinner at one of the many restaurants under the bridge. The food selection process consisted of waiter bringing out a platter of fish from which you selected your meal. The meal is priced by the weight of the fish selected. It was a good, long  and pricey meal during which we watched the ferries coming and going, the many mosques silhouetted against the city's hills and the sun setting over the Bosphorus.

After the meal we continued walking west until we came to the Metro bridge. There is a Metro stop in the middle of the bridge and we took that back to the hotel. Very efficient. We stopped for ice cream walking back to the hotel.

The hotel offered to upgrade our room so we packed up before going to bed.

III. August 1

Following the good and filling hotel breakfast we again took the Metro to the Sultanahmut District. We walked in the direction the Topkapi Palace. However before we arrived at the Place we stopped at a cemetery with lots of cats and several smaller tombs of former sultans. We also visited the Ottoman Tombs that are adjacent to the Aya Sofya. There are separate rooms that house the tombs of five Ottoman Sultans and their families and relatives. A lot of opulence for death.  Outside one of the rooms there were replicas of many tiles. The sign explained that during the 19th century the French took the originals to clean and repair them. Notwithstanding repeated Turkish requests, the originals remain in the Louvre. I suspect that the French have a different version of these events.

The Palace was built by the Ottoman emperors in stages. It is a gigantic compound set on a magnificent site overlooking the Bosphorus and looking out to Asia. There was a very expensive restaurant looking out to Asia. The name does not do it justice as it  has several courtyards surrounded by many building, and a pool, and at its height housed over 4000 royals and staff/servants. The highlights included: the huge Palace Kitchen which had beautiful porcelain dinnerware that allegedly changed color if the food was poisoned; the Harem, which was the royal family's quarters, consisted of over 300 rooms including a complex for the Black Eunuchs and seemed to be under the direction of the emperor's mother; the Treasury; and the Marble Terrace. The Sultans could have up to four legitimate wives, but generally had scores of concubines. Murat III allegedly had 112 children. There even was a room set aside for circumcisions. The Baghdad Kiosk commemorated the conquest of Baghdad which I thought was particularly beautiful. There was too much to see in one day, so we left.

We then walked over to the Bazaar District. This area is home to two of Istanbul's grand Ottoman buildings, the Suleymaniye and Beyazit Mosques, but we were mosqued out so we made our way to the Grand Bazaar. This was established under Mehmet in the 15th century and has grown, I might say metastasized, into a sprawling, covered shopping mall. It is a labyrinthine market in which you can seemingly purchase anything. rankly I was overwhelmed and probably shopped out. It has main thoroughfares and narrow alleyways in which goods are not only sold, but they are also produced by local craftsmen. This would be heaven for someone who likes to shop and bargain. One could easily spend days inside, but we did not.

We had reserved tickets for a Dervish ceremony that evening through our hotel, but we had to find the performance site in the Faith district to pay for and pick them up. That was a bit of a walk and by the time we got there we needed to eat in the immediate area of the event. We ate at a small restaurant, lured in by the entries of a barker and the promise of a flaming meal prepared in a clay pot in a short time. The meal's preparation was a dramatic performance performed in the narrow street.

It is a religious ceremony during which no words are spoken. It begins with extended chanting which is the most important part of the ceremony. Then the whirling begins. There were six whirlers dressed in long coats. They seemed to be in a trance. The whirling enables the adherents to achieve a higher union with God. It lasted about 75 minutes and was an interesting ceremony.

After that we walked back to the Metro station on the bridge and returned to our hotel. We had been moved to a more spacious room that did not funnel noise up the air shaft.













     

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.