Türkiye 2/1/2020 - 2/9/2020 |
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Saturday, 2/8/2020 - Ephesus, Ephesus Museum, Temple of Artemis, ŞirinceAfter a good night's sleep, we woke up at 5:30 a.m. to give ourselves a bit more time to acquaint ourselves with the layout of the hotel and find our way to breakfast on time. We figured out that A, B, and C blocks are connected by corridors on all floors. So we walked to B block and were then able to take that elevator to the breakfast room. After a good night's sleep, it wasn't as confusing as we had feared. (Though we did notice that A block room numbers are prefixed with a "1", B block with a "2", and C block with a "3". Why not name the blocks 1, 2, and 3 then? Or prefix the room numbers with A, B, or C? Consistency generally makes things less confusing!)The breakfast buffet was quite robust. There were freshly made pastries and donuts, simit, charcuterie, cheese, scrambled eggs, fruit, Turkish phyllo pastry filled with eggplant, cheese, or spinach, little pockets of bulgur stuffed with mincemeat, fresh fruit, halvah, Turkish delight, cereal, yogurt, apple juice, coffee, and more. We met Toplum in the lobby and exited through the conference center to meet Mehmet and get into the van. As we drove out of the city, we passed a huge bust of Atatürk carved into a rocky hillside. It took about 75 minutes to reach Ephesus. When we arrived, Mehmet dropped us off at the Upper Gate area. Toplum prefers to start tours here, as opposed to entering via the lower parking lot. By proceeding in this directions, the sights build to a crescendo, with the most impressive ruins at the end. Before entering the complex, we stopped to use a public rest room. I bought an informative guidebook which contains photographs of Ephesus today as well as acetate overlays to show what the ruins looked like in their prime, before they were, well, ruins. In brief, Ephesus was founded by the Greeks in the 10th century B.C. The cult of Artemis of Ephesus grew out of syncretism between the Greek goddess Artemis and Anatolian Mother Goddess Cybele. It is thought that the first iteration of the Temple of Artemis was built around the 8th century B.C. The temple brought many pilgrims to Ephesus over the years, and the economy of the city was bolstered by tourism and sales of religious souvenir idols and statues. Over the centuries, the city changed hands from the Greeks to the Persians, back to the Greeks, and then to Pergamon. In 129 B.C., the city came under the purview of the Roman Empire. Ephesus became a city with many Roman elements. The city is massive; it is said to have supported a population of 300,000 at its height. Ephesus was very important to early Christianity. Paul the Apostle lived here for two years around 50 A.D. Ephesus was one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse written about by John the Revelator, and has been the destination of Christian pilgrimages for centuries. As Toplum gave us some background information, several street cats wandered the area, and a dog woke up from a nap. We looked at the informational placards and maps. Historical Ephesus had a natural harbor providing access to the Aegean Sea. However, like other settlements in the area which sprung up along rivers, millennia of silt buildup changed the landscape, and ancient Ephesus is now 5 kilometers from the coast. It was the same fate that befell Sardis; both cities lost their relevance when transportation faltered. Entering through the Upper Gate, the first ruins that we encountered were the Upper Gymnasium Baths, built into the foot of Mount Pion. The air was chilly, but the sun was starting to crest the surrounding hills to shine its warming rays on us. The sky was blue, providing a very stark contrast between yesterday's weather and today's. The sunlight made everything appear crisp, emphasizing the details carved into the stonework. The sense of history was palpable, and we spent hours exploring the site. As in Istanbul, there are tons of street cats in this area, and they were quite friendly. A curious little kitten approached us. Craig pet him, and I picked him up for a photo. A couple of cats even followed us around as we explored, until they reached another cat's territory, and then they backed off. I could tell immediately that a good portion of my time would be spent photographing street cats in front of picturesque historic ruins. (Toplum tells us that there is a beautiful coffee table book about cats of Ephesus which is full of just these kinds of photos). Across from the Upper Gymnasium Baths was the political agora. Next we walked through the Basilica Stoa, also known as the Royal Walk. It was a massive covered walkway built in 11 A.D. Of its original 67 columns, mostly bases remain. There are also half a dozen surviving column capitals carved in the shape of bulls. There were a few tourist groups around, but they all seemed to be in much more of a rush than we were. As we stood admiring the ruins and listening to the information Toplum was providing, people would appear, take a quick look around, and then disappear out of view. The Odeon was immediately recognizable as an amphitheatre. It was built in the second century A.D. by Publius Vedius Antoninus. It could seat 1500 people, and was used for concerts and city council meetings. The theatre was semicircular, with bench seating interrupted by narrow staircases. The bottom few rows of bench seats were still clad in white marble, while upper rows showed the stacked stone underlayment. The Prytaneion (City Hall) was second only to the Temple of Artemis in terms of importance to the city. The sacred fire of Hestia (Vesta) burned here. Today there isn't a whole lot left, as materials from this structure were recycled to construct the Baths of Varius. The Monument of Memmius belongs to the late Hellenistic period (1st century B.C.). Several caryatids (columns carved into the shape of women) are still visible here. The narrow Hercules Gate, built in the 5th century A.D., was once topped by a lovely carving of the winged goddess Nike. The carving now sits on the ground, and I got a photo of it flanked by street cats. At the Hercules Gate, we stepped onto Curetes Street. This wide avenue, paved in large white marble slabs, is 210 meters long, leading downhill (a 20 meter height differential) toward the Celsus Library. Processions would pass this way on their way to the Temple of Artemis, so the street is names after the priests (curetes) who would lead these processions. Parallel grooves visible in the surface of the marble were made by cart wheels over the years. Toplum suggested that we stop and take a minute to contemplate the fact that our feet were literally standing on the same marble roadway where Julius Caesar and Mark Antony once walked. As someone who studied Classics and Latin for 5 years, I found this to be an overwhelming realization. Arriving here early in the morning meant that we were largely alone for a few hours. We took the opportunity to get a photo of ourselves in the middle of Curetes Street, with the impressive facade of the Celsus library in the distance, without a single soul in sight. Ephesus can be absolutely packed with tourists during the summer, especially since it is a very popular cruise ship shore excursion. Traveling off-season really makes the experience so much more enjoyable. The Fountain of Trajan was once 12 meters high, but it has been reconstructed with truncated columns. Emperor Trajan visited Ephesus between 102 and 104 A.D., and the city built this structure in his honor. The majority of the statue of Trajan which once graced the fountain is missing, but the feet are still visible. We climbed a set of marble stairs to explore the 1st century A.D. Baths of Varius. These baths are also known as the Baths of Scolastica, as they were renovated in the 5th century by Cristina Scolastica, whose headless statue remains in the ruins to this day. She was a madame at the nearby brothel but also was a philanthropist who gave back to the city. The apodyterium (dressing room) is where people would disrobe and store their belongings. Slaves would wait here for their masters to finish bathing. We could see an ancient gameboard etched into the marble floor here, for slaves to pass the time. We wandered into the frigidarium and tepidarium. Half buried terra cotta pipes were visible protruding from the ground. The caldarium was off-limits, but we could see remnants of the hypocaust system (stone pedestals which raised the floor, providing a subterranean chamber which was heated by furnaces) through the chain link fence. The Temple of Hadrian (which inspired the logo of Ephesus) dates to the 2nd century A.D. There is a portrait of Tyche (Goddess of Fortune) in the center of the elaborately decorated arch. One interesting building was the public latrine. The "seats" are very close together; there are long rectangular slabs of marble with keyhole shaped holes every 18 inches or so. Likes the baths, the latrines were a social hub of the city. Roman slave owners were known to send their slaves to sit there ahead of time to warm the marble seat up for them! A sophisticated water systems carried waste to city sewers. They even had fountains so that the moving water would mask bodily sounds. People cleaned up using a communal tersorium (sponge on a stick). This would be soaked in vinegar in between users. Though this seems particularly unhygeinic by today's standards, Ephesus was known to have the most hygienic latrines in the Roman Empire, because they provided a new tersorium each day. A large, modern, hangar-like building towered over Curetes Street, separated from the marble street by a strip of mosaics. This was once part of a portico which led to a shopping gallery below the "terrace houses." Toplum asked if we would like to go inside to see the terrace houses. We didn't really know what this meant, but we were always up for seeing as much as possible. Toplum explained to Craig that there are some stairs involved, and made sure that Craig was feeling up to it. It turns out that the terrace houses were one of the biggest highlights of our visit to Ephesus. The building looks unassuming from the outside (we originally thought it might be some kind of museum), and carries a separate entrance fee. Perhaps because of a combination of these two factors, very few people were checking it out today. Toplum says that even during high tourist season, it doesn't get very crowded, because the larger tour groups tend to skip it. The terrace houses were occupied between the 1st century B.C. and the 7th century A.D. We explored Terrace House 2, a 4000-square-meter insula (Roman apartment block) which contains seven residential units spanning 3 levels. Since excavation, it has been covered by a modern, hangar-like structure to protect it from the elements. Glass walkways and steel staircases have been installed to provide tourist access without disturbing the integrity of the site. The scale of this terrace house was immense. Each of the seven units contained its own peristyle (courtyard set off from the rest of a building by columns) flanked by about a dozen small rooms which were in various stages of restoration. We entered Unit 6 via its peristyle courtyard. Behind this room was a large banquet room nicknamed the Marble Hall due to the fact that the walls had been covered with large decorative colored marble panels. This room dates back to 100 A.D. Over a dozen sawhorse-style plywood tables were covered with marble fragments. These were in the process of being re-assembled, like jigsaw puzzles, by the archaeological team in the ongoing restoration process. It must be a painstaking process, though Toplum mentioned that software makes such things much easier than they used to be in the past. The basilica of Unit 6 was decorated with frescoes of masks (dating back to 160 A.D.), indicating that the space was used for the entertainment of guests. In addition to the decorative frescoes, there was also faux finish paintwork to make some of the walls resemble marble. The floors here were covered with geometric patterned mosaics. We walked up a set of stairs to access Unit 5 on the second level. We had a view down into Unit 7. This unit had contained marble busts of Empress Livia and Emperor Tiberius, as well as a bronze snake statue. We would see these works of art at the Ephesus Museum later this afternoon. There is graffiti on the walls of this unit, written on top of vibrant red wall paint. Young boys drew themselves play acting gladiatorial fights, and there were shopping lists along with prices. There were some beautiful mosaic floors on the upper levels, which date to the 1st-3rd century A.D. Toplum pointed out that the tessera of indoor mosaics are much finer than their outdoor counterparts. Unit 2 contained an incredibly detailed mosaic of Triton & Nereid. Unit 3 contained portraits of Dionysus and Medusa, as well as a snarling lion standing over a bull's head. Unit 3 also contained lovely frescoes of birds, while unit 5 contained fresco portraits of philosophers Cheilon and Socrates. The terrace houses had indoor plumbing and latrines. We could see terra cotta pipes embedded in walls and under the floors. In Unit 1, we could also see the remains of the hypocaust system through which hot air was circulated in a hollow chamber beneath the floor (held up by ceramic pedestals) to provide heat. We exited Terrace House 2 and walked down a series of stairs, emerging at Hadrian's Gate. This structure dates back to 117 A.D. One of the most iconic and impressive sights in Ephesus is the Library of Celsus. Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, Governor of Asia Minor ane proconsul of Ephesus, died in 114 A.D., having bequeathed 25000 dinars for the construction of the library and annual purchase of books. The library was constructed in his memory by his son in 117 A.D. It was initially stocked with 12000 books in the form of papyrus scrolls. The original statues from the library are at the Ephesus Museum in Vienna, but the replicas on display here are still impressive. Four female statues, representing character traits possessed by Celsus, adorn niches in the elaborate 2-story columned facade: wisdom, virtue, judgment, knowledge. Celsus was entombed beneath the library. The library was destroyed by an earthquake in 270 A.D., and underwent restoration in the 1970's. The facade is the most restored portion of the building. Once you enter, the interior walls are made of brick and stone. Their heights are incomplete, but you can see the niches which once held the scrolls, as well as an apse in the rear wall. A menorah is carved into one of the marble steps entering the library. Like the synagogue in Sardis, it is again a reminder of Jewish minority presence in the area throughout history. Although there were few tourists here today, some of them had a disproportionate impact on the experience. One woman in particular spent the better part of a half hour posing in the same location while a friend photographed her. After each photo, they would hand her the phone, she would inspect the photo, try to edit it, and then hand it back for another while preening her hair or adjusting her wardrobe. Anyone who took a photo of the library's facade over the course of 30 minutes had this woman primping in the foreground. I certainly understand the desire to get a good photo, but real-time editing while occupying a prime spot is just selfish. Perpendicular to the library, providing access to the commerical agora, lie the Gates of Mazaeus and Mithridates from the 1st century B.C. These gates were built by former slaves of Emperor Augustus who were set free because of their good character and work ethic. They settled in Ephesus and worked as merchants. They funded the building of these gates to show their gratitude to their former master. Across from the library is the lupanar, or house of pleasure. This was a brothel which dates to the 1st - 3rd century B.C. Cristina Scolastica was a revered madame who was also a benefactor of the city. She had henna dyed red hair (an identifying characteristic for prostitutes), and she was an astute businesswoman. She is known to have imported crocodile intestines from Egypt to use as condoms in her brothel. There were even tunnels from the library to the brothel; imagine giving the excuse that you were studying at the library only to clandestinely make your way to the local whorehouse. A statue of Priapus (Greek god of fertility) with an exagerrated phallus was found on a small pillar in the lupanar; we would see this figurine in the Ephesus Museum this afternoon. We walked down the Marble Road, a street paved with slabs of white marble. Carved into one of the marble slabs is an ancient advertisement for the lupanar! There is a left foot, which indicates that the location of the brothel is ahead on the left. A square indicates that it is a square building. There is a portrait of a woman's face, and a heart filled with dots indicates that there is room for everyone. A street cat was posing on the marble slab, meowing at me as I took a photo of the brothel ad. I see what he did there...it's a cat house! Further down the Marble Road, we arrived at the Grand Theatre of Ephesus. It was incredibly humbling. The 25,000 seat theater was originally built by the Greeks between the 3rd and the 1st centuries B.C. (For perspective, this is a larger capacity than the Boston Garden, which tops out at 20,000). In the Greek architectural tradition, it was built into the hillside. (It was the Romans who discovered how to build freestanding amphitheaters like the Roman Colosseum.) The Greeks liked to enjoy nature in conjunction with their entertainment. The beautiful landscape beyond the stage was visible to the audience. Romans preferred for audiences to focus on the performance or lecture, so under Domitian and Trajan (81-117 A.D.) they build a large edifice blocking the view of the landscape. Performances of new works would first be held at the much smaller Odeon. If a patron liked it, they would pay the performer to stage it at the Grand Theatre and ticket money would go to the city. It was here at the theatre that Paul the Apostle (Saul of Tarsus) planned to lecture against the cult of Artemis. He was upset that there was an entire economy in Ephesus built around Paganism during early Christian times. He wanted to convert the Gentiles of Ephesus to Christianity. Those who made their livelihoods by catering to the cult of Artemis (especially the silversmiths, who fashioned and sold idols of the goddess) were angered. They saw to it that Saint Paul was not only denied entrance to the theatre, but also arrested and imprisoned in a tower. We got to climb up in the nosebleed seats of the theatre. It was breathtaking. Of course there were cats here as well, basking in the sunlight on the seating benches. It was so surreal to be in a Classical theater, and to have the place practically to ourselves! We walked along the Arkadiane (Harbor Street), which had led to the former site of the harbor, before years of silt deposits rendered it no longer viable. We saw the ruins of the Harbor Gymnasium/Bath complex, comprising 70,000 square meters. The gymnasium athletic field was huge, and sarcophagi are on display there. The word sarcophagus literally means flesh-eating. Dead bodies were placed in sarcophagi to decompose. Once the bones were clean of flesh, they were placed in smaller boxes, the length of the longest bone in the human body (femur). The sarcophagi were richly carved and denoted the social status of the deceased. Adjacent to the athletic field, we could see the foundation of the bath complex. We continued on to the Church of Mary (Council Church). This was the first church wholly dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The 3rd Ecumenical Council convened here in 431 A.D., and debated whether to call Mary Mother of Christ or Mother of God. They decided on the latter. There is a large well-preserved baptistry here. We exited the Ephesus complex after making a quick pit stop at the rest rooms and buying a book and a small Artemis statue at the gift shop. We reached the van after walking through a gauntlet of shops. We were particularly amused by a sign advertising "Genuine Fake Watches". Many people enter the Ephesus complex at this location, traversing the site in the opposite direction. We preferred the way we did it, entering through the upper gate. Going in our direction not only means that you are walking downhill for the majority of the visit; it also means that the ruins that you see get increasingly more impressive as you go, culminating in the Terrace Houses, Library of Celsus, and the Grand Theatre. We had a wonderful experience at Ephesus. Going off-season meant that there were far fewer tourists than we have subsequently seen in photographs of the place during the summer. At one point today, we even had all of Curetes Street to ourselves (well, us and the street cats)! The site is also quite exposed and must be very hot in the summer sun. Toplum asked what we would like to do for lunch today. He gave us a few choices, and once again we preferred something low key and relatively quick. We decided upon finding a place to enjoy some pide, a Turkish pizza, so to speak. Mehmet drove us to the nearby Agora Restaurant, and we got a table inside. They brought us bread, along with condiments for dipping: olive oil, pomegranate molasses, cumin, and chili pepper powder. Craig and I each ordered a bowl of soup and a mincemeat pide. The soup was a delicious cream of tomato, topped with shredded cheese. Each pide was a long, canoe-shaped piece of dough topped with mincemeat and melted cheese. It was absolutely delicious, but there was more than we had anticipated. We probably should have split a single order of pide rather than ordering one for each of us. But we took the leftovers with us...there is never a shortage of hungry street cats! Across the parking lot from the restaurant is the Ephesus Museum. This lovely museum contains Ephesian artifacts dating back to 6000 B.C., including clay amphorae and obsidian tools. There are painted clay vessels from 1400 B.C. and terra cotta figurines from the 6th century B.C. Gold and gemstone jewelry dates from the 4th to 1st century B.C. Ephesians loved to play games, and there were marble game boards to prove it. (Board games are still very popular in the cafes of modern Istanbul, and we saw many backgammon sets for sale in the Grand Bazaar). There are Roman-era artifacts unearthed in the Terrace Houses (marble busts, a marble table with a carved wooden leg, an elaborately carved ivory frieze) as well as the statue of Priapus with a huge phallus which once stood on a pedestal at the lupanar (brothel). The real jewels of the museum's collection are two breathtaking marble statues of Artemis. They date back to the Roman period (1st and 2nd century A.D.) and were unearthed from the Prytaneion. The so-called "Great Artemis" is a Roman-era reproduction of the statue which originally sat in the center of the Temple of Artemis. She wears a headdress, and her robe is adorned with carvings of lions, bulls, goats, griffins, deer, sphinxes, and bees. The "Beautiful Artemis" is made of finer grade marble and the workmanship is more detailed. She is flanked by sacred deer. Both statues show the goddess with dozens of bulbous protrusions from her abdomen. These are believed to symbolize fertility, though they have been alternately interpreted as breast, eggs, or sacrificial bull testicles. Craig and I each independently concluded that we thought they most resembled testicles, at least in terms of "Great Artemis." There are also statues which used to adorn the Pollio Fountain, the Fountain of Trajan, and the Prytaneion. They did a good job of trying to illustrate how these pieces related to the ruins we had seen earlier in the day, but it was still a lot to take in. Museums can be challenging for Craig, as he tends to get overwhelmed and unable to focus. My strategy at museums that allow photography is to move through quickly, making sure to photograph as many items as I can, along with their informational placards. Don't get me wrong; I do take the time to inspect items of interest carefully, but I know that my memory will never do justice to what I have seen. The photos will provide me with the information that I need as a jumping off point for further research once I get home. To that end, I also purchased a book of the exhibit in the gift shop to assist in my deeper dive after getting home. We had spent more time exploring Ephesus than Toplum had originally expected, but he and Mehmet were extremely flexible. They let us take our time and never rushed us. But now we were behind schedule, and we hadn't yet visited the Temple of Artemis or the picturesque village of Şirince. Craig and I assumed that we had probably forfeited our chance to see these due to the time, but we had no regrets. Exploring Ephesus in depth had been invigorating. But we found that Toplum and Mehmet had no intention of cutting our itinerary short even though we were behind schedule. We were very grateful, as this means that they would be working a longer day than anticipated. Mehmet drove us the short distance to the former site of the Ephesian Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Not much remains today, as its materials were recycled for use in other building projects. It is thought that the first iteration of the Temple of Artemis was built around the 8th century B.C., an example of syncretism between the Greek goddess Artemis and Anatolian Mother Goddess Cybele. By the time the Lydians came to power in Ephesus in 560 B.C., this original temple had been destroyed by Cimmerians. In 550 B.C., Lydian King Creosus funded the rebuilding of the temple, with a design by Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes. The scale of the building was massive, with its columns reaching 40 feet in height. This was the Temple of Artemis which became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple was severely damaged in 356 B.C., when Herostratus set it on fire. Alexander the Great offered to finance the rebuilding of the temple, but the Ephesians insisted on doing it themselves without his help. They rebuilt it even bigger starting in 323 B.C.: 137 m (450 ft) long by 69 m (225 ft) wide and 18 m (60 ft) high. It contained more than 127 columns. What had already been considered a Wonder of the Ancient World was now even more massive! By 401 A.D., the temple was a victim of spoliation. It was disassembled and its building blocks were used to build St. Paul Basilica, a mosque, and military building, all of which can be seen in the distance from the temple site. From the time we got out of the van to the time we got back in, we were verbally bombarded by the single other person at the temple site: an elderly postcard vendor. He shouted repeatedly in thickly accented English, "Postcards! Postcards!" We smiled and shook our heads, saying no thank you. But he was undeterred. He followed after us, shouting just as loudly, "Postcardspostcardspostcardspostcards!" We were literally the only two tourists here, and we had already made it clear that we were not interested in buying postcards, the only items he had for sale. I don't know if he thought he would wear us down or what. I guess nothing has changed since the days of Paul the Apostle; the vendors at the Temple of Artemis are relentless! We couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of the situation. Today there isn't much to indicate that this site was once a Wonder of the Ancient World. There is only a single column fully standing. Unlike its counterparts in Sardis, this column has not been standing continuously. It was restored and erected from various pieces. It, along with the cleared foundation, gives a sense for how immense this ancient structure actually was in its heyday, though most other architectural elements have long since been repurposed elsewhere. Toplum directed our attention to a large nest on top of the column's capital. It is a stork nest, and there were storks and other water birds in a pond on one end of the site. The postcard guy continued yelling until we were back in the van, at which point Craig snarkily asked Toplum, "Do you know where we might find some postcards?" We all shared a good laugh. We drove a short distance further through orchards of peach, orange, and olive trees. Izmir and vicinity have a thriving dried fruit industry. We followed winding country roads into the hills to the village of Şirince. Şirince dates back to the Hellenistic period (4th century B.C.) Its bucolic setting is perfect for wine production, and the small village is a popular tourist destination. Its narrow, steep cobblestone streets in the village center are closed to traffic, making it a lovely place to stroll and browse in independent specialty food and artisan shops or enjoy coffee, tea, wine, or a hookah at an outdoor cafe. Locally produced commodities include olive oil, pomegranate molasses, natural soaps, marzipan candies, Turkish delight, honey, and nuts. Craig bought some almonds from a nut seller. The sidewalk in front of a jewelry shop was inlaid with glass nazar boncogu (evil eye) amulets. A large tree next to a wine shop was also bedecked in these amulets. Before we got back into the van to return to Izmir, I fed some of our lunch leftovers to the street cats of Şirince. One of them only had a single eye, and when I started to feed her, others would bully her and try to take the food from her. I ended up feeding around half a dozen cats, but I made sure the one eyed cat got plenty! Life can't be easy for her. Şirince would be a great place to stay if you have the opportunity to spend multiple days exploring Ephesus and surrounding areas. There's certainly enough to do in the area to justify it. But Toplum says that this village is easily overrun with bus tour and cruise ship passengers in the summer. Again, off-season is best. We were rather quiet and reflective on the drive back to Izmir. Tomorrow we would be returning home. The trip had only been a week long, but we had experienced and learned so much! Even today, we had managed to fit in all of the scheduled activities. We were 90 minutes later than scheduled, but Toplum and Mehmet were so generous with their time. They genuinely seemed happy to see how much we were enjoying the various sights, and selflessly allowed us to take all the time we wanted to. We are very grateful for their patience, and for all of the knowledge that Toplum imparted to us! Craig and I had been silently hoping that we would make it back to Izmir in time to conclude our trip with a view of the sun setting over the Aegean. We were racing the sun the entire way back. It was sinking quickly, with its late afternoon light illuminating the westward facing approaching buildings of Izmir. A nearly full moon hovered in the blue sky above the city. Craig and I were sure that we would be too late. The sun looked like it would sink below the horizon at any moment. When Toplum and Mehmet dropped us off at the hotel, we immediately and hurriedly walked toward the ocean. We were close; we just might make it. We walked out onto the promenade and watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, where the mountains meet the sea. The sky turned orange. What a perfect way to conclude our trip to Türkiye. As we walked back to the hotel, we stopped to look at a statue of Atatürk on his horse. We had no need for dinner tonight; our late lunch had been huge. We could once again get by with our granola bars, coupled with the almonds that Craig had bought in Şirince. We had to pack for an early morning start on our journey home tomorrow. We would have to fly back to Istanbul. From there, we had originally booked a non-stop flight to Boston. However, that flight had been canceled, and we were rebooked with a layover in Washington, D.C. So it would be a longer day of travel than originally anticipated. I discovered that we needed a little more local cash for gratuities, so I called the front desk to see if there was an ATM in the hotel. There wasn't (one more point in favor of the Shangri-La), but there is one on the sidewalk on the same block. I made a quick trip out to the ATM, and then we finished up our packing. It is amazing how many sites we were able to explore in a mere week. This is why we enjoy guided tours, as the logistics are taken care of for us and we can maximize our sightseeing time. We will certainly return to Türkiye some day, to see Cappadoccia, Troy, and more of Istanbul. This week-long trip was a great introduction to this culturally rich nation. Ephesus Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Wonder of the Ancient World Sirince |
 Kitten at the upper gymnasium baths  Prytaneion (City Hall)  Kedi  Curetes Street all to ourselves, walking in the footsteps of Julius Caesar  Baths of Varius (Scolastica Baths)  Temple of Hadrian  Kedi on Curetes Street, with Terrace House #2 to the left  Latrine  Terrace House 2  1st-3rd century A.D. mosaics from Terrace House 2: Triton & Nereid from unit 2, lion with bull's head from unit 3  Library of Celsus and Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates  Petting a kedi on the Library of Celsus steps  Ancient advertisement for the local brothel  Grand Theatre  Grand Theatre Kedi  Grand Theatre and the Harbor Road  Church of Mary  Beautiful Artemis 2nd century A.D., Great Artemis 1st century A.D.  Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, one of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World  Sunset over the Aegean, Izmir See all photos from February 8 |
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 Odeon  View from Baths of Varius (Scolastica)  Terrace House #2  Commercial Agora |
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