Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - Ephesus

For anyone posting comments on the blog, they come to us as “anonymous”. Please add at least your name and maybe email, and I may be able to respond. THANKS! 

 

Wednesday, April 19 – Kusadasi & Ephesus, Turkey 

This definitely is a long one. 

We arrived at the port of Kusadasi and were cleared for going ashore a little before 8:00 a.m.  

We have a private tour (small group) today. One that I made the arrangements for. In 2007 we took a 4-day cruise out of Athens with some friends. One of our stops was at Kusadasi and we took a tour of Ephesus from the ship. We had a great guide, but it was pretty much a forced march through Ephesus so that we could get back to Kusadasi for shopping. 

We were really impressed with Ephesus. When we first booked this World Cruise and found a stop in Kusadasi/Ephesus we were delighted. But. This time I don’t want a 3-hour tour through the boat. I want more time at the site. So, I started researching private guides. We must remember, when we booked this, Covid was exploding all over the world. Many tour operators that had been very busy simply were gone. Early in 2022, I did locate a company that was operating again and contacted them. The suggested itinerary sounded good, and the guide was very responsive. They were also very reasonably priced. I put out a notice to other World Cruisers (using Cruise Critic) about this tour and had 7 other couples that wanted to join us. 

The group gathered a little before 8:00 a.m. downstairs in the Atrium. We are missing one participant that isn’t feeling well so have a total of 15. We are the first ones to go ashore and just coming out of the terminal, our guide (Ismail) is waiting for us. We walked a couple of blocks to the van and driver and off we go towards Ephesus. It was less than 20 minutes to arrive at the upper entrance to this archeological site. The archeological dig has been going on for 106 years. Russ and I noticed right away that a lot has changed since 2007. 

Not sure where to put this comment, so it ends up here. Today could not have been any better. Everything came together perfectly and we had absolutely perfect weather. A little cool, but no jackets. Sunny, but interesting clouds drifting by. Great lighting for taking photos.

Ismail was great. He would gather us around and talk to us for a while about the area we were in, then he would say “go take your pictures” and meet me and we’ll walk to the next spot. He was funny and very interesting conveying information about the peoples that had lived here. Excavations go back at least to the 10^th century BC! It was a very busy seaport and one of the major capitals of the world. In the 2^nd century AD the harbor silted up and there was no longer a reason for the city to exist. The water is now 7 kilometers from where it had been.

The old fort at the Kusadasi port

The statue at the top of the hill is Attaturk. Turkey's George Washington.

The pastel colored houses are "gypsy houses".

This is not an amphitheater. It was equivalent to their Senate. It was covered and sat approximately 1,500 persons.

we are in the "Upper Town" which was governmental and similar activities.

The bare fields you can see in the distance would have been the Mediterranean.

This is a sign post for a doctor's office. 

It is very similar to the symbol used today by medical people.

This is Nike.

You can even see the Nike "swoosh"

This is the Hercules Gate. It was the dividing line between the Upper Town and the Lower Town

The Library of Celsus at the foot of this street.

It is one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. It held more than 12,000 scrolls.

Explanation of . . .

And map of . . .

THIS

Probably houses. But in front of these buildings

Are amazing mosaic floors

The building is a cover for a current dig of the Terrace Houses.

This is the Temple of Hadrian

A public toilet. Men only. But with running water constantly flushing the waste away.

They also had functioning toilets in their homes.

Just around the corner from the public toilet.

There really are no "services" inside the site. Except for this little snack stand tucked into a corner not far from the Library.

Pretty neat looking library.

Looking back up the street we've walked down. Crowds are starting to increase a bit.

Our merry band of World Cruisers with Ismail taking a selfie

It is spring here. We were pleased to see this Redbud tree in full bloom.

This is the amphitheater. This would seat 25,000. This tells the archeologists that Ephesus had a population of about 250,000 people.

Some of our group went to the top and said they could hear someone speaking from the area of the stage.

A little info about the theatre.

From a distance, a chance to see the whole theatre.

 

 

 

We noticed quite a few dogs and cats. All looked quite healthy and were friendly. The dogs had tags in their ears. We asked Ismail about this and he said the tag shows that the municipality has accepted responsibility for these animals and makes sure they are healthy. I believe the animals have been neutered. The cats were a little more skittish, but then cats are more skittish. I saw more than one cat that appeared to have been spayed.

 

 

 

We walked and talked and took pictures for a couple of hours, you could probably spend days here just exploring, but it was the perfect amount of time for us today. We then moved on to our second stop. The Basilica of St. John the Apostle. The apostle John taught here in the early days of Christianity. Jesus’ mother Mary also lived out the final days of her life near here. John and Mary had fled Israel after Christ was crucified as their lives were in danger. Mary lived quietly. John taught and tried to convert the Ephesians to Christianity. 

Today the Basilica is just a ruin with some minor reconstruction. The original building was destroyed primarily by earthquakes. But it tells an interesting story.

At the horizon is the Mediterranean. It used to be where the fields are.

An old olive oil press

The tomb of St. John

Interesting inlaid marble floor

 

 

 

Our third stop is at the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk. Selcuk is the closest community to the archeological sites we visited. The museum houses artifacts that have been found at Ephesus. Displayed beautifully and some very unusual items. It was fascinating, educational, and beautiful. It completes your visit to Ephesus.

This is wood carved in deep relief. Either a mantle or on a piece of furniture.

Detail is mind-blowing.

Beautiful busts.

This is bronze

There was a head that was right next to this piece that was on the same scale.

 

Something Ismail pointed out were stork nests. Selcuk is known for the storks that come here in March to mate. The community has built elevated platforms that the storks can (and do) use for their nests. The nest can weight up to 250 kilos. We were pretty sure we saw birds in several of the nests.

Any high point is popular with the storks for their nests.

 

 

 

A short drive into the countryside we were at a rug manufacturing cooperative that the Turkish government has sponsored. It brings women from nearby villages to work on rugs, providing them with a skill and income. Associated with the rug factory was a restaurant that was also sponsored by government. We had an excellent meal in a quiet environment prepared by local men and women. It came with appetizers of tzatziki, a tomato and red pepper dip, bread, olive oil, pomegranate syrup (as salad dressing), fresh salad, fried cheese rolls, eggplant/potato/green pepper casserole, either BBQ chicken or meatballs.

Bread and Tzatziki

the local olive oil and pomegranate syrup on the bread were excellent.

Tomato and red pepper salad/dip and fresh salad

Fried cheese rolls and a casserole of potatos, eggplant and tomato sauce.

Missed taking a picture of the chicken and meatballs, but both were excellent.

This is dessert. Somehow made from bread, but soaked in honey with some Tahini with it.

 

 

 

None of our group was interested in the rug making, but an interest in pottery had been expressed, so we went back in to Selcuk to a small store/factory that has been in this family for 7 generations. We were given a brief demonstration, offered tea, and then invited to look around. The pieces they make are works of art. The ceramic they use is 65% quartz that has been ground up mixed with 35% clay. It makes a very strong ceramic. The painting is extremely detailed and very colorful. A few of us did make the stop worthwhile. 

At this point, we had pretty well exhausted the itinerary. Everyone seemed very happy with the day. Ismail dropped us off at the port. Between the street entrance to the port and the cruise terminal is a shopping mall. A lot of the stores sold rugs, higher end leather goods, jewelry and clothes. Not much in the way of chachis. Merchants were dressed nicely and although they tried to get you to come into their stores, they were quite polite. 

We have had lots of excellent excursions and seen wonderful things over the last 120 days. But this day will be a standout. Our excursion was exactly what I had hoped it would be and those that joined us seemed to enjoy it as well.