Monday, May 03, 2010

THE WAY TO EPHESUS

EPHESUS - JULY 2009

A visit to the ruins of Ephesus is a must if you're travelling somehow to the Anatolian Peninsula in Turkey. The present day ruins are of the city established by Lysimachus, one of the generals of Alexander the Great in the 3rd century B.C. During its Golden Age (2nd century B.C.), the city had a population of around 250,000 and it monopolized the wealth of the Middle East. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era and during the Roman period, it was the second largest city of the Roman Empire, to the Temple of Artemis, another one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.


"TURKISH ROADS - The distance between Bodrum and Ephesus is roughly 160 km, so we had much time to see roads in Turkey. Sometimes, like in the last row of pictures, one asks himself where the road is…"


"LAKE BAFA - The lake used to be a gulf of the Aegean Sea until the sea passage was closed by the alluvial mass brought by the Maeander River. The southern shore is traced by the highway connecting İzmir-Kuşadası-Söke to Milas and Bodrum. The northern shore of the lake remains virtually untouched"


"EPHESUS VALLEY - Showing also the ramparts up the hills and the Agorae of the ancient city"


"ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE ENTRANCE - As seen from the Odeon"


"ODEON & BASILICA - The Odeon was a small roofed theatre for plays and concerts, seating about 1,500 people. The 160m long Basilica is typically Roman. It was used for stock exchange and commercial business, as well as home to the law courts. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the middle of the Fourth Century AD"


"VARIUS' BATHS - The ruins to the east of the Basilica belong to Varius' Baths (2nd century A.D, though the mosaics in the corridor date from the 5th century). It has three sections: frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium"


"COUNCIL PALACE - Behind the basilica is the Prytaneion, where religious ceremonies, official receptions and banquets were held"


"COLUMN FESTIVAL"


"STROLLING IN THE OLD TOWN - Starting with the Pollio Fountain, built in 97 A.D. by C.S.Pollio and his family and located near the Odeon, and then moving to the Trajan Fountain, built around 104 and one of the finest monuments in Ephesus. We may also see the ruins of the Domitian Temple - the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an emperor - and the Curetes Street (named after the priests who took this name later). On the right hand side column: the Terraces Houses, the Brothel, a peristyle house where a statue of Priapus with an oversize phallus was found and the important public toilets. The water was brought from three main sources through aqueducts and distributed from fountains"


"MEMMIUS MEMORIAL - It was constructed during the reign of Augustus in the 1st century A.D by Memmius, the grandson of Dictator Sulla, to remind the conquer of Mithridates in 87 BC"


"DECORATIONS"


"SKOLASTICIA BATHS - The original structure was thought to have been three-storied but the upper two stories collapsed. The baths have a dressing room (apodyterium) with ten cabins, a cold room (frigidarium) with its pool, a warm room (tepidarium) to relax, and finally a hot room (caldarium). The second floor was used for massage as a therapy"

51 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! After a music weekend, a work weekend, so posts are suffering... ;). Anyhow, after Halicarnassus we are now heading to one of the precious archaeological gems in Turkey: the Ephesus’ masterpieces!! Meanwhile, enjoy the journey, start seeing old Ephesus and have a great week ahead!!

Tinsie said...

I'd love to visit Ephesus one day :-)

Olivier said...

superbes ruines, le "Memmius Memorial" est magnifique, je ne connaissais pas du tout

SusuPetal said...

I just love such places with ruins, history, past and presence.

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Les toilettes publiques - rien ne saurait être plus convivial.
Lol

Thérèse said...

One must feel really small wandering among these structures. So much history!

hpy said...

Beautiful old stones.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! This is a wonderful treat! Pieces of history!

Anonymous said...

Awesome sights and history.

Paz

Lakshmi said...

brilliant pics and a wonderful narration to go with it..must put in my must see destinations

rochambeau said...

Fabulous! Before today I have never seen photos of the ruins of Ephesus.
So THANK YOU! This is amazingly interesting!

xox
Constance

A Lady's Life said...

This is GREAT! Too bad the statues loose their heads and stuff.
You'd think the countries would fix everything up using the old parts.

Anonymous said...

Well...I have to say you and your other half have definitely not lost your muchness!....with all your wonderful travels. I love the ruins with their acanthus and scroll decorations. That's right up my alley...so to speak! As usual, fabulous photos Gil. Miles of Smiles ~ Lynn

diane b said...

It must be awe inspiring to tread the ground of people who lived in those times. Their inventions were ingenious and were extremely civilised for the times. I wonder how the civilisation came to an end (since I haven't read up on it)

diane b said...

It must be awe inspiring to tread the ground of people who lived in those times. Their inventions were ingenious and were extremely civilised for the times. I wonder how the civilisation came to an end (since I haven't read up on it)

Ron said...

Amazing post and interesting information. The archeological area looks like an old stadium.

yyam said...

Wow! You seem to visit lots of fascinating places! Love your pictures...definitely one of the places I want to visit!

alicesg said...

Wow very interesting ruins. Seems like a lot of walking and climbing but very worth it. The history comes alive at the site.

About your comments about the circle line not being a circle yet, they are still discussing the best location to close the circle so that commuters dont have to change trains. Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Pietro Brosio said...

Hi Gil! Fantastic views of the sculptures and the old stones! I like so much those ruins, I'd like to visit these charming places one day! Very beautiful the collages too.
Have a nice week! :-)

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Des ruines qui surclassent nombre de nos réalisations modernes !

Gattina said...

I have seen that on my first roundtrip through Turkey and it's so beautiful that I want to go back there once when I have finished my other countries. Now on the 23rd I am leaving for a roundtrip through Morocco, the imperial cities.
Have a look on my travel blog, I have the Royal Greenhouses there today.

eye in the sky said...

my oh my! one can only imagine how grand this site must have been duirng its heyday! wonderful set of photos, as usual!

lyliane six said...

Oh! toutes ces ruines elles doivent en contenir des histoires, il faut que j'aille là bas, mais avant je pars en Inde, sans malheur, du 17/12 au 2/1/2011, j'ai déjà mes billets d'avion.

juka14 said...

A place with a history. Those public toilets were so funny in that times!

Urmi said...

Ephesus is a wonderful place with historic touch in it and I feel those places to be the most interesting and fascinating to visit. Hope to visit Ephesus once in my lifetime. All the pictures are amazing.

Cloudia said...

"Varus! Where are my eagles?"

Aloha from Hawaii


Comfort Spiral

L. Neusiedler said...

lovely place! oh, well, here is raining again, so visiting you is like holiday... again :)

Indrani said...

I hope to be there some day, terrific shots. I am back fro a wonderful 18 days tour of Italy and bit of Switzerland. Visit Venice in my blog. :)

Chuckeroon said...

Tks for this one, Trotter. I was near Ephesus, but on business and had no time to visit it. I missed something!! This city ruin is a strong lesson to us all about what happens when rivers change their course. What a stunning sight / site!!

Regina said...

Hello Trotter. Beautiful photos!
Such an ancient city where apostle Paul preached.
Thank you once again for the tour.
Have a a great day.

Cergie said...

Nous avions visité Ephèse avec notre ami turc, allez j'ose pas te dire il y a combien d'années, alors je ne m'en souviens plus trop et tes photos me font plaisir surtout celles où il n'y a pas de ciel car le ciel bleu manque de romantisme.
:)
Les routes... Pire que la... Yougoslavie (ça situe l'époque)ou plutôt pareil sauf que les turcs ne laissent pas trainer les épaves car ils sont très bricoleurs. Mais les routes sont aussi dangereuses.

Un peu comme la rue de Belleville qui circule beaucoup, sur mon blog, Gil...
:)

Cergie said...

Tu n'es pas sérieux de laisser la musique et le travail empiéter sur ton blog, voyons...

Emery Roth said...

Another outstanding tour! How do my wife and I hire you as a guide? Imagine being there when the city was thriving. What a dream!

Rajesh said...

Beautiful shots. The remains of the ancient city are wonderful. It would have been a grate place to live in.

Unknown said...

Hi Gil, that Odeon is magnificent. I can only imagine being there in person! You know we also have an Odeon here...an old abandoned cinema, it was very famous then haha! Beautiful scupltures..I will show my son this post. He is fascinated with all Greek myths after seeing Clash of the titans :P Have a good week..or weekend which is hovering around.

S-V-H said...

Must have been a real adventure to drive all those road to find finally Ephesus. A magnificent place with so much great kept history!

O.M.G. sitting on those public toilets....do they had paper rolls too...LOL...

Thanks for taking me with you again. Turkey is beautiful!

Have a nice weekend, Manuel!
Susanne

Sue's Daily Photography

leo said...

Destroyed by earthquake? How sad. The messius memorial is beautiful or should I say beautiful ruins? Hv a good weekend.

magiceye said...

that was amazing!!

Nikon said...

I've seen pictures of Greecian sites - this looks like it has more structures and statues!
Looks like a great spot

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Gil
Ephesus’ masterpieces ae beautiful! I especially liked the statuary. Your mosaics are wonderful! If you have time could you tell me how you get your photos so large on your blog layout? What program do you use to post them to blogger?
Thanks!
Pat

Venksh said...

Hi Gil,
the masterpieces at Ephesus is so beautiful. good that they hav maintained it so nicely...
Iam little busy with my work these days. thank u for comment in TMR.

Kven.

P.N. Subramanian said...

All ancient sites fascinates me.Thanks for taking me to Ephesus. As usual your photography is superb.

Shionge said...

It reminded me of Rome really and what gorgeous pieces there.....

Thank you for the visit :D

Bindhu said...

Enjoyed going thru the ruins :)

(Somehow missed the update on the new blog. A lot to catch it seems)

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! The ash cloud from the Icelandic Volcano reached Portugal and the air flights were greatly disrupted in all airports... Another reason to keep me stuck here... ;)). But this week promises a lot of excitement, not only the Icelandic cloud but also the Pope also are supposed to be in Portugal... The Pope will be here from Thursday to Friday, provided that the Volcano allows the landing...
I’ll be trying to find a way to get somewhere... ;))
PS: Thanks for your comments and have a great week!!

Tinsie,
It’s just across the Aegean Sea from one of the many Greek islands over there; so you had better leave the volcanic dust settle and start packing! ;). It’s a true gem, I tell you...

Olivier,
Je me demande si même la plupart des visiteurs sur le site d’Ephèse connaissent ou se rappellent du mémorial de Memmius… ;). Tu as déjà vu tout de suite ce qui est vraiment magnifique à Éphèse… ;))

Susu,
Places with ruins usual mean places where things had happened with people; and that’s truly amazing... ;)

G@tto,
Et tu peux imaginer les discussions philosophiques qu’ont eu lieu sur ces cuvettes WC ; une espèce précoce de «sentique», Villeroy et Boch… ;)). J’imagine même Héraclite confabulant sur l’être en devenir et sur l’impossibilité de prendre bain deux fois sur les eaux du même fleuve… ;))
PS: Il y avait pourtant un système d’eaux courantes pour les toilettes publiques… ;))

Thérèse,
And the best is still to come, as you may see in the following post... Ephesus was indeed a magnificent town... ;))

Hélène,
It’s much more beautiful indeed than one could anticipate before arriving to the site there... ;))

Rakesh,
There are still some places with lots of history also in old Europe... ;). But the best of Ephesus was still to come as you may have seen in the following post...

Paz,
Awesome indeed! It shouldn’t be forgotten that Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC, which made the town the second largest in the world at that time immediately after Rome, the capital of the largest empire in those days...

Lakshmi,
I see you have been travelling everywhere, so it doesn’t seem too hard to find a way to get to old Ephesus one of these days... ;))

Constance,
Prepare yourself for the best, as this post was only the appetizer for the magnificent masterpieces old Ephesus still has to offer to us in the present... Don’t miss the following post... ;))

Lady,
There are two difficulties with these ruins: first, they are ruined... ;), which means that even rough stones lose their heads and the rest... ;)); second, there were the Brits: which means that most of the best pieces are to be found not on the spots where they were created and used to be shown, but rather in the British Museum, in London... lol!!

Lynn,
Thanks!! I think I’m losing it, as travels are becoming quite uncommon... And now, further to all the difficulties one may find, there is still the incredible Icelandic volcanic ash cloud to make things almost impossible... ;)!
As for the ruins, the best was still to come with these Ephesus monuments; the masterpieces were still on their way... ;)

Diane,
Actually, you know that is something people in the European part of the world are used to: finding old stuff under your shoe... Just imagine the nightmare to build the underground system in Rome or Athens... ;))
Ephesus seems to have been destroyed, together with the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is a complete ruin nowadays (just some stones around the site...) by the Goths in 263. And this marked the decline of the city's splendour; though it was rebuilt later by Emperor Constantine I, to be destroyed again by an earthquake in 614. Another cause of decline, at least from the commercial point of view, might have been the fact that the harbour was slowly silted up by the Cayster River... (the ruins of Ephesus are now some 8 Km inland from the coast)!

lv2scpbk said...

Amazing stone work! Incredible how they could have built that back then.

Trotter said...

Replies, Part Two:

Ron,
It seems you’re seeing stadiums everywhere... ;)). It’s probably the Odeon, a theatre, the precinct you mention in your comment... Not too different from a baseball stadium, actually... but entirely different from a real stadium, that is a football (soccer) stadium... ;))

Yvonne,
You haven’t probably noticed yet that this is not such a small world and that it has much more fascinating spots than I would ever be able to show on this blog... ;)). Anyhow, put Ephesus on your list and you won’t be disappointed... ;))

Alice SG,
A lot of walking, indeed... Ephesus was at a certain point in time the second largest city of the empire, just behind Rome...
It makes sense that they decide to close the circle, otherwise it will be a bit boring to change trains any time you just need to make a short trip... ;))

Pietro,
You, who live in a country where below a forgotten stone one runs the risk of finding an old monument... ;)), are in a great position to appreciate the beauty of these ruins... And I’m sure you’ll make it one day; actually, it isn’t that far from where you live, though the Icelandic ash cloud is making things difficult anywhere in Europe...

Daniel,
J’ai toujours une grande discussion avec mon père à propos de ce thème car il a la même position que toi… mais il faut ajouter que lui, il aura quatre vingt- treize ans le 8 juin prochain… ;)). Sagement: c’est vrai qu’il y a des trésors en ruines, mais il ne faut pas oublier que de nos jours on a bâti aussi des buildings extraordinaires…

Gattina,
You have seen everything in Turkey, at least from what I’ve seen in your blog… Lucky girl to go to the Imperial Cities in Morocco... Would love to, but beware of the ash cloud... ;).
23rd country? My Travelocity map at Facebook blocked at my 74th country and didn’t let me finish, but if we take the list of 310 countries and territories of the Travelers’ (one «l», as it is an American Club...) Century Club, I’m already well over the century... ;))
Have seen the Royal Greenhouses on your blog; shame, I’ve been so many times in Belgium and never visited that... ;)

Eye,
And the best was still to be posted, as the Ephesus’ Masterpieces were still on the line to see day light... ;)). That was surely a great place with lots of «grandeur» in its heyday... ;)

Lyliane,
Les histories d’Éphèse sont connues et vraiment fascinantes... ;)). Félicitations pour ton voyage en Inde; j’en suis sûr que tu auras un beau voyage là-bas et tu iras voir des choses incroyables… ;))

Juka,
The public toilets were an important centre of discussion and in Ephesus we could expect to see Heraclitus disserting there... Fortunately there was an excellent system of «running water» cleaning the premises... ;))

Babli,
You have travelled to so many places already that I’m sure you’ll make it one day to Ephesus and to all the other Hellenic or Hellenistic wonders in Greece, Turkey or even elsewhere... ;))

Cloudia,
That Battle of Teutoburg Forest surely was a disaster for the Romans; no wonder Augustus lost his composure after seeing the Seventeenth, the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth legions extinguished... The Romans did later recover the lost legions' eagles, two of them in 15 AD-16 AD, the third in 42.AD. «Quintili Vare, legiones redde»... ;)

Lara,
Holiday would be a great solution for the stress... ;). Unfortunately, things aren’t favourable nowadays, and it’s not only the fault of the well-known Icelandic ash cloud... ;)

Indrani,
After Venice, Ephesus will look a poor alternative to match... ;)). I loved to see your pictures of «La Serenissima»... ;)

Stuart,
You surely missed something in Ephesus; can imagine business in Izmir or in Kusadasi, but it makes little sense a business meeting in Ephesus... ;). It’s true that the Cayster River silted the city harbour, but earthquakes also played a part on the destruction of the city... ;))

Trotter said...

Part Three:

Regina,
You have many things to get interested at in Ephesus, in terms of Christianity: it was one of the Seven Churches (Christian communities) of Revelation, also known as The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and The Seven Churches of Asia; The Gospel of John may have been written there and there is a House of the Virgin Mary...
And we have the Pope this week in Portugal... ;))

Lucie,
Dis donc, toi qui as été partout où il importe, tu as été touché par cette malaise du romantisme que croit qu’il faut toujours avoir des ciels de tonnerre et des mers orageux pour être vraiment «in»… à mon avis le bleu est surement la couleur plus romantique que tu peux trouver et, en plus, est la couleur de F.C.Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan… lol!!
Ah, les routes: quelquefois ça ressemble un peu l’Albanie, mais quand même il y a une petite différence… ;)
La musique, ça va… Hier j’ai vu Emmanuel Ax en train de jouer le concert n.º 5 pour piano et orchestre de Beethoven (Empereur)… Superbe!! Mais le travail, ça sert seulement aux gens comme moi qui ne savent rien faire d’autre… ;))

Ted,
Maybe one of these days you can help us guiding in New York State, as soon as we have a chance to get back to the States… ;)). Ephesus was the second largest city of the empire, immediately after Rome, so things must have been pretty animated over there... ;)

Rajesh,
If it would have been a great place to live is like Kundera’s «The Unbearable Lightness of Being», we’ll never know... ;) But it truly seems that, at least for some wealthy people, things must have been absolutely charming in those days... And they had a direct connection from the Library to the brothel; can you imagine that... ;))

M.Kate,
We also had an Odeon in Lisbon: it was an old cinema that used to show Spanish pictures of Sarita Montiel and Joselito and ended showing other kind of hard core porno pictures... Now it’s closed waiting for someone to re-live it again... Not a risk for the Odeon in Ephesus... ;))
Show it to your son, but save some interest for the following post on Ephesus’ Masterpieces... ;))

Sue,
Fortunately, I wasn’t the driver... ;) From what I saw, it’s not an easy task driving in Turkey; they run fast and sometimes a bit dangerously, to say the least... ;))
I wonder whether they had paper rolls, but they surely had a system of running water to clean the premises and certainly a great time for a chat... Wonder how many «dirty» decisions came out from discussions there... ;))
You’re always welcome!!

Leo,
Let’s say that Ephesus was destroyed by many reasons, including natural disasters, to put it more correctly... ;)). Wonderful ruins indeed, but the best was still to come; you have to check the next post!!

Magic,
Amazing, astonishing, astounding, remarkable, incredible, wonderful, startling, marvellous, miraculous... whatever you wish... ;))

Paul,
The best was still to come when you saw these pictures; just don’t miss the next post... ;))

Pat,
You’ll see that the next post has some even better pictures of some truly magnificent ruins...
As for the pictures I sent you an email with the details of uploading; hope it helps and works... ;)

Kven,
Can imagine that you have been busy as your blog and your fellow bloggers have suffered your absence... Thanks anyhow for talking your time to come here and drop a line!! I know how hard it can be sometimes to find just a little bit of time to do that...

P.N.Subramanian,
You’re always welcome! And don’t miss the next post, where the true gems of Ephesus will be present for your delight!! ;))

Betty,
Of course, it makes sense to remember Rome: Ephesus was city number two, just behind Rome on those days...

Bindhu,
Welcome to Blogtrotter Two! I was missing you here, but it seems the way to bring you was a hard one... ;) Thanks for taking your time and commenting. Much appreciated!!

Trotter said...

Barb,
It will always be a mystery how people managed to build such impressive and magnificent buildings some millenniums ago...

Light and Voices said...

These ancient ruin images are amazing. So glad you included information at what we are seeing.
Joyce

Trotter said...

Joyce,
Ephesus is a gem as far as ruins are concerned...