ephesus (efes)

harbour road...from the harbour to the grand theatre

for the two people reading this, i hope you like history, because this is the first of several history lessons of turkey...as the crossroads of a number of civilizations, turkey has "been there, done that" when it comes to history...heaps of fighting, heaps of building...and a lot of it is still visible, right alongside modern turkey...
ephesus is only 3km down the road from selcuk...there is a walkway the entire way to ephesus, there is no danger of getting hit by traffic while walking...why would anyone take a taxi? i'm glad i was there during off season, i have a sneaking suspicion there would've been more pressure, and heaps more touts if i had visited during high season...i am also guessing i'd get really annoyed by all the people that must visit these ruins during high season...heat and bunches of people do not make me a happy camper...bring on off season traveling!

if you haven't figured out this is the grand theatre, then we need to talk

i arrived at the entrance gate by walking down the road vehicles use as an exit...not surprisingly, there are a bunch of souvenir stalls set up just outside the entrance/exit...in a brief check of postcard prices i quickly realized they're a whole lot more expensive in ephesus than in goreme...4x!!...
 according to early legends, ephesus was built where it was because the oracle at delphi told androclus this was the right place to build a city to protect his people (he was from ionia - i don't know where that is/was) from the constantly attacking dorians...apparently when he got to this area, it was already settled, but his people peacefully integrated with the "locals"...
ephesus became a busy port town...really really busy, and pretty wealthy...with heaps of money coming in, a nearby king got jealous, and mad, and attacked...the city was destroyed, and the citizens relocated just a bit inland...they ended up paying tribute to several ruling groups, all the while growing in importance...eventually ephesus became the capital of asia minor, with a population of over 250,000...st john allegedly lived there...the virgin mary lived there...st paul is even supposed to have stayed for 3 years...

the library

then nature intervened...the harbour silted up, and even though engineers tried to clear it, it silted up again...so the money coming in from the port started to dry up...and the influx of christians meant that the cult of diana wasn't so powerful so the tribute money to that cult dried up...basically, the income of the city dried up, and it faded in importance...by the 6th century AD, when emperor justinian was looking for a place to build a basilica for st john, he chose the top of a hill in selcuk instead...and that was it for ephesus...it's amazing how fast a city can go downhill when revenues aren't coming in...i guess that hasn't really changed in modern times...when highways are built away from towns, they shrink and die...i wonder how long ephesus held on?

the public bath surrounded by the public restrooms...ewww!!!

the first area i saw was the road that led from what had been the harbour to the grand theatre...it must've been a pretty grand road, you can still see some of the columns that lined the way...and you can get good photos because it's blocked off so if you get right up to the rope no one is in your way...i am such the geek when i want good photos...
from there i walked into the grand theatre...it's still really grand...i wonder if they ever use it for performances, because it looks as if a lot of people could fit in there...everyone in the audience would have a great view, as the seats go up vertically quite a bit...some of the upper levels are blocked up, but quite a bit of it is open, and the accoustics are great...if you stand in the middle of the stage and speak normally, pretty much everyone can hear you really well...they really knew engineering back then...i sat and watched a couple tour groups come through, entertaining myself with their antics when the guides told them about the perfect accoustics...

hadrian's gate

from there it gets a bit hazy...really...it started raining...ugh...when it comes to weather, there is only one type of weather i do not like...rain...i hate rain...it's sooooo not fun...and i only have a little travel umbrella (i've never owned a proper raincoat, though i've always told myself - especially in recent years - that i NEED to get one...it's one more thing to add to my shopping list for when i go back to the states...anyone out there have suggestions on brand names, or specifics on a rain jacket?) so the wind meant i still got wet...as did my shoes, pants, etc...ugh...UGH...but i kept going...i passed the library, which is probably the most recognizable building in the entire set of ruins...what it must have been was amazing...
i passed a few gates, numerous temples, the public bath (which was surrounded by the public toilets...ewww) and heaps more...the last thing i visited was mary's church...i wish i could remember the details, but i don't...it was pretty big though, of that i'm sure...walking the length of the whole thing really brought home how important religion was back then...even more so because back then it was the actual faith that was important...not the money of the church (well, that too) or the political power of the church (and that)...but it was the faith in something that motivated people back then...whether it be faith in a cult, faith in christianity, whateva...

mary's church