NOV 24, 2021, WEDNESDAY:
Ephesus [great], Meryemana [awesome drive on steep windy roads] wound up with great views from Selcuk castle
This was our drive for the day
https://goo.gl/maps/W7G6ZXKJtAYir32t9
EPHESUS ANCIENT CITY
Ephesus History
Ephesus is one of Turkey's major sightseeing attractions. This vast and beautiful Greco-Roman city was once home to 250,000 people, and the glorious monuments that remain point to it being a vibrant and rich metropolis.
Supposedly founded by the Ionian prince Androclus in the 10th century BCE, Ephesus was not only a center of trade but a great pilgrimage center, with the Temple of Artemis built in worship of the mother goddess. Thanks to its excellent location on an
inlet cutting deep into the land — at the end of a major trade
route from the interior and on a fertile plain — Ephesus developed
into a flourishing commercial city.
Under the Roman Empire (1st and 2nd centuries AD), the city continued its prosperity as the capital of the Roman province of Asia and became the largest city in the East after Alexandria, with a population of more than 200,000. St. Paul preached here on his second missionary journey and later spent three years in Ephesus. The city's principal church was later dedicated to St. John, and during the Byzantine Era became one of the great pilgrimage centers of Asia Minor.
In AD 263, when the Goths destroyed the city on one of their raiding expeditions, it heralded the beginning of the city's slow decline, with the importance and size of Ephesus gradually dwindling due to the steady silting up of its harbor. In the 5th century, though, the city was still sufficiently important to be the venue of the Third Ecumenical Council (AD 431).
The capture and plunder of Ephesus by Tamarlane's Mongols proved to be the city's final act. Thereafter, the last surviving remains of the town were reduced to ruins during the bitter conflicts between the Seljuks and the Ottomans.
HIGHLIGHTS
the mammoth library (third largest in the ancient world), the well-preserved theater, the Temple of Hadrian, and the terraced houses complex
It was raining at 8 am when we were ready to be out... we stayed put in our room. By 9am rain had abated. We drove the short 5 km distance and entered the ancient city. There are 2 entrances, one on the road to Virgin Mary's house which we chose. We did not even know about the other entrance/exit at the back of the stadium [a guide told us that was the exit and we might have gotten out there and then wondered where our parked car was... it's 5 km by road but inside the ruins a 2 km walk back to the same entrance. Anyway, this is the end of the visit, so let me report the sequence of what we saw.]
This is the SOUTH ENTRANCE through which we entered.
GYMNASIUM
On the slope of the hill to the left of Ephesus is the Gymnasium of Vedius (2nd century AD).
The construction of the gymnasium dates around the second century AD, funded by Publius Vedius Antoninus and his wife Flavia Papiana. They dedicated the gymnasium to Goddess Artemis and to Emperor Antoninus Pius. In Ephesus, gymnasiums were the schools for young people in which one could take lessons for art, sports, literature, drama and speech. The most important and beautiful of these gymnasiums was the Gymnasium of Vedius. The entrance of the gymnasium is on the east, and when entering there is a palaestra (courtyard), surrounded by columns. The hall of emperors is also on the east, with statues and floors covered with mosaics.
The gymnasium included a bath, with a tepidarium, a caldarium, and a frigidarium. There was a pool at the frigidarium, with the statue of the god of the River Kaistros in the north end, pouring water into the pool from the amphora that the god was leaning on. Today, the statute is displayed in Izmir Museum.
You can see the remains of the palaestra (wrestling hall), a large rectangular building with an arcaded courtyard. The eastern half of the structure, built of brick faced with marble, is better preserved and shows interesting details of the internal arrangement.
Some 100 meters south of the Gymnasium of Vedius is the Stadium, which dates from the time of Nero (CE 54-68).
On the south side, the tiers of seating for spectators (their stone benches now missing) were hewn out of the hillside. At the semicircular east end was an arena, which could be shut off from the main part of the stadium and used, in the absence of a circus, for gladiatorial contests and fights between wild beasts.
THE ARCADANE
This street is situated between the Harbour Baths and the Ephesus Great Theatre. Entering from the port, traders and sailors would first arrive in this street. So it was designed gorgeous with marbel slabs and colonnades. It was constructed in the Hellenistic Period, but then was restored during the reign of the Emperor Arcadius (395-408 AD.), from whom it takes its present name.
The street was 530 meters long and 11 meters wide, and on both sides of the street there were shops and galleries, and gates in the form of monumental arches. There were four higher columns with the statues of four apostels on the top.
It was one of the three lighted street at that time along with Rome and Antioch.50 streetlights lit up its colonnades and water, sewerage channels ran beneath the marble flagstones.
The first building near the Ephesus theatre is called the Theatre Gymnasium. It is a Second Century AD building with two floors and numerous rooms.It was used for sports ground.
At the entrance of the port there were the Port Baths or the Harbour Baths.They were built in the year 2 AD.The Baths are also called the Baths of Constantine, for they were restored by Constantine II (337-361). It was one of the largest building with 160 m wide, 170 m long and 28 m high.
HELLENISTIC FOUNTAIN HOUSE
THE GREAT THEATER
It was first constructed in the Hellenistic Period, in the third century BC during the reign of Lysimachos, but then during the Roman Period, it was enlarged and formed its current style that is seen today.
It is the largest in Anatolia and has the capacity of 25,000 seats. The cavea has sixty six rows of seats, divided by two diazoma (walkway between seats) into three horizontal sections. There are three sections of seats. In the lower section, Marble pieces, used for restoration, and the Emperor's Box were found. The seats with backs ,made of marble, were reserved for important people. The audience entered from the upper cavea.
The stage building is three-storied and 18 meters high. The facade facing the audience was ornamented with relieves, columns with niches, windows and statues. There are five doors opening to the orchestra area, the middle one of which is wider than the rest. This enhanced the appearance of the stage, giving it a bigger, monumental look.
The Ephesus theatre was used not only for concerts and plays, but also for religious, political and philosophical discussions and for gladiator and animal fights.
Curetes Street
Named for the demigods who helped Lena give birth to Artemis and Apollo, the Curetes Way was Ephesus' main thoroughfare, 210m long and lined with statuary, religious and civic buildings, rows of shops selling incense, silk and other goods, workshops and even restaurants. Walking this street is the best way to understand Ephesian daily life.
Circular depressions and linear grooves are sporadically gouged into the marble to keep pedestrians from slipping on the slick surface. This was important not only during winter rains, but also during the searing summer heat; shopkeepers would regularly douse the slippery marble street with water from the fountains to cool them down.
Flowering trees once shaded the street and shops which also lowered the temperature. Right under where they stood, there are occasional stone abutments adorned with 12 circular depressions – boards for games of chance that ancient Ephesians would play for fun and even bet on: the contest was known in Latin as Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (Game of 12 Markings), the predecessor of backgammon.
Several structures along the way have occasional oval depressions in the walls – these held the oil lamps that lent a magical glow to the city’s main thoroughfare by night. The larger holes in the marble were for torches.
It is one of the three main streets of Ephesus between The Hercules Gate till to the Celsus Library.This street took its name from the priests who were called as Curetes later. Their names were written in Prytaneion.
There were fountains, monuments, statues and shops on the sides of the street. The shops on the south side were two-storied. Ephesus had many earthquakes, in which many structures including the Curetes Street were damaged. These damages especially on the columns were restored by the new ones, but after the earthquake in the 4th century, the columns were replaced by the other ones brought from different buildings in the city. The differences between the design of the columns can be seen today. The street has its appearance from the 4th century.
There were also many houses on the slope. These were used by the rich of Ephesians.Under the houses there were colonnaded galleries with mosaics on the floor were located in front of the shops with a roof to protect the pedestrians from sun or rain.
Celsus Library
The facade of the library has two-stories, with Corinthian style columns on the ground floor and three entrances to the building. There is three windows openings in the upper story. They used an optical trick that the columns at the sides of the facade are shorter than those at the center, giving the illusion of the building being greater in size.
The statues in the niches of the columns today are the copies of the originals. The statues symbolize wisdom (Sophia), knowledge (Episteme), intelligence (Ennoia) and valor (Arete). These are the virtues of Celsus. The library was restored with the aid of the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the originals of the statues were taken to Ephesus Museum in Vienna in 1910
Celsus Library is one of the most beautiful structures in Ephesus. Celcius Library was built in 117 A.D. Celsus Library was a monumental tomb for Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the governor of the province of Asia; from his son Galius Julius Aquila. The grave of Celsus was beneath the ground floor, across the entrance and there was a statue of Athena over it. Because Athena was the goddess of the wisdom.
The scrolls of the manuscripts were kept in cupboards in niches on the walls. There were double walls behind the bookcases to prevent the them from the extremes of temperature and humidity. The capacity of the library was more than 12,000 scrolls. It was the third richest library in ancient times after the Alexandra and Pergamum.
AGORA
The agora is 160x73 meters, with stoas on three sides and a temple in the center, dating from the 1st century A.D The temple was dedicated to Isis, surrounded by ten columns on the long side and 6 on the short side. It was collapsed during the reign of Augustus and was not re-built again, as Emperor Augustus' dislike of anything Egyptian. On the facade of the Temple, there were group of statues describing the legend of Odysseus and Polyphemos which are now displayed in the Ephesus Museum.
HADRIAN'S GATE
Hadrian’s Gate Ephesus is located at the junction of the Curetes Street and the Marble Road. The gate house has three stories. On the first story there are three entrances.
The one in the center is wider and spanned by an arch and the other two side entrances are capped by architraves. The second story was formed of four pillars and the third story of six pillars. A gable marks the top of the building.
Heroon
Heroon was a 2C BC U-shaped building with an open Ionic upper story. Water ran through a channel in front of the building.
The gable and frieze had reliefs depicting Androclus killing a wild boar,the foundation story of Ephesus. The building is thought to have been a monument dedicated to Androclus.
LATRINE
They were part of the Scholastica Baths and built in the 1C AD. They were the public toilets of the city. There was an entrance fee to use them.
In the centre, there is an uncovered pool and the toilets are aligned along the walls. The columns surrounding the pool supported a wooden ceiling. There was a drainage system under the toilets.
TERRACE HOUSES:
Ephesus terrace houses are located on the hill, opposite the Hadrian Temple. Also called as "the houses of rich", important for the reason give us information about family life during the Roman period. They were built according to the Hippodamian plan of the city in which roads transected each other at right angels.
There are six residential units on three terraces at the lower end of the slope of the Bulbul Mountain. The oldest building dates back into the 1C BC and continued in use as residence until the 7C AD.
Ephesus terrace houses are covered with protective roofing which resembles Roman houses. The mosaics on the floor and the frescos have been consolidated and two houses have been opened to the public as a museum.
They had interior courtyards (peristyle) in the center, with the ceiling open. They were mostly two-storied, upper stores have collapsed during time. On the ground floor there were living and dining rooms opening to the hall, and upstairs there were bedrooms and guest rooms.
The heating system of the terrace houses were the same as that in baths. Clay pipes beneath the floors and behind the walls carried hot air through the houses. The houses also had cold and hot water. The rooms had no window, only illuminated with light coming from the open hall, so that most of the rooms were dim. The excavations of the terrace houses started in 1960. The restoration of the two of the houses have been finished and can be visited today.
Temple of Hadrian
Temple of Hadrian is one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. It was built before 138 A.D by P. Quintilius and was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 128 A.D The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, goddess of victory. The side columns are square. The pedestal with inscriptions in front of the temple, are the bases for the statues of the emperors between 293-305 CE, Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius I, and Galerius; the originals of the statues have not been found yet.
Inside the Hadrian Temple above the door, a human figure, probably Medusa stands with ornaments of acanthus leaves. On both sides there are friezes depicting the story of the foundation of Ephesus - Androklos shooting a boar, Dionysus in ceremonial procession and the Amazons. The fourth frieze portrays two male figures, one of which is Apollo; Athena, goddess of the moon; a female figure, Androkles, Herakles, the wife and son of Theodosius and the goddess Athena. The friezes that are seen today are copies, and the originals are displayed in Ephesus Museum.
Emperor Hadrian was one of the Five of Good Emperors. The Five Good Emperors is a term that refers to five consecutive emperors of the Roman Empire— Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The term is first coined by the political philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli in 1532. Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born on 24 January AD 76, probably at Rome, though his family lived in Italica in Baetica. Emporor Trajan was his cousin. Hadrian was schooled in various subjects particular to young aristocrats of the day, and was so fond of learning Greek literature that he was nicknamed Graeculus ("Little Greek").Hadrian was active in the wars against the Dacians and reputedly won awards from Trajan for his successes. Due to an absence of military action in his reign, Hadrian's military skill is not well attested, however his keen interest and knowledge of the army and his demonstrated skill of administration show possible strategic talent.
Hadrian appears to have been a man of mixed sexual interests. The Historia Augusta criticizes both his liking of goodlooking young men as well as his adulteries with married women.It is belived that he tried to poison his wife. When it comes to Hadrian's homosexuality, then the accounts remain vague and unclear. Most of the attention centres on the young Antinous, whom Hadrian grew very fond of. Statues of Antinous have survived, showing that imperial patronage of this youth extended to having sculptures made of him. In AD 130 Antinous accompanied Hadrian to Egypt. It was on a trip on the Nile when Antinous met with an early and somewhat mysterious death. Officially, he fell from the boat and drowned.
Hadrian died in 138 on the tenth day of July, in his villa at Baiae at age 62. However, the man who had spent so much of his life traveling had not yet reached his journey's end. He was buried first at Puteoli, near Baiae, on an estate which had once belonged to Cicero. Soon after, his remains were transferred to Rome and buried in the Gardens of Domitia, close by the almost-complete mausoleum. Upon the completion of the Tomb of Hadrian in Rome in 139 by his successor Antoninus Pius, his body was cremated, and his ashes were placed there together with those of his wife Vibia Sabina and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also died in 138. Antoninus also had him deified in 139 and given a temple on the Campus Martius.
NYMPHANEUM [Triumphal fountain]
Marble road
Ephesus Marble Road is the road starting form the great theatre to the Celsus Library, which is the portion of the sacred way that leads past Panayir dagi to the Temple of Artemis. The construction of the marble road dates to the 1st century A.D, and it was rebuilt in the 5th century. The western side of the road is enclosed by the agora wall, and on the wall is a higher platform, which was constructed during the reign of Nero. It was built over the wall, for pedestrians.
MARBLE ROAD
On the marble road, there are some drawings believed to be an advertisement of the Brothel. This advertisement is known as the first advertisement in history. There is a footprint on the advertisement, one finger showing the library, and other showing the brothel. The known explanation of this sign is that the footprint shows that one should turn at that point; the woman's head symbolizes the women waiting in the Brothel and the heart shows that the women are eager for love. The busts and statues of the important people were erected along the road, and the letters from emperors were carved into the marble blocks to let people read
Temple of Domitian & Pollio Monument
We were at thre souvenir shop at the other entrance. We thought we could exit there. Thankfully we found out we have to retrace our way back to get to our car.
Odeon
This building has the shape of a small theatre with the stage building, seating places and the orchestra.It had double function in use. First it was used as a Bouleuterion for the meetings of the Boulea or the Senate. The second fuction was the Odeum as a concert hall for the performances.It was constructed in the 2nd century A.D by the order of Publius Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia paiana, two wealthy citizens in Ephesus.
It had a capacity of 1500 spectators. It had 3 doors opening from the stage to the podium. The podium was narrow and one meter higher than the orchestra section. The stage building was two-storeyed and embellished with columns.The podium in front of the stage building and some parts of the seating were restored. The Odeon used to be enclosed with a wooden roof.
Two councils administrated Ephesus. These were Demos or the parliament which was open to the public was taken place in the great theatre and the Bouleia which gathered in this small theatre. The members of the boulea were chosen from the aristocratic class of Ephesians. The most important decisions and city matters were discussed here.
State Agora
We arrived back at the car park. Aswith other ruins, there was a model with what the whole city would have looked like... we took a video of that and could get what we had seem so far.
Stray dogs and cats were prowling around. So we had our food in the car.
There was a couple near our car. The girl approachd and asked son 'where are you going?'
Son was confused, he thought she wanted our parking space. He said 'huh?'[actually the car park was half empty. we'll never clog up a spot if people are waiting to park.]
Girl asked 'are you going to Meryemana?'
I was watching with interest, son is the naive type who always gives straight forward answers and people take advantage all the time.
Son said 'no, I'm eating'
Girl [ and bf] left.
Turns out son did not know what was next on our agenda and had been truthful as always!
I had been uneasy with the demeanor of the girl and the bf from the outset and was fine that we had not been cornered into giving them a lift!
Meryemana
The Meryemana is a major Christian pilgrimage site and has a curious history. Tradition holds that the Virgin Mary journeyed to Ephesus with St. John, and is said to have died here.
The main building here dates from the Byzantine era (6th century), but its association with the Virgin only began in the 19th century, following the visions of the German nun, Katharina Emmerich, who gave a precise description of the situation and appearance of a house at Ephesus in which she claimed the Virgin had lived and died.
In 1891, on the basis of this account, a French priest discovered the ruins of a small church, which had evidently belonged to a monastery and this is now revered as the Virgin's house.
House of Virgin Mary is located on the top of the "Bulbul" mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere hidden in the green. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in crowded place.
The 9 km long road was narrow and full of hairpin bends. Thankfully, there was no traffic at all, so it was a great ride with amazing views of the valley below.
Of course they don't accept the museum card, entry was 80 liras per person [8 usd], another 20 liras for parking [in all museums so far, parking was free and we had used our museum card. ]. We had to pay cash.
candles...
nativity scene...
John the Baptist
drove down the windy road... we did not attempt the Seven saints caves as it's down a gravel road. [The Grotto of Seven Sleepers has been discovered by both Christians and Moslems with a growing interest. According to the Christian legend seven young men were walled in during the reign of Decius (250) as he objected to their Christian faith and yet were seen alive in the streets of Ephesus during the reign of Theodosius II some years after the Council of Ephesus (431). In the Koran, it is claimed that the sleepers slept 309 years in their tombs. A church has been built above this Grotto by the Christians.
]
The house of Virgin Mary is a typical Roman architectural example, entirely made of stones. In the 4th century AD, a church, combining her house and grave, has been built. The original two-stored house, which consisted of an anteroom (where today candles are proposed), bedroom and praying room (Christian church area) and a room with fireplace (chapel for Muslims). A front kitchen fell into ruins and has been restored in 1940's. Today, only the central part and a room on the right of the altar are open to visitors. .
Paul VI was the first pope to visit this place in the 1960's. Later, in the 1980's, during his visit, Pope John-Paul II declared the Shrine of Virgin Mary has a pilgrimage place for Christians. It is also visited by Muslims who recognize Mary as the mother of one of their prophets. Every year, on August 15th a ceremony is organized to commemorate Mary's Assumption
No pics allowed inside, there were 2 burly guards
HOLY WATER
Another interesting place is the "Water of Mary", a source to be found at the exit of the church area and where a rather salt water, with curative properties, can be drunk by all.
During Ephesus excavations in the area, the church and several tombs have been brought to daylight. Some inscriptions of Seven Sleepers have been noticed on the walls of the church.
We were heading back to the hotel but hoped to go up the castle before it closed.
Selçuk Kalesi [castle]
Ayasuluk Castle, locally known as Ayasuluk Kalesi or Selçuk Kalesi, lies on a hill in the town of Selçuk, in the province of Izmir in Turkey. It is situated just a mile from the site of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus.
HISTORY
Ephesus was initially a harbor city but the continually silting up of its harbour eventually made it an inland site situated 5 km from the sea at present. At the beginning of the Byzantine era, Ephesus was still predominantly at its harbour location. During the 6th century the city declined and was split up. The old city at the harbour was enclosed by a defensive wall, making it considerably smaller and thus better to defend. The Ayasuluk hill had been part of the outskirts of the city and was now a mile outside the city. The Byzantines then built Ayasuluk Castle, using stones from disused Greek and Roman buildings, for its construction. On the slope of the hill they built the Basilica of St. John. Defensive walls coming down from the castle, encompassed the basilica. Effectively turning the site in a citadel with the castle as an upper castle and the area with the basilica as a lower castle.
The combination of the marble façades and the mortared rubble made the walls 4 meters thick. The citadel walls were 1.5 km around with 17 towers. Entry to the citadel from the south was through the Gate of Persecution, which first led into the Basilica. In the 8th century the square towers on either side of the gate were made pentagonal, aiding in their defensive capabilities.
Over the following centuries, however, people from the harbour site gradually migrated towards the citadel on the hill as the harbour continued to silt up and they battled malaria. By the end of the Byzantine period the harbour was abandoned, and Ephesus was centered around Ayasuluk Hill.
Seljuks, who conquered
the region renamed the site Ayasuluk. They repaired the walls of the castle, dredged the harbour and put it to use again. This resulted in the town prospering again.
Around the beginning of the 15th century Ayasuluk came under Ottoman rule. By that time the harbour had silted up again and had become a swamp. The town declined again to a village. The Ottomans however did keep the castle garrisoned. In the mid-17th century it had a garrison of 40 soldiers. As the population kept declining, the castle was abandoned during the 18th century. In 1914 Ayasuluk was renamed Selçuk.
A nice castle. Inside there are a small ruined mosque, a part of a former church turned into a cistern, a couple of Ottoman cisterns and ground plans of a couple of houses.
Remains of the Basilica of St. John
This citadel-like basilica once occupied the whole breadth of the hill it sits on and was ranked with the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (now the Aya Sofya) as one of the Byzantine Empire's largest churches.
According to tradition, the grave of St. John is under the church. Originally, a mausoleum with a domed roof borne on four columns was built over the grave, but the Emperor Justinian replaced this simple monument with a three-aisled basilica on a Latin-cross plan boasting six domed roofs.
Including the narthex at the western end and the arcaded courtyard, the basilica was 130 meters long and 40 meters wide.
After the Seljuks captured Ephesus in 1130, the church was converted into a mosque and later served as a bazaar until it was finally destroyed by an earthquake.
Although only partially restored, the basilica ruins that remain give a good idea of the awesome size of the original building.
We had made it in before the castle closed, ran up all the way and enjoyed the stunning views.
Another great day!
Report continues here:https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2022/01/turkey-trip-report-day-15-aphrodisias.html
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