Oct 29 - From our hostel, the train station, unlike the bus station, is really close. I chose this as our method to get to the town of Selçuk, about 1.5 hours south.
Fruit trees and some sheer cliffs on the way to Selçuk.
By the way, today is the Republic Day of Türkiye (independence day), when the country we know of today was formed from what was left of the Ottoman Empire lands. It was headed by Mustafa Ataturk, who was able to steer it strongly toward the cultural embrace of Europe and away from the Middle East. One strong reflection of this is the language, the written form of which was changed from the Arabic to the Latin alphabet.
There’s Ataturk, the most recognizable face of Türkiye, along with the obligatory huge flag. The largest national flags we’ve seen anywhere on this trip have been in this country.
A Byzantine aqueduct near the train station. This town is tailor-made for tourism from start to finish. When I stayed here so many years ago, it was no different.
Stop first at the nearby Artemision, a temple dedication to Artemis, that dates from 570 BCE. Not much is left of it, having been burned by fire in 356 BCE and undergoing many earthquakes and other calamities since. From what is left, it is hard to visualize what has been touted as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The one standing column at the Artemision just west of town (though it has clearly been partly reconstructed). Also, the stork nest on the top is new. The guy trying to sell us guidebooks at the entrance was annoying.
Ephesus, the main point of our journey today, is still 3 km west along the highway. Since we are already on the way, just walk it. It is no longer summer and the heat isn’t that bad.
The city of Ephesus more or less started as an Attic-Ionian town founded in the 10th century BCE. It joined the Ionian League, an affiliation of cities up and down the Turkish coast. Later it became part of the Lydian Empire under King Croesus, and still later, became part of the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great ‘liberated’ it from Persia during his sweep eastward through Asia Minor, and a few centuries later, in 129 BCE, it became part of the Roman Empire. Most of the structures on site visible today date from this period onward.
From the main entrance, the first thing one sees is the massive amphitheater. Construction of this started in Hellenistic times, and when finally complete during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan, could seat 24,000.
And there it is, the Library of Celsius. You can find it somewhere on the cover of every tourist pamphlet in the country. It was originally built to be a funerary monument for a former proconsul of Asia in about 110 CE. As a library, it held many thousands of scrolls, and is considered to be the third largest library in the Roman Empire. It lay in ruins from Byzantine times up until the 1970’s, when archaeologists assembled it again.
Statue of Arete (personification of virtue) in a niche of the library.
The side gates of the library, leading north.
The Nymphaeum Traiani, a fountain building dedicated to Artemis and Emperor Trajan.
Temple of Hadrian. At least that is what is commonly called, though archaeologists have begun revisiting this identification.
Looking down Curetes Street toward the Library of Celsius. This street connects most of the sites of interest in Ephesus.
The Bouleuterion, or meeting hall for city council members. It sits at the top of the hill, off to the north of Curetes Street. It was built in about 100 CE.
Of course there were cats here.
Take a 100 TL taxi back to town to catch the 16:00 train back to Basmane Station in Izmir.
Today’s route: (A) Izmir, (B) Selçuk and the Artemis Temple, (C) Ephesus.
A few of the people met yesterday are hanging around in the garden. Janet cooks some rice, beans, pico de gallo, and tortillas for the group, while Odette plays and plays with the resident kittens.
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