Ephesus started out as fairly unimportant area of fertile land with a good harbour, peopled by various groups including the Amazonians. However, it was the Greeks who made their settlement there in 10BC. Various groups attacked Ephesus over the years - the Cimmerians, the Lydians, the Persians, the Ionians included, and it suffered a fair bit from earthquakes. However, it reached its peak as an impressive city under the rule of Alexander the Great when it had a poplulation of 300,000 and attracted people from all over, partly because of the famous Temple of Artemis (of which, now, only one pillar remains) which was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. In 130 BC, Ephesus was annexed by Rome and under Emperor Augustus it became the first and major city in the Asian Province. What we see today displays very little of its former splendor because the Goths sacked the city in 260 AD, the harbour silted up, and the Christians took over as the main religious group. However, visiting it still impresses, partly because of the scale of the place, partly because of the ongoing restorations and partly because of the treasures that still remain in spite of extensive looting and destruction.
We started at the baths, and wandered down the site, looking at some of the remaining structures and sculptures, past the Upper Agora and the Temple of Isis
until we came to one of the most impressive and complete structures, the Odeon, which was used for municipal meetings.
We continued descending down Curetes Way, where the crowds of tourists helped us imagine what it must have seemed like in its heyday.
Although the structures interest me a lot,
I was mostly entranced by the sculptures:
We had extended our ticket to include access to the terraced houses which are being excavated and reconstructed under cover. It was fascinating to look at the jigsaw puzzle like approach the archaeologists have to take, as well as the way the homes were set out.
Some of the murals were appallingly bad, in my opinion,
but I was really drawn to the mosaics.
The next truly outstanding structure were the remains of the Library of Celsus, which dates from 2 AD.
The Temple of Hadrian leading to the Lower Agora is also stunning
but the scale of the Great Theatre really impresses.
I think, if we had more time, we would come back another day to take in more of this site. Bob felt that the lack of food and toilet facilities within the site mean that people who would like to stay longer are disadvantaged. I see his point, but I feel a more commercial approach within the site would negatively affect the glimpse of the past we get. As it is, Bob was fascinated by the building techniques and the inscriptions that can be found. I loved finding little examples of fine craftsmanship
and finding little personal touches.
We both loved imagining what life was like for the people who lived there so long ago.
Baris had told us that we could get a local bus back to town but we weren't sure where to find them. We wandered out of the exit through the souvenir stalls, the taxi, bus and car park, and the horsedrawn carriages and found a man standing under a tree. He sent us to sit under another tree and told us to wait for the appropriate bus. Then, he shepherded us on and, cheaply and easily, we got back to town.
After a much needed rest, we decided to visit the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk to find out what artefacts remained after various European countries looted the site for their museums.
The Museum displays some beautiful examples of jewellery, utensils, mozaics, funerary goods, glassware, coins, etc., but I really fell in love with the two Artemis statues:
and I just adored the quirky face on the face of this statue.
However, there were other beautiful pieces of sculpture too:
This statue of Domitian had everyone transfixed.
Our experience of Ephesus did not disappoint. We enjoyed it in spite of the crowds, walking and heat. If you ever get a chance, try to visit Ephesus and the museum too.
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