Turkey - Ephesus the Great Greek Ancient City - Day 3

As usual we have to wake up early in the morning assisted by a morning call, by the way we were staying at Marina Hotel, Kusadasi old but clean and nice.

What a beautiful view from our balcony overlooking the Aegean Sea. I hope to come back here to stay a bit longer to explore more on Kusadasi.

The journey from Kusadasi to Ephesus site is about 20km before reaching Ephesus, we visited a leather factory and xiang had a chance to do a cat walk with some models. After that it was time to enjoy the great ancient Greek City.

Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings, one of the most famous being the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Most other winged deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance of Athena, and is thought to have stood in Athena's outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon. Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.Now we know, Nike, Inc., an American multinational corporation takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. According to estimates Ephesus had a population of 33,600 to 56,000 people in the Roman period, making it the third largest city of Roman Asia Minor after Sardis and Alexandria Troas.

The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 268 AD, the Temple was destroyed or damaged in a raid by the Goths. It may have been rebuilt or repaired but this is uncertain, as its later history is not clear. EmperorConstantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. Following the Edict of Thessalonica from emperor Theodosius I, what remained of the temple was destroyed in 401 AD by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom. The town was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD. The city's importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Cayster River.

Ephesus had advanced public works, including municipal toilets with more than a dozen marble seats in place that can still be seen to this day.
A series of 36 holes designed to handle your business stretch across three long benches, and a trough where relatively clean water would be flowing lies near your feet. Toilet paper being a fairly modern convenience in this part of the world, the trough was used to dampen your sponge on a stick (known as a "tersorium") for personal cleansing, and then to "rinse off" said sponge.
The waste channels hidden within the murky innards of the city were deep for the standards of the times, between 2 and 4 meters depending on location. It is said that if things were chilly, the high-rolling Ephesians would send their slaves down to warm the seats for them in anticipation of their arrival.

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 library of Celsus is an ancient Roman building. It was built in honour of the Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus (completed in 135 AD) by Celsus' son, Gaius Julius Aquila (consul, 110 AD). Celsus had been consul in 92 AD, governor of Asia in 115 AD, and a wealthy and popular local citizen. He was a native of nearby Sardis and amongst the earliest men of purely Greek origin to become a consul in the Roman Empire and is honoured both as a Greek and a Roman on the library itself. Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth.

The Thinker was seen at Ephesus.

Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written here. The city was the site of several 5th century Christian Councils (see Council of Ephesus). It is also the site of a large gladiators' graveyard. The ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction.

This is the most magnificent structure in Ephesus ancient city. The Great Theatre is located on the slope of Panayir Hill, opposite the Harbor Street, and easily seen when entering from the south entrance to Ephesus. It was first constructed in the Hellenistic Period, in the third century BC, 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. 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 theatre was used not only for concerts and plays, but also for religious, political and philosophical discussions and for gladiator and animal fights.

One of the street scene at Ephesus.

That was it our visit to Ephesus and slowly my knowledge of History is building up as compared to my school days which I actually dislike Roman History...

Lunch was at a small theme park called Cittantica Ephesus Park and the place we dined was known as Artemission. Looks like this place is relatively new with shops for visitors to indulge.

The food was nice and interesting as compared most of the places we ate.

This is the entrance of Artemission which is actually a multipurpose hall.

Turkey - Ancient City of Trojan War & Temple of Healing - Day 2

Canakkale is where you can visit the ancient city of the Trojan War and this Trojan Horse is found at the entrance of the historical site. Trojan horse is an inevitable part of Troy experience.

Kaan admitted that visiting this heritage UNESCO site is the most boring itinerary in the list as most of the ruins are gone.

Anyway the story telling has to continue with lots of imagination of this ancient city.

Troy was destroyed and rebuilt nine times over, and each of nine different layers still has something left to this day, although amateurish archaeological excavations of late 1800s damaged some of them a lot more than others. The layer that is thought to be depicted in Homer's Iliad is likely Troy VII, a portion of the legendary walls of which is still intact.

Troy was discovered by an archaeologist known as Heinrich but a lot of improvements have been made to this magnificent site since then to make it one of the most famous ancient sites in the world. It’s a Greek ruin that is said to have hosted the great Trojan War. Currently you can see and appreciate the architecture that is the 9-layered city built on shore.

Odeon is the name for several ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for music: singing exercises, musical shows, poetry competitions, and the like. This one is smaller in size here. 

One thing for sure you will notice is that the stray cats and dogs in Turkey are really big in size.

They are seen everywhere during our visit and some are even tagged for monitoring (I guess).

A lunch was set up at a restaurant mid way to the next visit. A friend told once me that the food that we were taking is something like our Malaysian "Chop Fun" but in Turkish flavour.

Asklepion is an ancient healing complex located at the base of the Pergamon acropolis in Turkey built in honour of Asklepios, god of healing. The Asklepion was a term used in ancient Greece to define a type of temple, devoted to the god Asklepios, which acted as a healing centre.

The site in Pergamon was founded in the 4th Century BC around a sacred spring that still flows. Over the next centuries, it became one of the best-known healing centres of the ancient world, second in importance only to Epidaurus in Greece and was also the world's first psychiatric hospital. The influential physician Galen was born in Pergamon and practiced here in the 2nd Century AD, having first made his medical reputation treating warriors in the gladiatorial games of the city.

The Asclepion of Pergamum (or Pergamon) was among the world's earliest and greatest medical centers. 

The tunnel that transport patients from the healing springs to the sleeping and treatment rooms.

Pergamon Asklepion was the important health treatment and curing center in ancient Greece and Rome. The senatorium was believed first established in the 4th Century BC as a health centre and was developed during Hellenistic period.

Many of the treatments employed at Pergamon were with a sacred source of water that was later discovered as having radioactive properties, have been used for centuries and are once again finding modern application.

There was even a 10,000-seat amphitheater at the Asklepion, to entertain the patients who would often stay for weeks. All of this was done in the belief that healing was a sacred art and that people’s souls needed to be mended as well as their bodies.

The remains of these ancient marvels are just left on the ground.

Another view of the Greek theatre. Sanctuary of Asclepion has a big galleried courtyard, the 3,500-seat theater structure for shows as entertainment.

We were told to buy stuff especially at the outskirt of Turkey as it's cheaper and fresher. One of the common purchases is the Turkish delight or known as Lokum. This place is located at Selcuk, Izmir which was close to our next hotel at Kusadasi.

This guy at Moziak Lokum is a No.1 salesman, he speaks very well and very entertaining. Moreover, we need a break after a long ride in the coach. Other than the Turkish delight they also sells spices, cosmetic and tea.

Here we were at Kusadasi, is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 95 km (59 mi) to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. The district neighbours on the northeast to Germencik district, on the southeast to Söke district, on the west to the Aegean Sea, and on the north to Selçuk district. Unfortunately we were there just to eat & sleep, no chance to explore Kusadasi....maybe next time. Let's see what was lined up for Day 3.