The next stop was a thrill for me even if I had visited it before: Kusadasi and Ephesus in Turkey.
Everyone who knows me knows that I love Turkey and this second visit was again very pleasurable.
I was surprised later that night to hear our dinner companions say that they had not enjoyed their day at all. I was again under the spell of the sights, the sounds of the calls to prayer coming from the various mosques, the buzz around the shops, the taste of the wonderful food, the people who always manage to say a few words in French, the way shopkeepers try to entice you inside…always in good humor…and I was only there for a few hours…
The tour took us first to the house of the Virgin Mary. This was not high on my list but part of all the tours that interested me so along we went. How Mary made it to that place I will never know (but then I am not a religious expert). Tradition has it that St.John brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus after Christ’s crucifixion and that she lived and died in a small wooden house located about three miles away in the forested mountain above Ephesus at the age of 101…who knows….
Next we visited Ephesus. What a spectacular archeological site this is!
First of all it is huge, both by its size and the amount of “things” recovered. But mostly it is one of the few sites (along with Pompeii) that can give you a feel of what it was like when the city was lived in. You can walk along “main” street, see the store fronts, the sidewalks still covered in mosaic tiles, the street signs, the houses, the public baths, the market, the gathering places…
I don’t know if it is a gender thing but I much prefer to get a glimpse of every day life than stare at architectural feats and huge theatres.
Seeing a cat or a flower growing between 2 columns makes it less like a museum to me.
The archeologists are working on a new section of terrace houses and they have found intact wall paintings, I will have to come back when they open that to the public.
I must make an exception to the big building rule: the Celsus library is an amazing building!
The sea used to come much closer to the city and there is a road that led to the pier that you can walk along today…I can just picture boats being unloaded, merchandise being carried to the market and people gathering to see what was new…and this is the view that greeted the newcomers.
After Ephesus we drove to the Basilica of St John: the believed burial site of St. John, who is identified as the apostle, evangelist (author of the Fourth Gospel) and prophet (author of Revelation). There is not an awful lot to see, but it is a nice peaceful site.
The last historical stop was the Ephesus museum. There are several interesting pieces, among which 2 statues of Artemis or the lady of Ephesus. I had always thought that she was depicted with multiple breasts but have read that they may be bull testes…
I loved this head of a young woman
On the way back to the bus we saw a stork circling above with some kind of piece of material in her beak, exactly like on those birth announcement cards. She finally settled on this steeple…
I also saw for the first time a fig tree laden with fruit.
Our reward was a luncheon of Turkish mezzes! It was the best tasting food I had all week! (OK OK I am biased)
There was also grilled meat followed by honey pastries…
What tour in Turkey would be complete without a carpet demonstration?
| We had fun wandering the shops later for leather, cashmere, pottery and always …jewelry!… I have no photos to show for it, as I was too busy enjoying myself. |
Take me to Mediterranean Cruise, Part 8
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