Our 5th port of call was Kusadasi, Turkey, jumping off point for a trip to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. Kusadasi translates as “Bird Island” and is named in recognition of the small island which sits just offshore.
Once again we opted out of the ship’s excursions and contracted a private tour online. Our tour guide, Sinan, met us at the port with a driver in a mini-van type of excursion vehicle. There was enough room for 8, but it was just the two of us. Sinan has multiple degrees, including a master’s in archaeology. We didn’t get quite the jump on the crowd as we did in Olympia so we sweltered the morning away among the masses of tourists.
The ancient city of Ephesus was inhabited as early as 3000 BCE. There have actually been 3 different cities in the same general area by that name as the city shifted several times when the mouth of the river/port silted in. The ruins we visited were actually the 3rd city. Only a small amount of the vast site has been excavated and you can easily see the remnants of old structures poking up from the surrounding area. The site itself is, unfortunately, largely rubble. Bits and pieces have been propped together to give you a sense of place, but it isn’t nearly as impressive as Ostia Antica, Pompeii, or even Olympia. We entered through the upper entrance into what was originally a portion of the city reserved only for the upper class males (and their attending slaves). There was a small theater and any number of temples and buildings.
Downhill from this area you pass through the remnants of a gate and enter the city proper. The main road must have been lined with shops.
The current incarnation is paved with stones from the ruins and lined with columns and statues. Notice, we were far from alone!
In addition to temples and baths, we did visit a public bathroom similar in form to the ones we saw in Ostia Antica and cleansed by water flowing from the giant public baths next door.
Ephesus was famed for its library which rivaled that of Alexandria. In fact, when it threatened to eclipse the Egyptian center they responded by cutting off the supply of papyrus necessary to make the scrolls for new books. The Ephesians countered by developing a new technique of printing on processed animal hides which eventually evolved into parchment.
Down in the city proper, there was a huge amphitheater which could seat upwards of 24,000 people. Given an approximate ratio of 1:10 for citizens and others, this suggests that Ephesus had a population of roughly a quarter of a million people at its height.
After our walk through the archeological area we headed off to the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Little remains of this massive building which would have covered a football field save for a single column, complete with stork, which has been cobbled back together on site.
Next we headed off to a tiny little village for lunch at an out of the way little restaurant. We feasted on olives, stuffed peppers, spinach and cheese stuffed flat bread, stuffed squash blossoms, rice wrapped in grape leaves, Greek yogurt with watercress, fried red peppers, rice and fried beef bits followed by fresh watermelon. While in town we bought a bottle of black mulberry wine to bring home with us. Below is the view from our table.
Our final stop of the day was at the house of the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that she moved to Ephesus with John. The house has been rebuilt a number of times and visited by both of the last two popes, John Paul II and the current Benedict.
Just before we returned to the ship we stopped in at a carpet house. Unlike the masses of people from the ship tours, we were taken into a private, air conditioned back room and given a little lesson on carpets while drinking cold apple tea. We didn’t purchase anything since it was well beyond our budget and we already have more oriental carpets than we know what to do with at home. We still don’t know how the company managed to make money on us. Everything was included: car, driver, guide, water, lunch, entrance to Ephesus and Mary’s house. He even gave us a coin to drop in a well at one of the churches we came to along the way. All in all, another magnificent day!
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