Izmir and Ephesus

I did not realize how much we would enjoy visiting Ephesus, so I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. It was incredible, and I cannot wait to relive it as we step back into ancient history.

We flew into Izmir, which is a really cool town on it’s own. It sits on the Gulf of Izmir, part of the Aegean Sea, and is the third largest city in Turkey (behind Istanbul and Ankara). It has great waterfront views (not beaches, just waterfront) lined with a huge park, restaurants and bars.

After arriving Friday night, Meadows, Kunal and I had the best meal of our entire time in Turkey. Thank you, Topçu! This restaurant served casual, traditional Turkish food. We started with an amazing lahmacun, which is Turkish pizza. Meadows had kofte and I had a spicy chicken dish. Topçu knocked it out of the park, and the three of us still talk about this meal nonstop!

Saturday morning, we got up early for our tour. We booked it the night before, and (as I’ve mentioned) I had no clue what to expect. Our tour guide was very charismatic, entertaining us the entire day! We were lucky to have such a small group; in addition to Kunal, Meadows and me, only an Italian couple about our parents’ age accompanied us.

Our first stop was at the House of the Virgin Mary. Despite the lack of physical evidence, stories lead historians to believe that this is the location where John the Apostle took Mary to live out her final days. The Catholic Church never officially accepted this site as Mary’s home, even though three Popes have visited the house. Regardless of what you believe (religiously or historically about the house), the visit was special. Crowds flock to this place each day, as it is a shrine for both Christians and Muslims. The house is small but filled with warmth, and no photos are allowed inside. Oddly enough, the restoration of the site occurred thanks to George Quatman of Lima, Ohio.

Outside, a spring fountain serves up water that is said to have healing powers. Meadows helped a young visitor get a drink before having his own!

The site also has a famous wishing wall. Visitors write their wishes and prayers on paper and fabric and deposit them on the wall for Mother Mary.

From there, we went to Ephesus, one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire. Don’t believe me? Here are a few crazy facts about Ephesus:

• The Gospel of John may have been written at Ephesus
• At the peak of Ephesus in 100 AD, the city was thought to have a population of 250,000 and was the third largest city in the Roman Empire (behind Rome and Alexandria)
• Archaeologists today are still excavating and finding new areas of the city. Experts anticipate that less than 15% is currently unearthed

Ephesus began as a bustling Greek seaport in the 1^st century BCE. It’s difficult to imagine now because the sea is so far away!

Our tour began in the State Agora, which was a marketplace and meeting place for state business. Notice the terra cotta pipes! The Ephesians developed a sophisticated plumbing system, through which they captured rainwater from the mountains through these pipes flowing downhill for public fountains and wealthy private homes.

We walked down the Basilica, a long walkway lined with beautiful columns (or the remains of them). We saw two different kinds of columns here: Corinthian – characterized by their leafy tops; and Ionic – featuring two scrolls, called volutes, on the capital. Ionic columns were popularized by their occurrence Ephesus.

The path led to a small theater in the round. Named the Odeon, this theater housed small performances and the city council meetings.

The Odeon is also where Meadows and I took this photo underneath an ornate archway. I feel I should mention that this isn’t a particularly notable or important spot; Meadows and I simply snapped a photo here because we thought the arch was pretty! Aside from posting it on social media, I sent it to my family. My oldest brother, Bo, immediately responded with a photo from his trip to Ephesus six years ago with his wife, Nan… in the SAME SPOT!

 

Behind Meadows and me in this photo are two important columns; these are all that remains of the Prytaneion, a temple and town hall, which was where the eternal flame of Ephesus was kept.

A short way down (the pathways all went downhill), we encountered three major landmarks. To our left stood the Temple of the Sebastoi, formerly called the Temple of Domitian. It was one of the largest temples in the city! It was dedicated to the Flavian Dynasty, specifically Domitian, who was the Roman emperor at the time the temple was built.

To the right, we saw the remains of the Memmius monument. Memmius built this relief to honor his grandfather, the great dictator Sulla.

In front of us sat a stone carving of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, which stood for the triumphant Romans. Some say that the goddess’s flowing gown inspired the swoosh in Nike’s logo.

The greatest part of our tour began as we walked down Curetes Road. The downward slope perfectly highlights the library in the background!

On the right, Trajan’s Fountain towered above us. Two stories tall and extremely impressive looking (especially for a fountain), this landmark is where residents got their water. The Ephesians named the fountain for Emperor Trajan.

We noticed ornate mosaic sidewalks on the left side of Curetes Road. This area contained shops and homes, which were only to be accessed by the aristocratic citizens. Fancy sidewalks for fancy people!

Like everything else, the Temple of Hadrian was named for Emperor Hadrian. This temple prominently features Corinthian columns and what is thought to be medusa in the back.

One of the more fascinating aspects of Ephesus is their baths. The baths were even more extensive than modern-day health clubs! The baths featured saunas, exercise areas, swimming pools, changing rooms, gardens, shops, food vendors and more! The location served as more than just a place for bathing; it offered locals a place to meet and discuss the issues of the day. The Byzantines continued this tradition, the Ottomans developed it even further and the Turkish people today embrace this concept with Turkish bathhouses/hamams.

The public toilets seemed quite primitive, but they were actually thoughtfully designed. With marble seating, the Ephesians had water flowing beneath the seats to carry the waste out. It is also thought that use of the public toilets was a social event!

At the bottom of the hill, the Library of Celsus overlooks the rest of the city. It’s so massive – it’s not wonder that it is the epitome of Ephesus and the third largest library of the ancient world. Celsus served as governor in the Roman Empire, and his son built the library in his honor after his death. The four statues in between the columns on the first floor represent the traits of Celsus: wisdom, knowledge, intelligence and bravery. At one point, historians believe this library housed over 12,000 scrolls.

Egyptians, who didn’t want libraries to be bigger than their own, at one point refused to continue exporting papyrus to Ephesus. Needing a new form of “paper”, the Romans invented parchment from dried animal hides. They stacked the parchment, rather than rolling it; this resulted in binding and books!

Beyond the library lies the Commercial Agora, which used to be bursting with shops and activity and was surrounded by giant columns.

Last, but certainly not least, we came upon the Great Theater. It is impossible to capture how massive it is; the performance space can hold 25,000 spectators and offers perfect acoustics. The theater hosted plays and concerts, in addition to gladiator flights! Modern performers have played the Great Theater as well; Elton John, Sting and Diana Ross have all graced this stage.

As we departed Ephesus, we walked down Harbor Road, the main drag and connector for the city to the harbor. It was quite the grand entrance, featuring marble pavement and 50 streetlamps!

With the fall of Rome, so fell Ephesus. It was overtaken by the Byzantine Empire, but they still encountered the issue of silt and the receding sea. In the 7th century, the harbor dried up, and the city was overtaken by mosquito-borne malaria. Ephesus was literally buried.

Believe it or not, we saw ALL of that before even eating lunch. We had a whole afternoon of surprises (READ: sales pitches) ahead of us…

We ate a great lunch and learned about Turkish rugs. This was all pretty interesting to see the process of creating a handmade rug: from boiling and unraveling the silkworm to the two-knot method, holding the rug together tightly. The salesman gave an award-winning pitch, which was followed by palpable disappointment when we told him we are homeless nomads with no interest in purchasing a rug.

Our next “cultural excursion” was to a pottery shop. We watched as an expert constructed a jar with a perfectly fitting lid on a pottery wheel that he kicked to make it spin! It was a crazy display of multi-tasking and eyeballing measurements. We also saw how the ceramics are beautifully hand painted.

The last stop of the sales tour was by far the most entertaining: a silk leather store. This is apparently a concept unique to the region: thin, wrinkle resistant leather, which is oftentimes reversible. We had no interest in buying anything, but we got a hilarious fashion show nonetheless.  This photo does not even do my videos justice!

We made our way back to Izmir after a long day of touring, grabbed dinner and drinks and flew back to Ankara Sunday morning. Ephesus success!