Day
5 – Monday, August 29, 2011 – Ephasus
The
following day started early, with a shuttle from the hostel to the airport at
7:30am. We had a short flight to Izmir on Pegasus airlines, which was
completely uneventful. But of course, Jeremy has some more details to share. We
actually went through security twice: once when we were walking through the
innards of the Ataturk airport from our shuttle’s drop-off to the domestic
terminal, and once again when we entered the terminal. Surprisingly, both here
and when we flew in Israel, there was no liquid check, nor did we have to take
our shoes off. There was some great plane viewing which actually made us feel
like we could see, first-hand, the impact of Hurricane Irene: There was a Delta
plane. Delta is the only American airline to fly to Turkey, and obviously, this
plane was stranded during the hurricane. When we boarded, the rush to get on
reminded us of Israelis trying to get on a bus – a surprising moment in a
country of very polite individuals. Although this was a discount airline, they
still had gorgeous and stylish uniforms. And of course, because it was a
discount airline, everything other than access to the bathrooms onboard had to
be purchased.
After
arriving in Izmir and finally finding our shuttle (after about 40 minutes with
an incredibly nice local who called the hostel to find out where the driver was
and then kept calling him until he arrived at the airport, and then wouldn’t
take a tip) we were off on ah hour-long drive to Selcuk. We arrived at the
Boomerang Guesthouse and had a lovely lunch in their gardens. The owner of the
hostel was incredibly nice and informative, and he arranged a taxi that would
take us to Ephasus, pick us up after our time there, take us to see the Artimus
temple, then bring us back to the hostel. So, we loaded ourselves into the
taxi, and off we went to Ephasus.
Ephasus,
pronounced 'Efes' in Turkish, was an ancient Greek city and later a major Roman
city with a population of more than a quarter of a million people around the
first century BCE. Even though only about 18% of the site has been excavated,
Ephesus is the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean.
We explored the baths, the amphitheater, temple of Hadrian, the main streets of
the city, and of course the remains of the library. We were so lucky to have
our resident archaeologist Abram, who really gave us a lot of insight into the
importance of what we were seeing. While all of the ruins were interesting to
see, the remains of the Library of Celsus were truly amazing. The entire façade
is standing, and looking at it you can just imagine what it must have looked
like with the entire city built up around it. We spent about 2 hours walking
through the ruins, and then went with our cab driver, Shakir, to the remains of
the Temple of Artimus. Once one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the
temple was originally constructed during the bronze age, and subsequently
destroyed and reconstructed a number of times. Now, only one column of the
temple is left at the original site. The amazing thing is that in antiquity,
the temple was dedicated to the god of fertility and now, atop the lone column,
sits a stork’s nest, the modern symbol of fertility. We spent some time looking
at the column and at St. John's Cathedral in the distance, and found a small
pond with frogs and turtles. Abram decided it would be fun to chase the ducks
that were gathered nearby, and we're all just glad that he emerged with all of
his fingers intact.
After
our day of ruins we walked through the town of Selcuk trying to find a
restaurant that had been recommended in our guidebook. When we found it closed,
the owner of the restaurant across the street explained that there was a death
in the family and the restaurant would be closed for a few days. But, we were
welcome to try his restaurant! We ended up having an absolutely delicious meal
overlooking a fountain and some ruins. With gelato in hand we walked back to
the hostel where we relaxed in the garden with some tea, hookah, and
backgammon. The surprising part of this city was the incredibly heavy influence
of Australians, exemplified with our hostel: The Boomerang Hostel.
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