Blogs from Ephesus, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East - page 2

This was our day to visit Ephesus. This ancient city was rebuilt 4 times due to earthquakes and fire. Ephesus's streets are paved with marble and lined with columns. The library was the third largest in its time. There were bath houses for the rich and poor. The council amphitheatre was bigger then most of our playhouses now, and the amphitheatre for drama and games could hold 24000 people. There is a part of the ruins that are covered and excavated with exacting care. Here the terrace homes display their painted walls with birds and vines, fruit and flowers. The floors are covered in mosaics of increasing complexity. Other rooms have panels of marble split to have mirrored images in stone side be side. The terraced house climb on top of each other as they move ... read more

Ephesus was going to be "my highlight" of the trip. I had heard so much about this ancient city that I was busting to get there to see what all the fuss was about. I had learnt that this city is where the bibical book of John had been written and the Virgin Mary was thought to have lived. The city itself is an amazing example of an advanced civilisation so many thousands of years ago. Our trip started at 6am! (bearing in mind that our bodies were still 2 hours behind) this made for a VERY early start! Armed with oversized waterbottles, sunscreen and a wide brimmed hat, we were collected from the resort and after picking up numerous people from around Bitez, Gumbet and Bodrum were taken to a "meeting point" where our highlight ... read more

9 May Left Istanbul on the 7am Ferry to Bandirma , a 2 hour trip, then onto a bus for Canakkule and a short ferry ride across to the Gallipoli peninsula. Checked into the Crowded House hostel, had a nice lunch at a local cafe and checked out the excellent diorama of the trenches and a very moving sculpture to the Gallipoli Campaign on the foreshore. Dinner at a nice restaurant next to our lunch place, where we met Anna and Landon who are biking home from London to NZ! They are a lot younger than us, ha ha! 10 May Had a lazy morning, then the Gallipoli tour at 12, we got in the bus and went 50 yards down the road for lunch, same place as last night, Eceabat is a small town! We ... read more

I really didn't understand the scale of Ephesus. Extensive marble paved streets linking all the different features of this once busy and populated city (some 250,000 at its peak). It has existed from the 10 century BC to 15 century AD when it was abandoned. Visitors can roam fairly freely across the site. Amazing really. Evidently there is much, much more which has not yet been uncovered. These photos include the famous Celsus Library and the amphitheatre which is vast. (Look closely as there are people in that shot!) I would love to be at a concert here; they apparently happen on the odd occasion. Our hotel, Ninsayan House, in the hills above, in Sirince, is simple luxury. A bit of a splurge for us and has been something very special. This is a real highlight! ... read more

Even thought we just posted a blog we spent an amazing day at Ephesus and decided to post some pics from it. The weather has turned and we see on the TV, Istanbul has snow. Here, we are just very cold, but beautiful clear crisp air made for some nice photos. Ephesus was amazing! Originally an early Greek settlement in 1000 BC thru 6th century AD, with as many as 250,000 people. Lots of wars and a silting harbor contributed to its demise. There continues to be alot of excavation, with every dig they seem to find something! With the cold it was a very quiet day, and when we were touring the terraced houses we were the only ones there. Many times we would just sit and listen. It was very easy to envision it, ... read more