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Published: April 18th 2015
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Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus is located in the town Bodrum In Turkey there are more ancient ruins than we can count
A long time ago at a history lesson in school I (Ake) heard a lecture about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. These sites were the most impressive human constructions in Ancient Greece and people travelled from places far away to marvel at the monuments that were erected there.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (personally I think a better name is The Seven Wonders of the Ancient Greece since the list does not include any construction outside of Ancient Greece) are/were the following:
• The Great Pyramid of Giza
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Temple of Artemis
• Statue of Zeus
• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
• Colossus of Rhodes
• Lighthouse of Alexandria
I was fascinated by these wonderful statues and buildings and was deeply disappointed when the teacher told us that only one of these seven wonders, the Great Pyramid of Giza, still stands and that there is no trace today of the six others.
Many years later I was sitting by the computer and stumbled
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
This is what the mausoleum used to look like when it was built upon a web page about the Seven Wonders and I learned that not all of the other six wonders are gone. Fragments of at least three of them, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Temple of Artemis and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, have survived until today. Two of these sites, Temple of Artemis and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, are in Turkey and are only a few hours drive from each other. They could even be visited on the same day if one wish to do so.
The first half of this trip in Turkey was dedicated to seeing the remaining traces of Temple of Artemis and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
The remains of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus are located in the town Bodrum. At the site there are a pieces of columns, some walls and a pre-mausoleum burial chamber. At the site there is also a small exhibition with a few pieces of statues that have been unearthed at the site and pictures of what the mausoleum looked like before it was destroyed.
The remains of Temple of Artemis are located in the outskirts of the modern city Selcuk. There is one column standing, a few scattered
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Today the site where the mausoleum used to be looks like this rocks and a pool.
There really isn't much left of neither the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus nor the Temple of Artemis. I knew that before I went there so I am not at all disappointed. Heck, my teacher told me that there was
nothing left. I saw plenty more than nothng so of course I am happy about going there. Besides, Turkey has so many Greek and Roman ruin sites so I got my fair share of ruins on this trip. There are so many ruins in Turkey that no matter how much of a ruin addict a person is he or she will eventually have enough of them.
To get an idea of what Temple of Artemis used to look like I went to another temple ruin called Didyma. The temple there used to be dedicated to Apollo and was similar in style and size as the Temple of Artemis. Although that temple is also in ruins today, not surprising since it was constructed more than 2,500 years ago, there is enough standing to get a good understanding what it used to look like. It was big and impressive and had more than one
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Fragments of a stele that has been unearted at the site hundred massive columns!
On the way to Temple of Artemis I stopped at a site called Magnesia. Magnesia must have been a lively city during its heydays judging from the size of the city centre, the amphitheatre and the stadium. I was very impressed by the size of the stadium. I believe that when it was in use it might have been similar in size as Stockholm Olympic Stadium.
Now, after having visited two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World I guess I have to visit the others as well. The Great Pyramid of Giza survives in fairly good condition and can easily be visited. Seeing the Lighthouse of Alexandria is trickier. The few remains that have been identified are under water. Might be difficult to find a diving tour of that site. Of the Colossus of Rhodes and Statue of Zeus there is probably no trace at all but it is fairly well known where they were. I wouldn't mind visiting neither Rhodes nor Olympia so in the future there might be following up stories to this one. Nobody knows where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located. Some people even
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
There are only fragments left today think they might never have existed. So that site will never be featured in any future blog entry.
This was all I had to say about the first half of this trip in Turkey. The second half I will write about in a separate blog entry.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Fascinating
When I think of the things we see nowadays we often reflect what it was like only years before. How exciting you can visit or dream of what the ancient Wonders of the World were like in antiquity. Fascinating blog Ake.