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Once known as the capital of the Asian Province of the Roman Empire, Ephesus certainly did not disappoint as it was easily one of the most beautiful ancient sites. Frankly, I was really simply looking forward to the Library of Celsus. Most websites on Ephesus have this postcard-pretty photo of the ruins of the Library, and I truly thought it would be just that and a few more ruins, maybe a small amphitheater and that's it. Not so. The scale of the site is simply awesome. We entered through one of 2 gates. Magnesian Gate heads downhill, leaving the highlights for last. First off was the state agora which served as the city's civic center. Best preserved building here is the odeon or council chamber with its small amphitheather. We took our seats here and listened to our Tour Guide Oktay's spiel on the history of Ephesus: Ephesus was founded around the 10th century BC by Ionian Greeks from Samos. It was then subsequently ruled by Lydians, Persians, Attalid Kings of Pergamum and then finally by the Romans under whom the city became the capital of Asia Minor. Geographically, Ephesus' greatness lies in its proximity to the sea. Linked to the port, trade and commerce flourished. When the harbour began to silt up, the city began to decline and was eventually deserted by the 6th century. Much of what we now see in Ephesus are the ruins which belonged to the Imperial Roman period. Walking on well-defined streets, there was no denying how great a metropolis Ephesus was in its time. The chariot ruts in the thoroughfares, public and private buildings lining the roads evoke memories of many processions, royal parades and chariot-riding monarchs.
We marveled at the marble-paved Street of the Curetes and the Temple of Hadrian with its beautiful arched porch. Behind it, we found the Baths of Scholastica. It was a long walk, and there was no respite from the unrelenting sun. At the bottom of the street we found public lavatories with stone seats above a channel used as sewage. There were no divisions or partitions between seats. In fact, the ancient seats were too close to each other for (my) comfort. Hmm, never thought of this "activity" as a social affair. But I guess times were different 2,000 years ago. Not far away was a brothel (yes, there was one) with mosaic floors and a footprint . Some kind of logo?
We were all excited by the time we reached the highlight of our walk through history. The Library of Celsus is truly Ephesus' most memorable edifice. Built between 110-135 A.D. by a Roman Celsus (Aquila) as a memorial for his father whose tomb rests underneath. The building faces east, so that the reading rooms can be bathed in morning sunlight. It is also not as big as I thought it was, though the entrance somehow gave that impression. Traveling in March has its advantages. The tourist season has yet to set in , so we were lucky to enjoy the place without the crowds. One can only imagine how crowded it could have been. The library was touched by sunlight just enough to give us a good shot of the site. It must have looked so grand before. Alongside , a great gate leads to the main Agora, which is now an immense pile of rubble. The splendour of Ephesus did not stop with the fascinating Library of Celsus. Another amphitheater can be found as one walks out of the 2nd gate. This is the biggest outdoor theater in the ancient world that sits as many as 25,000. St. Paul preached in this very amphitheater. Elton John had a concert here. Hmmmm. Some climbed all the way up to the top row to have a good view of the Arcadian Way. In Roman times, this street had colonnaded walkways with mosaic pavements and oil-lit lamps! At the time, Ephesus was 1 of only 3 cities in the world with lit streets. I can thus imagine how residents here could have been such cosmopolitan snobs in their time. They were the city folks, so to speak! It is hard to imagine that this was also used for gladiatorial combats and that a gladiators graveyard was also found nearby. Very difficult to reconcile Ephesus as the site of a large gladiators' graveyard with the fact that this same site was one of the 7 Churches of Asia cited in the Book of Revelations. It was also where St. Paul (yes, he lived briefly here too), St. John and Mother Mary lived for a time. It is even said that St. John may have written his gospel here in Ephesus. (His Revelations were written in Patmos. ) In the Acts of the Apostle, it
is said that St. Paul came to Ephesus in the first century AD, and preached that the silver image of Artemis were not divine. This threatened the local silversmiths who were making brisk business in Ephesus as the site also housed the Temple of Artemis, claimed to be the one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World. We visited this site too, and I have to say there was absolutely nothing to see there except a lone column standing tall amidst a vast empty space. Hard to imagine the ancient temple from this single column. One legend goes that the Temple was burned down in 356 AD by a lunatic by the name of Herostratus. Coincidentally, the Temple was burned on the same night that Alexander the Great was born. More trivia here: Artemis is the Fertility Goddess, also known as the Roman Diana and Turkish Cybele or Kybele. Same, same. . . .
Christian and Muslim pilgrims alike walk up through the pine woods 5 kilometers beyond the Magnesian Gate where we entered all the way to Meryemana, the site of Mama Mary's house. The little stone chapel where St. John brought Mama Mary to live south of Selchuk and Ephesus, is a holy site that has been visited by 3 Popes. The foundations dating back from the first century were discovered by priests in Izmir in the 19th century following instructions from an Austrian woman who saw it in a vision. The chapel was so little we had to breeze through it, light candles and whisper our prayers. We all noticed the tree standing just before the chapel and wondered how long it must have stood there. Walking out and back to the entrance, we passed a place where pilgrims hang their letters of petition. Walking around, I found the chance to say my rosary and my prayer of thanks.
This excursion took all of one day as we leisurely took in all that history. It was a most satisfying day. Almost spiritual. Shelly and I are so happy to have made it here.
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Two4deroad
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As always...
I enjoyed your blog. If you are still in Turkey, try to visit Pamukale, it is a nice and unique site. I too had a wonderful time in Turkey the people are very hospitable 'au contraire' to what the media is feeding us and the food is simply delicious . Thank you for sharing the history and pictures of this gem.