Ephesus
Izmir Provence, Turkey
I'm waaaaay behind on doing these "100 Places" blogs, and I'm going to be further behind in a few weeks as Branelle and I are going to be checking off a few more. I decided to go with Ephesus for this one since Turkey has been in the news lately. After spending decades trying to join the European Union, Turkey has taken a turn for the worse and has regressed into a place that you probably shouldn't visit in the foreseeable future. It's a shame too as there are a number of locations there that are on our list (Hagia Sophia - Pamukkale - Cappadocia - the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul).
As always, I'm not going to bore you with a lot of history and details as Wikipedia can tell you a lot more than I ever could (I'll bore you in other ways). I'm just going to focus on the actual travel experience - sort of what it's like to go there, get there, and be there.
Ephesus was built in the 11th Century BC. There are ruins all over Europe and Asia, but what makes Ephesus stand out is the scale. It's a massive complex that you can walk through and view, and we are told that only about 10% of the site is open currently.
Even as large as it is, there are still areas that can get a little crowded - sort of like funnels. This street that Nel is heading down leading to the library was the worst example we encountered. Still, it was kind of cool to think that you're walking on the same marble as Marc Anthony, Cleopatra, and even Alexander the Great.
Same street - less people. We were there in September and it really wasn't crowded at all.
We had a tour guide named Mahmut who walked with us and used headphones so we didn't have to be right next to him to hear his extremely informative and interesting stories. Perhaps none was more fascinating than the one related to the toilets pictured above. You may not believe this, but the right to utilize the 47 "seats" in the city was auctioned off every year between the 300 wealthy citizens of Ephesus (total population was about 20K). They paid what would equate to around 500 MILLION $$ a year on average, and you HAD to use the seats twice a day, once in the morning and again for about 3 hours in the afternoon. If you missed more than 2 'sessions', you lost your seat. They used to have slaves sit on their seats until they arrived to warm them. I'm not making this up!
They put on a little show for everyone with gladiators and dancers and royalty. It was cute and ran probably every 20 minutes or so.
Here's another picture of the library. It's certainly the best conditioned ruin still at the site and its height is impressive. An interesting fact is that men would routinely spend all night at the library. Another interesting fact, but completely unrelated, is that there was an underground tunnel from the library leading to the town brothel.
The entire site is pretty laid back. There aren't a lot of personnel around telling you not to go there or touch that. The area is pretty too. We enjoyed our guide, but a self guide would be fine as well. There are some vendors set up outside the gates selling all kinds of interesting items and a number of places to eat. There are two gates to enter, but if you start at the upper gate the entire trek seems to be downhill. Another tip - there are no toilets or vendors inside the site. Bring your own water and plan ahead. It's probably about a 2 mile hike through the site and there are lots of steps and very little if any shade. We were there in the fall and it was beautiful but I can tell you from experience that it gets very hot in the summer months.
Another interesting stop in the area worth taking is the House of the Virgin Mary. This modest mountain top home is where the Vatican and others believe Mary spent her last days. It's a pilgrimage location for many Christians now and can be PACKED on religious holidays. It's interesting, and the area is absolutely gorgeous.
The town close to both sites is Kusadasi. This western coast city is a regular on the cruise routes and was a great place to be when we were there. It had resorts that reminded me of something you would find in Mexico, a great shopping bazaar, Turkish Baths, and even water parks. That said, I have no idea what the area would be like for tourists today. I fear Turkey is in a transition period and I couldn't recommend going there, especially with a family, in its current state. I've spent a lot of time in Turkey - even thought about buying property there - but the religious turmoil that has long plagued the eastern half of the country has spread to the west. Cross your fingers that things will turn around soon because Turkey has a lot to offer travelers.
No comments:
Post a Comment