Sunday, May 1, 2016 – Happy May Day, Labour day in much of the world, or any other holiday you wish to celebrate today, and have a party. At sea between Israel and Turkey. After two busy and tiring days in Israel with 8 Km walking done each day and the same in Limassol Cyprus the day before yesterday, we were glad for a day at sea to recharge one’s batteries and start the catch up process of the blog and pictures. Despite this, today was a busy day filled with activities. The Captain’s Church service was well attended and he spoke of the days in Israel. This was followed by Graham Howell doing a lecture on Naples, the port after Kusadasi. The new speaker, Jonathan Rice (brother of Tim Rice of Musical Theatre fame) spoke on British Hit Singles. It was he, together with three old school friends that compiled the Guiness Book of British Hit Singles, which was the “bible” of Songs in Britain that hit the top of the charts. This made some people happy, while other very unhappy as the criteria for inclusion was whether it hit the top of the charts from an economic standpoint, not popularity. Paul Sloane gave a fascinating first talk in the series on Supercharging your memory. How to remember thing (memory pegs), names (repetition) etc. Since we are sailing in the Mediterranean, I should note a few facts and figures. It is bounded by Europe, Africa and Asia, has a length of 3,700 Kilometers (2,300 miles), and maximum width of 1,600 Km (1,000 miles) a surface area of 2.51 Million (MM) Square Kilometers (870K Sq Miles) and an average depth of 1,370 meters (4,495 feet), with a maximum of 5,121 Mters (16,801 feet) in depth. It has three main connections – To the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar, The Black Sea through the Dardinelles and the Red Sea through the Suez Canal.
Monday, May 2, 2016 – In Kusadasi (Kus = Bird, Ada = Island), Turkey, which is the Port of call for Ephesus – the largest archaeological site in Turkey, with only and estimated 15% having been discovered. We docked, Port to dock within a short walk of the busy town and shops. Prior to the start of the trip we opted for this port to take a private tour just for the 4 of us and thus we found the TURA Tourism private (15 Passanger) mini bus with our guide Gotham and Driver Ravi (country is Right Hand Side driving). Turkey covers an area of 614K Sq Km (237K Sq Milies) of which 97% is in Asia and 3% in Europe It has a population of 80 Million (MM) of 31 ethnic races + 3MM Syrian Refugees. 15 MM live in Istanbul, 5 MM in Ankara the capital, 4MM in Izmir and 100K in Kusadasi but this number swells to 1MM during summer holidays given its popularity. It is bounded to the North by the Black Sea, the South by the Mediterranean, the West by the Agean Sea and the East by Syria. The country has a long glorious history as part of the Ottoman Empire, but in 1923 was the start of the secular Republic of Turkey with no Official Religion but most are Muslim and thus is the only Muslim dominated secular country. There are some 300 Archaeological sites in Western & Southern Tuurkey alone and the basis of the economy is still agricultural & animal husbandry.
Our first stop after travelling the 16 Kilometers (10 miles) from Kusadasi to Ephesus – which used to have a harbour on the sea at the time of Jesus, but over time since the 1st Century AD, the river flowing into the sea has silted up this large area making it productive arable land plus they constructed a “General Aviation” (private plane) airport in what is now the growing town of Selçuk. Driving past the upper entrance to Ephesus we went to the top of the hill to the home of Mary, the mother of Jesus (aka Meryem Ana and Panaghja Kapulu) registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site on the very recent July 5, 2015. History records that St. John the Evangelist having been told by Jesus on the cross just before dying – John this is your Mother – brought Mary here after the crucifixion around 42 – 50 AD making the 2 year travel time on foot and donkey from Jerusalem. She was 52 or 54 years old and lived here for 4 years until her natural death with August 15th being celebrated as the Ascension of the Virgin Mary by a special service conducted by the Archbishop of Izmir. The disciples were being persecuted and John was to go to Asia Minor to start spreading the word, thus his decision to come to the then largest city in the East after Alexandria, namely Ephesus. The modest stone house was built here as it had a water source nearby which we visited together with its original clay pipes, and the townspeople brought her provisions. Caterina Emmerich, a stigmatised German nun had a dream about the location of Mary’s house and wrote a book “The Life of The Blessed Virgin” in 1820. She was an invalid and never left Germany, yet she described in great detail, the house and it’s surroundings. Scientific expeditions came to this place and on the third day of their search found the home (actually a previously constructed chapel) exactly as she had seen in her vision in 1891. In the 1960’s Carbon 14 dating revealed it to being built in the 1st century AD. The existing house / chapel was restored in 1951 with part of it dating to the 7th century AD. The small home is today a shrine having a small bedroom and a “Great Room / Parlour” now a chapel with altar, but it is too small for any gathering other than a handful of people. Thus an open air church next to the house with a central altar covered by a metal roof suspended on four posts and open air seating on three sides, serves as the place of worship and is in continuous use. In 1967 was the first papal visit to the shrine with John Paul II in 2010 being the last Pope to visit the house. Some ancillary evidence regarding Mary and this place: – In 431 AD the first Basilica to the Virgin Mary was built following the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus of that date (June 22, 431 AD) convened by the Emperor Teodosio II and championed by Curious of Alexandria. It was during that Council that Mary as the Mother of Jesus was officially accepted into the cannons of the church. Mary is mentioned 26 times in the Q’uran as mother of the prophet (eg 2:87 & 253; 3:42, 43,45; 21:91) but Mohammed’s mother is never mentioned. After leaving the home, we wandered through the grounds stopping at the natural water source taking water in our hand and on the head, in reverence. Further along the path, we participated in the Turkish tradition of writing a wish / vision on a piece of paper, tying it to a tree and if it falls off naturally, the wish will come true. In this case we placed our papers with the wishes on a long grate, placed for that purpose. It was now time to meet up with our guide and drive down the hill to the Archaeological “park” that is Ephesus.
Ephesus dates to pre-Ionian times with some evidence of Greek settlement in the 11th or 10th century BC.The Carians and Lelegians lived near the Temple of Artemis (Diana), which was one of the Seven Woners of the Ancient World. All that survives today is one column and some rubble, which we saw. In its day, however it was four times larger than the Parthenon in Greece and measured 142 yards long and 75 yards wide, surrounded by 127 Ionic columns 60 feet high. After standing for some 500 years it was destroyed by the Goths in 262 AD. It was subsequently reconstructed more modestly, but now the remaining relics excavated in the 19th century are to be seen in museums in Istanbul and London. During the 11th to 7th Centuries BC Ephesus became a prosperous center for trade, until in the 6th Century BC when it fell to Croesus of Lydia and later to Cyrus the Persian. In 334 BC Alexander the Great established a democratic government in the city. In 190 BC the Romans defeated Antiochus the King of Syria and Ephesus was given to Eumenes, King of Pergamum. In 133 Ephesus became a Roman City and in the early days of Christianity St. Paul spent 3 years here, founding the first Christian community. During one speech proclaiming Christianity, a heckler by the name of Demetrius, afraid of loosing business as a silversmith making statues of Artemis, claimed Paul was a heretic. Preaching against the principal religion involving Artemis. He was found guilty, imprisoned for two years and then fled to Macedonia where his writings of the Letters to the Ephesians kept the word alive in Ephesus. St. John, as mentioned, lived here and was the only disciple to die a natural death, being buried here in the Church that bears his name and was the subject of our next stop after the 4 hours at Ephesus. I digress, so back to Ephesus. For all who have been here, I think you will agree that it is one of the most complete and amazing archeological sites anywhere and gives one a real sense of how the city was laid out and functioned. At it’s apogee the population grew to 250,000 which at the time was a major metropolis, with Rome and Alexandria in the “Old World” and Tikal (Guatemala) and Teotihacan (Outside Mexico City) in the “New World” being other examples that had that size population. I have been here twice 30 years ago and 5 years ago, Diana was here some 40 years ago and Tachy 10 years ago. However each time one is here, more excavations and new things to see are the work of the Austrian archaeology team that works the site. Perhaps for those who have not been to the site for decades, the single most important discovery has been the Noblemen houses which are stunningly beautiful, situated near the library and covered with an enormous roof. Entering Ephesus (Only placed on the UNSCO World Heritage Site list on July 5th, 2015) through the Gate of Magnesia, one is greeted by the first sector which was more the Administrative part of the town. A useful scale model of the city is a good place to start. The first building is the East Gymnasium, used for all to wash (particularly as Malaria was a problem at the time) and for children 4 to 14 being educated. A small Theatre or Odeon (capacity 1500) for the noblemen concerts and for political discourse (parliament) is next to the Gymnasium and opposite the Agora (Meeting Place) which is 110 Meters Long and 73 Meters wide, where general meetings, demonstrations and speeches were given. Often Agora is thought of as a bazaar and indeed it was occasionally used for that purpose, but the main market was further down “Marble Street” near the library. As one proceeds down the “Marble Street”, so named as all the road is made of Marble stone, one passes Temples to Artemis, to the Virgin Priestess, baths etc, reaching the Hercules Gate which is where all horses and other animals had to stop as it was too narrow and short, thus from there on, all had to walk. This leads to the Center section of Ephesus which is more the commercial section filled with shops, Temples to Hadrian, to the Egyptians, Fountain to Trojan and other temples and fountains erected as monuments and places of worship for the many people that came to the city for trade. Residences lined the side streets and indeed there is a lot to be uncovered in what is today a hill. It is known that there must be noble residences under this hill as a lavish home with swimming pool has been found (not open to the public) at the top of the hill and probably was the residence of the Governor or head of State. Towards the bottom of the hill one is greeted with the public toilets on one side and next to the Brothel on the other side of the road is the newly and still being worked, Nobeman Houses and in front is the Library of Celsus, which is the iconic building that has been reconstructed and the picture all know as the symbol of Ephesus. The toilets consist of holes in benches with running water below. A sponge on a stick dipped once into clean water was used for cleaning and as the benches were made of marble, in the cooler weather the slaves of the nobleman would sit on the bench to warm the seat before the master used them. Long discussions between the attended of the facility would ensue and replace the reading material we use today. The brothel was opposite the the library and near the market, so the men would leave their wives at the market and say “I’m off to the library” ending up across the street!!! The new work being done on the noble houses is fantastic. There are seven homes with central heating, bed and bathrooms as well as eating and sleeping areas and one is particularly large with it’s own chapel and large reception room. All have stunning floors of mosaics, depicting all types of scenes. Work is being done on attempting to piece together all the pieces of the wall and floor decorations and looks like the world’s biggest jigsaw puzzle. Apparently it took 10 years just to sort the pieces into different shapes, types and sizes to be able now and start the assembling of the puzzle. It was particularly good that as we went through and climbed the several hundred steps, we were basically alone as all the tour busses had gone and other than the mosaic team working on the puzzles, we had the place to ourselves so we could appreciate and marvel over what we were seeing. There were people that remained living in Ephesus until the 11th century AD long after its decline and they made some modifications to these noble houses. The library of Celsus with it’s steps, columns and statues (to Wisdom, Knowledge, Intelligence and Success) and the room itself holds his grave and remains, with niches for scrolls has been reconstructed partially. It was originally built in 135 AD by Julius Aquila in memory of his father Celsus Polemeanus of Sardis. The room itself measures 55 by 36 feet and the 2 story façade is 53 feet high. At the time, the three largest libraries in the world were in Alexandria (250K scrolls), Pergamon (200K) and Ephesus with 12, 000 scrolls. During the time of Cleopatra, she prohibited the use of papyrus scrolls anywhere but in Egypt as she wanted to maintain Alexandria as the largest in the world. Thus the other libraries had to go to parchment. However when she took over the area, all scrolls from Pergamon and Ephesus were mandated to be transferred to Alexandria. The library there was destroyed by fire and all the scrolls with it, thus none remain. The marble patio 70 feet wide outside the library has two monumental arches built in Augustus’s time by his “head slaves / gatekeepers / head assistants” – Mazaeus and Mithridates in thanks for the blessings Augustus heaped upon them. This leads to the main square Agora / Market place each side measuring 370 feet. All along the roads, there were pedestals and statues of noble men and leaders. When one fell out of favour, his head was removed and replaced with a new head, leaving the body intact, thus saving on labour!! A lot of the marble today has disappeared as when burned, it melts and forms quick-lime used for painting trees white so undesirable bugs are detracted from climbing the trees. Additionally, many have been used in other structures and can be seen in the fort etc. The walk continued to the spectacular theatre seating 25,000 people used for gladiators and concerts, even St. Paul preached there and it was in continual use for some 600 years. Construction started during the reign of Claudius (41-54 AD) and was completed during the reign of Trojan (98-117 AD) and has been added to over the years. The acoustics are still amazing and is the other major iconic monument of Ephesus. To go to the other extreme, Elton John performed in the venue not too many years ago! It has been closed since 2000 for renovations, but is likely to be reopened and used for special concerts. Thus, thoroughly energised by the outstanding experience, we headed to the Gate of Coressus and out to the street to meet our driver.
The next stop, nearby, was the Basilica of St. John. A church was built and it was where John preached after he came to Ephesus with Mary. It is thought that he lived to the right old age of 95 to 98 years old. He was exiled for a while on the nearby Greek Island of Papus, where he wrote the fourth gospel. Others claim that he wrote them in Ephesus. What is known though is that he died a natural death and was buried by or under the altar of the church. This was expanded in 338 AD and then in 540 AD, Justinian built a vast Cathederal over the basilica in Selçuk. The burial place has four pillars around a square raised platform with stairs leading to the tomb nearby. These are locked and not open to the public. The basilica is now an active archaeological site with many of the walls at least partially in place and one can easily glean the structure of how it was in all its glory.
We had gone way over our time allocated and it was 2:30 PM when we left the Cahedral, thanks to the fascinating story and interesting visit. We then went to a nice Turkish lunch on the balcony of an old but good looking hotel with a terrific view of the bay and our ship. We should have been there with the rest of the coaches at 1 or 1:30PM, but they kindly served us. By this time it was getting late to get back to the ship, but we did pick up some suitcases and get onto the ship for a 4:30 departure and a gorgeous sail-away, viewing the harbour of Kusadasi.
Roger & Anne Travels 