Finsatsea: September 11 - Kusadasi, Turkey

Around noon today we arrived in Kusadasi, our second port in Turkey. Kusadasi (pronounced koosh-ah-dash- ih) is located on the Aegean coast of Turkey. It’s a resort city with a residential population of a little over 60,000. In the summer months it grows to close to 500,000 as tourists come to stay in the hotels and enjoy the beaches and relatively inexpensive prices.

For cruise ships the port is the stepping off place for a visit to Ephesus, which was our destination for the afternoon. Ephesus dates back to the classical Greek period when it was one of 12 cities forming the Ionian League. Later around the first century BC it became an important Roman city with a population as large as 250,000 making it one of the largest cities in the Roman Mediterranean world. It had a large harbor that could accommodate a couple of hundred ships. There was a thriving commercial community and a large library. As time passed the river silt filled in the harbor and today Ephesus is several kilometers from the sea. Between the end of the port and a large earthquake in the early 7^th century that destroyed a large part of the city, the population moved away and the city fell into ruins, large parts of it covered by dirt from geologic events, and it was forgotten.

In the mid-19^th century a British archaeologist sponsored by the British Museum came looking for the Temple of Artemis which had been one of the wonders of the ancient Greek world. It was he who rediscovered the city, and excavations began. Today we can see only about 18 % of the original city. Among the more notable things to be seen is the large theater which could seat 25,000. It was in that theater that St. Paul preached to the population in the 1^st century AD and was arrested and jailed after his speech. From jail he wrote his Letters to the Ephesians.

Also notable sights are the remnants of the façade of the library and on a very human note the remains of the men’s latrine. Here Roman men of means would sit side by side and discuss news and trade as they took care of other business. If it was a cold day, slaves would sit on the marble to warm it up first, and if it was hot, slaves would fan the men as they sat.

The Men's Latrine

I had been to Ephesus in July with Katie and either they weren’t open or not offered as an option but this time we visited the Terrace Houses which lie on the hillside. These five homes of wealthy Romans are a very active archaeological site. The hillside has been covered with a Teflon roof so that the structures are protected and work can proceed year round. These were truly fantastic to see. The homes had as many as three stories and were evidently covered with elaborate frescoes and beautiful mosaics. A catwalk with platforms and steps has been built within so that we could see the various levels. On the lowest floor were huge tables with literally thousands of little pieces of marble and terra cotta and other materials which some very patient people are trying to put together. It’s a giant puzzle, but unlike a jigsaw puzzle, the people doing it don’t know if they have all the pieces or what the finished product might look like.

Tables with thousands of pieces to be put together!

Some frescoes in the Terrace Houses

Incredible mosaics on the third level of the Terrace Houses

The remains of the facade of the library

After our very interesting but too short visit to Ephesus we drove back to Kusadasi and made the obligatory stop in a Turkish rug shop. After a demonstration of silk spinning and hand weaving and knotting, we looked at some rugs. We found one beautiful silk rug that we really liked and a little almost antique one that also caught our eye. So they will be flying carpets as they get shipped back to Virginia. As we left we stopped at the jewelry store on the first floor and a Byzantine style gold emerald and ruby ring and pendant had my name on them.