"We were up bright and early and off the ship by 8 a.m.-we were scheduled for our private tour to begin and 8:20 a.m. Our plan was to get a few pictures and check out the lay of the land but our guide was waiting for us as we got off the ship. BTW-they really do hold up signs with your name written on it in magic marker".
"This was the only port where I was a bit nervous because last night they made us turn over our passports! I don't understand why and I am a bit freaked out about going ashore in Turkey. Anyway, our tour guide, Bulent, was an unassuming 50ish year old man. While we drove away from the port at Kusadasi to the ruins at Ephesus, Bulent showed us the location of all the 5 star and 7 star hotels. I got really sad because it seemed like that all he was going to show us, and all he was interested in talking about, were the local "take-my-money" touristy hot spots".
"Upon our arrival at Ephesus-we got out of the car and several stall vendors and other men warmly greated Bulent by shaking his hand and even hugging him! I thought, "Oh great, this is a mega scam and he is just going to hit the high spots of the tour and bring us back to the bazaar to shop. As soon as we finally got started, it became very obvious that Bulent knew a lot about the site.
He taught us about the history of Ephesus. All the different times it was ransacked; 1st by the Gauls, then the Goths, then an earthquake in the 7th century AD.
This wheel holds all the letters for "Jesus Christ God's Son Savior". Here Bulent explains to us and shows us how the Christians had ways of communicating their shared beliefs without revealing themselves to non-belivers.
Bulent explained that there were a lot of rooms and houses that had been discovered behind him in this hill. He told us that when excavation begins in Oct. of 2010 he would be here. We thought that was an odd comment for a tour guide to make.
Here are the steps leading up to the stadium.
Here we are standing at the top of the senate steps. The half circle at the bottom of the steps is where musicians played during breaks in the senate meetings. A half circle is an "ochera" so that is where we get the word "orchestra" from today.
It really is a very desolate area. Ephesus once sat right on the sea and was a port city. Geographic changes in the last 2000 years now put Ephesus about 6 miles inland. There are a lot of cats at the ruins and they sure appreciate a quick drink shared from the water bottle of a kind hearted tour guide like Bulent.
Ancient Legos!
Anyone who has taken ART 101 or dabbled in any kind of archetecture has been taught that there are 3 types of columns-Doric (the simpliest and oldest), Ionic (middle dates and has a scroll top), and Corinthian (newest and most ornate)-recent discoveries add the Ephesian-like a Corinthian but with a lion added to the top.
Michele standing next to a Cadacus. There was also a pharmacy one! Very cool. Evidence on the buildings showed where the dr. was, the pharmacy, and other business. Too bad the Christians banned all the wonderful scientific advances that the Ephesians had made. Widely accepted as the birthplace of Julius Caesar-we saw the place where he was probably born, delivered in an emergency surgery that had never been tried before, by a dr. with the last name of "Caesar". The surgery was his own discovery and development-the caesarean section.
The original Nike swoosh! There was also the first known advertisement, a sign directing people to the brothel.
Bulent took us up off the main road to this chained off area so we could see these beautiful mosaics. They are original, not reproductions. Full color and amazing.
"at this point Hadrian's and Trajan's are on our right and the library is in front of us. On our left was a hillside that was covered over with a large, light tent style building. We could see a couple of people inside and we could tell it was an ongoing excavation site. There were thousands of people-tour groups and individuals-crowding this narrow stone street. Imagine our shock and surprise when Bulent took a left towards the mostly empty building".
"Leaving the 1000's (I would guess 10,000) behind we got to go in! It was here that we got to see amazing frescos...
Delicate mosaics that were being painstakinly pieced back together and restored to their original location with authentic adhesives. A big, big puzzle".
"This is where we learned that Bulent wasn't actually a tour guide. Funny thing--Bulent is an archeologist! He is one of the main archeologist on this dig!! I am getting all teary as I type this. Bulent's wife died about 3 years ago, he has 2 daughters (one married last summer and one heading off to university in the fall), he had back surgery in April and he teaches classes at the univeristy in Istanbul. He can't dig and classes are out for the summer so he is guiding. Our day with him is the luck of the draw--God loves us"!
Since a lion hunt marked the passage from child to man for the oldest son of a family, this lion is likely the floor mosaic of the oldest son in this family. Every tour guide in the country has a college degree in that field. They have to learn all the information and understand every detail of the history. Bulent is a professor at the University in Istanbul and he teaches students how to be tour guides. Since he had spent the last 30 years on this dig, with his wife, his knowledge was first hand and endless!" His love of Ephesus and its history are part of who he is, this is his home.
"This dwelling belonged to one family for many years. When mom and dad died, the children wanted to stay in the home so they renovated it to be more like apartments. Here you can see frescos that signal the rooms of the teacher of art, music, etc. Truly amazing!"
"We learned that marble was cut by soaking it in boiling water and it was cut by raw silk thread! We saw silk pods soaking in a lot of the shopping stalls later in the day--I didn't know it had to be chemically treated or it is a lot like industrial strength fishing line"!
"We saw the indoor pipes for heating, cooling, sewer removal (all separate), even separate ovens for meat and fish so the bread wouldn't get stinky. Michele was all over that one"!
"Leaving the residence was the hardest thing I did on our entire trip. But the fact that I got to go to the library was a major condolence".
Evidence of the Jews help in building the Library, a menorah they carved in the marble steps. Built in 117 AD, it is know as Celsus Library because it was the tomb of a guy by that same name.
A view of the portico to the library.
Yep, it is as hot as it was on Santorini yet she still looks sooooo cool! How does she do that?
These arches are inscribed with M. Agrippa.
The stadium where Paul preaced to the Ephesians and was ran out of town by the silver smiths, because their main income was from idols made from silver, is behind us! We got to go in and walk up the steps. There are still concerts held in it by the likes of Tina Turner and Elton John.
On the way back to Kusadasi we stopped at a leather show. One of the main economic products of Turkey. The coats were amazing and soft. We got to drink apple tea and hang with a Spanish speaking tour group because we were a private tour.
One of the official industries of Turkey is carpet weaving. It is totally fascinating. Every tour guide must take their guests for a carpet demonstrations. Getting out of there without spending a lot of money is for the guest to figure out!
I liked this rug best. It was silk, and when you turn it different ways it looks different colors. It was only $3000.00 American dollars the man explained as he looked at me expectantly.
After about 45 really awkward minutes, I informed Bulent that I needed to eat! ;)
We weaved our way among the different stalls and Bulent, who by now was totally off the tour guide clock but was hanging out with us anyway, took us to his favorite lunch spot. It was a privledge to buy him lunch and get to know him better. He explained the "evil eye" that were everywhere, in the stucco, sidewalks, glass windows,...
It sees evil coming and wards it off. I got an evil eye key chain for Gary, Alyssa, and Rod. Evil eye hanging charms for Brandon and Brady. And when I got home, I found an evil eye pandora bead for my mom.
Before we parted, Bulent took me to the best place in town to purchase Turkish delight candy. It is wonderful and amazing and only best when purchased in Kusadasi.
The flowers, the little city center, the tour, the day...speechless. Hands down the highlight of the trip and that is really saying a lot cause this a freaking awesome trip!
"Leaving the 1000's (I would guess 10,000) behind we got to go in! It was here that we got to see amazing frescos...
Delicate mosaics that were being painstakinly pieced back together and restored to their original location with authentic adhesives. A big, big puzzle".
"This is where we learned that Bulent wasn't actually a tour guide. Funny thing--Bulent is an archeologist! He is one of the main archeologist on this dig!! I am getting all teary as I type this. Bulent's wife died about 3 years ago, he has 2 daughters (one married last summer and one heading off to university in the fall), he had back surgery in April and he teaches classes at the univeristy in Istanbul. He can't dig and classes are out for the summer so he is guiding. Our day with him is the luck of the draw--God loves us"!
Since a lion hunt marked the passage from child to man for the oldest son of a family, this lion is likely the floor mosaic of the oldest son in this family. Every tour guide in the country has a college degree in that field. They have to learn all the information and understand every detail of the history. Bulent is a professor at the University in Istanbul and he teaches students how to be tour guides. Since he had spent the last 30 years on this dig, with his wife, his knowledge was first hand and endless!" His love of Ephesus and its history are part of who he is, this is his home.
"This dwelling belonged to one family for many years. When mom and dad died, the children wanted to stay in the home so they renovated it to be more like apartments. Here you can see frescos that signal the rooms of the teacher of art, music, etc. Truly amazing!"
"We learned that marble was cut by soaking it in boiling water and it was cut by raw silk thread! We saw silk pods soaking in a lot of the shopping stalls later in the day--I didn't know it had to be chemically treated or it is a lot like industrial strength fishing line"!
"We saw the indoor pipes for heating, cooling, sewer removal (all separate), even separate ovens for meat and fish so the bread wouldn't get stinky. Michele was all over that one"!
"Leaving the residence was the hardest thing I did on our entire trip. But the fact that I got to go to the library was a major condolence".
Evidence of the Jews help in building the Library, a menorah they carved in the marble steps. Built in 117 AD, it is know as Celsus Library because it was the tomb of a guy by that same name.
A view of the portico to the library.
Yep, it is as hot as it was on Santorini yet she still looks sooooo cool! How does she do that?
These arches are inscribed with M. Agrippa.
The stadium where Paul preaced to the Ephesians and was ran out of town by the silver smiths, because their main income was from idols made from silver, is behind us! We got to go in and walk up the steps. There are still concerts held in it by the likes of Tina Turner and Elton John.
On the way back to Kusadasi we stopped at a leather show. One of the main economic products of Turkey. The coats were amazing and soft. We got to drink apple tea and hang with a Spanish speaking tour group because we were a private tour.
One of the official industries of Turkey is carpet weaving. It is totally fascinating. Every tour guide must take their guests for a carpet demonstrations. Getting out of there without spending a lot of money is for the guest to figure out!
I liked this rug best. It was silk, and when you turn it different ways it looks different colors. It was only $3000.00 American dollars the man explained as he looked at me expectantly.
After about 45 really awkward minutes, I informed Bulent that I needed to eat! ;)
We weaved our way among the different stalls and Bulent, who by now was totally off the tour guide clock but was hanging out with us anyway, took us to his favorite lunch spot. It was a privledge to buy him lunch and get to know him better. He explained the "evil eye" that were everywhere, in the stucco, sidewalks, glass windows,...
It sees evil coming and wards it off. I got an evil eye key chain for Gary, Alyssa, and Rod. Evil eye hanging charms for Brandon and Brady. And when I got home, I found an evil eye pandora bead for my mom.
Before we parted, Bulent took me to the best place in town to purchase Turkish delight candy. It is wonderful and amazing and only best when purchased in Kusadasi.
The flowers, the little city center, the tour, the day...speechless. Hands down the highlight of the trip and that is really saying a lot cause this a freaking awesome trip!
