TNBT: Efes.

Once again, we arrived at our destination in the wee hours of the morning. This time, we were at Selçuk, the much talked about place before our trip! The girls thought that it was a cute name for the place, from "小骨" to "小猪". Hee hee. For the first time in two days, we would be able to sleep on proper beds that night.

Selçuk is a small town three kilometres northeast of Ephesus, in İzmir Province. It was the base for our visit to Ephesus (Efes in Turkish). At the bus station, we were quite clueless about the location of the hotel. Fortunately, there were cabs around. The friendly crew at Hotel Akay offered us breakfast and let us check-in immediately even tho' our two-night stay was changed to one.

Hotel Akay is situated strategically near the Isa Bey Mosque and the St. John Basilica. It was a pity we didn't have the chance to visit them even tho' they were so close, partly due to the early setting sun and the fantastic food! The hotel was really beautiful, with old-Ottoman flourishes of latticed balconies, arched windows and kilims on the floor.

There was also free Wi-Fi connection and an Internet machine. However, the bathroom was much less desirable as the floor was icy cold and it took a while to have hot water!

After breakfast, the hotel arranged a car to bring us to Ephesus. Along the way, we past by the Temple of Artemis (formally one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). Only a lone column stood over the fallen stones. The fallen temple was once four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens. The drive-by was good enough for us. At the gates of Ephesus, we quickly set our sights on the souvenirs! Once again, touristy-instinct filled us and bought plenty of goodies before setting foot into Ephesus.

We entered from the South Gate of Ephesus.

A guide offered us the tour for 90YTL (45YTL goes to him, and the other half goes to the government for preservation and excavation of the site). We took up his offer and it was definitely worthwhile. This map of Ephesus was taken at the North Gate towards the end of our tour.

The guide introduced the history of the place and showed us where to take the best pictures (as those found in the guidebook on his hand). It was not difficult to find other nice shots as Ephesus is one of the most well-preserved ancient city in the world. Only an estimated 15% has been excavated. He said that the first city of Ephesus was found by the Amazons. The current city we visited was the third city of Ephesus, built by the Greek. While I will not be able to recall everything the guide said, I hope the photos and description extracted from the guide book "Ephesus.Priene.Miletus.Didyma" can put the bits and pieces of the tour together. Our tour began with the Odeon. It was built in the 2nd century A.D., commissioned by a nobleman called Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia Papiana. It was where members of the assembly of town gathered to discuss and make decisions on issues concerning the life and development of the town.

It was also a cultural centre and could accommodate up to two thousand people to enjoy theatrical performances and concerts.

The first few photos were supposed to be from the best angles, be we continued taking more pictures anyway. :p

It was an incredible feeling standing at great height and looking at the valley - a feeling I will experience again in the later part of the trip.

My feet dangling at the edge..

In front of the Odeon is the Basilica and the Business Agora. They were ordered to be constructed by Emperor Augustus in the 1st century A.D. This was the place where different trades came to buy and sell all kinds of merchandise, as well as to exchange money. It also housed the offices of town council workers.

One of the earliest backgammon board, carved on the marble.

To the left of the Business Agora, are the remains of the temple built in honour of Emperor Domitian between 87 and 96 A.D. The Temple of Domitian was the earliest temple ever built in Ephesus in honour of an Emperor.
Originally a two-floored building, the first floor was used for warehouse and shops.

Fitting our heads on the columns...

Beside the temple is the Fountain of Pollius. Built in 97 A.D. by a rich nobleman named Caius Sextus Pllius. It was used for distribution of water throughout the town. Above the fountain stands the marvelous arch, and beneath it are series of status once portrayed the adventures of Ulysses and Polyphemus.

To the East of the Business Agora is the Town Hall or Pritaneum. Construction began in the 1st century A.D. and finished in the 3rd century A.D.

It consisted of a large central square surrounded by a portico of lonic columns and house of the priests.

From the Square of Domitian going into the Via dei Cureti, one comes to the remains of a fountain and a very beautiful low relief depicting Nike, the Goddess of Victory and messenger of Zeus. Opposite this relief stands a 1st century A.D. monument erected in honour of the family of Memius, nephew of dictator of Scylla.

During the Roman empire, priests engaged in either religious or administrative matters were known as "Cureti". The Via Cureti was thus named because at the foot of the column at the start of the road appear the names of these priests. According to the guide, during the summer days, water from the Fountain of Trajan would flow down to cool the path.

The Temple of Hadrian was built in hour of Emperor Hadrian during the 2nd century A.D. At the centre of the archway leading into the temple, supported by four columns with Corinthian capitals, there is a very fine low relief depicting Fortune, the Goddess of Fate.

Mosaics like these were used to decorate floors in houses of nobility.

The mosaics were constructed from marbles of four colours.

The Public Lavatories was constructed in the early 2nd century A.D. Over a canal of running water connecting with the town's sewer system, a number of seats were fashioned in marble, all with a U-shaped openings that efficiently prevented bad smells from returning up the vent.

Men could sit down side by side and simply lifting up their tunics a little, they could satisfy their physiological urges and then have a wash in a small jet of water flowing by just in front. Just like these three men here. :p

Not sure if anyone enjoyed squatting...perhaps in Winter when the seats were cold?

But according to the guide, wives and mother-in-laws could have warmed up the seats first before the men sat on them in the Winter. ha ha... I suppose that was a joke! In the centre of the lavatory is a fountain. Flower petals used to float in there to drive away the odour.

The Agora is a vast square, regarded as the largest trading centre of the town.

Beside it, is the Celsian Library, one of the most photographed structure of Turkey.

Another furry friend along the way...

The Celsian Library, a magnificently imposing two-storey building with a finely crafted façade, was built in the 2nd century A.D.

A spacious paved courtyard and wide steps lead into the reading room, in which can still be seen the cavities where the precious paper scrolls were kept.

Down the Marble Way, we came to the Theatre of Ephesus. Against the western slope of Mount Pion, the theatre was built at onset by the Greeks but finished by the Romans in the 2nd century A.D. at the time of Emperor Trajan. It tiers could hold up to 25,000 spectators who gathered to watch plays being performed or for festivals in honour of Artemis.

A view from the top end of the theatre...

Through the Arcadian Way, we came towards the end of our tour. To the right are the walls of the Port Baths, also known as Baths of Constantine.

All wrapped up in the beginning of the day, I was just down to my T-shirt at the end of the walk. The weather had been terrific! A normal tour would have taken about an hour, but we took two hours! We felt bad for taking up so much of the guide's time and gave him another 45YTL, assuming that he could have guided another group during that hour. :p Below are some panoramas of Ephesus, courtesy of XTT-KC! Click on the images for the full-sized ones.

There was a slight miscommunication and our transport did not pick us up as expected. After some delay, we took the cab back which cost about 20YTL. Back in town, it was already late afternoon. So we decided to grab our lunch-cum-dinner. As careful tourists, we stopped at the second restaurant we came across. :p Perhaps we were too tired and hungry, or we did not have many proper meals in the past few days, but it was one of the most delicious and cheapest meal we had in Turkey. Not to mention, we attracted the local wondering furry animals again before dinner was served. It was said that these cuddly animals could identify that we were not local and thus higher chance of feeding them.

发发caught the kitty with its long tongue out!

Then dinner was served!

The dinner only cost us 25YTL! After dinner, we walked around the neighbourhood. I bought some Turkish tea and tea cups to bring back home. We also bought the bus tickets for our next destination, Pamukkale. We were invited for tea at one of the shops selling handicrafts. They had a had time comprehending the relationship amongst the four of us. At first they thought that we were couples and were then baffled when we told them that we were all friends, with two of us married but not to each other. :p We chatted with the owner about his love life and he taught us the game of backgammon.

After that, we were invited to a carpet shop for more tea and learned more about types of carpets and the manufacturing of carpets. The shop owner had made various trips to Singapore before to see his carpets as they can fetch a higher price here.
发发on his favourite magic carpet ride!

Unfortunately, there are no free meals in this world. After the education was done, it was down to business as he started rolling out many carpets on the floor (just like what you see on TV).

The shop owner, coincidentally also known as Mr Selçuk, convinced us to leave with a piece of kilim - one of the few things we could afford. We could not argue about bringing such a bulky item home as Turkish carpets can be delivered to any country free-of-charge and kilims can be folded amazingly into the shape of a small brick! And that mark our last visit to anywhere remotely near a carpet shop in Turkey.

We had another fulfilling day filled with interesting sights and experiences. That evening, we had comfortable beds waiting for us in our rooms!