Ephesus & Pamukkale
Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Sat 30 Mar 2013 17:45
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After a nine hour coach journey through the Turkish
countryside - fertile estuaries and mountain ranges, large towns and small
villages, we arrived in Kusadasi, a major holiday and cruise ship
destination. The following day we went to Ephesus. Our first stop was "The
House of the Virgin Mary" which has been visited by several Popes - John
the Apostle is supposed to have taken Mary with him after the Crucifixion and
she lived in the house below at the top of a hill.
 We then came down to the ruins of Ephesus - not a
World Heritage site because it has been "reconstructed" rather than just
"restored". Different countries and Universities' Archaeological
Departments compete to dig here.
  The Library was more impressive for being
reconstructed
 Only 2% has been revealed so far so there are
hillsides awaiting future generations!
 The road to the Harbour would have to be 6km longer
today as the sea has receded. There were drains, a hospital, baths next to
the main gate so people would arrive and clean themselves before entering the
City, a Council Chamber, a theatre seating 24,000 people and a
Marketplace amongst other things.
 In this area they cut
marble to 4mm thickness with silk ropes and tesselated the floors of their
houses.
 After a fascinating two and a half hours (which was
not long enough) the day continued with a carpet making demonstration
- interesting but not what we were led to expect, followed by a hard sell -
the guide must have been on commission, but no-one succumbed to the lure of
a beautiful carpet.
 The silk was unravelled from the
cocoons, dyed and then hand woven into carpets - some designs took months to
complete.
 Then to a leather factory complete with fashion show -
again not what we expected.
The next day we had a three hour coach journey to
Pamukkale - and the Roman city of Hierapolis where the sick went to be cured in
the calcium rich water. The water comes from underground and surfaces at a
temperature of between 35 and 40 degrees centigrade. Several 5* hotels built on
the site in the nineteen sixties were demolished in 1987 and in compensation
were given the right to a supply of the water which has meant that the flow over
the limestone escarpment and through the pools has been severely
diminished.
   This is a World Heritage site as they are only restoring
the site, again only 12% had been unearthed! Also this site was built of
limestone with only the important parts - columns and statues - in marble,
whereas Ephesus was surrounded by marble quarries.
 One could swim in "Cleopatra's Pool" legend has it that
her soldiers took water from here to Egypt where she used it and found she
looked younger!
 The site was on the top of a hill with views down into
the fertile valley below
 We left for another marathon coach journey, but again
through beautiful countryside, this time to Marmaris where we await Marita's
arrival next week. There were orange groves and fields of fig trees,
pomegranites, lemons, mulberries, strawberries and cotton, mountaintops covered
in snow and lots of pine forests.
Happy Easter. |