Bobbe's trip to Ephesus

Bobbe continues telling us about her Mediterranean adventure:

After Santorini and Mykonos, my next stop was the Turkish port of Kuşadasi. As those of you who read Benny's post from the Turkish beach town of Dalyan will remember, Turkey is a country that is located partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Like Dalyan, Kuşadasi is located in the Asian part of Turkey. It is located on the Aegean Sea, which separates Greece from Turkey. Both Santorini and Mykonos are islands in the Aegean. Kuşadasi is famous mostly because it is the nearest port to the ancient city of Ephesus, which was a really important city for the ancient Greeks. Here is the story of my trip to Ephesus.


When my ship arrived at the port of Kuşadasi, there were Turkish dancers there to greet me. I even got one of them to show me some Turkish dancing!

I try some Turkish dancing.

The most impressive site in the city of Ephesus is its ancient theater. The ancient Greeks enjoyed drama very much. I hope you remember the Odeon, the very large theater on the side of the Acropolis that I saw when I visited Athens. Lots of theaters in other Greek cities were based on the one in Athens. This theater in Ephesus was so big that it could seat 25,000 people. Just think how loudly the actors on stage would have to say their lines in order for people in the top row to hear them in an outdoor theater!

I pose in front of the great theater in Ephesus.

Believe it or not, Ephesus had more than one theater. The smaller one only sat 1,500 people -- but that's still pretty big! Instead of plays, this theater was used for concerts as well as political meetings. Ancient Greek cities used to have democratic governments, at least for the men in the city who were citizens rather than slaves. Whenever an important decision needed to be made, all the men came to sit in the theater to hear arguments and vote on what they ought to do.

I visit the smaller Ephesian theater.

In addition to theaters, the ancient Greeks liked to spend a lot of time at the library. What an urbane and sophisticated group of people! Of all of the cities that became part of the Roman Empire, Ephesus had the third largest library. The largest was in Alexandria in Egypt. The second was the Library of Pergamum, which was also near the Aegean coast of Turkey. The library in Ephesus was called the Library of Celsius. It was so big that it could hold 12,000 scrolls.

I pose in front of the Library of Celsius in Ephesus.

Besides theaters and libraries, the ancient Greeks liked to build temples. This temple is actually to Hadrian, one of the emperors of the Roman Empire. Once the Romans conquered Ephesus, they continued the Greek tradition of constructing great civic buildings. The Romans treated their emperors as gods, hence why they built a temple to Hadrian.

I sit on the pillar of the remains of the Temple of Hadrian in Ephesus.

Only some of the buildings in Ephesus are on display for tourists. The remains of many more buildings have been buried underground over the centuries. Archeologists are working hard in Ephesus to uncover the rest of the ancient city. The city is an active archeological site. At this point, about 15% of the ancient city has been uncovered. The best estimate of the archeologists is that they will be done digging in another 200 years!

I sit on a pillar in Ephesus. Do you see the words on it in Greek?

One interesting thing to know about Ephesus is that it used to be a great port city. Over the centuries, the landscape has changed so much that the Aegean Sea is four miles away!

Behind me is the main archeological site in Ephesus.

Just like the Greeks in Santorini, the Turks in Ephesus know how to make a terrific lunch. Here I am eating lamb and calamari. Calamari is fried squid. One thing that Benny and I have both noticed on our respective trips to Turkey is that every single meal in Turkey is served with a slice of raw tomato. It is actually quite refreshing on a hot day!

I eat lamb and calamari in Ephesus.

I stand under an olive tree in Ephesus.

My favorite snack to eat in Turkey is pomegranate seeds. Have you ever eaten a pomegranate before? Pomegranates are big, round red fruits that grow on trees. When you open them up, they are full of hundreds of fleshy seeds. You can eat those seeds or squeeze them to make thick purple juice. I think pomegranates are really tasty.

I stand under a pomegranate tree in Ephesus.

 --Bobbe