Market Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 1 – the entrance to the numerous streets that comprise the outdoor street farmers’ market in downtown Tïre on “market day”, not far from the Tïre Museum
From Kuşadası in western Turkey, we sailed west to the Aegean Sea port city of Izmir, Turkey, the country’s third largest city (population ~ 4 million) and second largest port (after Istanbul). Izmir possesses a legacy thousands of years old, when it was known as Smyrna. it was founded by the Greeks, taken over by the Romans and rebuilt by Alexander the Great before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Today, its expansive archaeological sites include the Roman Agora of Smyrna, now an open-air museum.
One afternoon we toured downtown Izmir, spending a while in the city’s centuries old bazaar (dating back to the 17th century), the Kemeralti Bazaar, which is in the heart of downtown, not far from the seaside promenade and the heart of the city – Konak Square and the Clock Tower, made of marble and stone and a symbol of the city, a gift to Ottoman King Abdulhamit II by German Emperor Wilhelm II. Our walk through the bazaar quarter began at the Kizlarğasi Hani, built in 1744, an Ottoman bedesten (warehouse) and kervansaray (caravanserai) similar to the İç (Inner) Bedesten in İstanbul’s famous Grand Bazaar. Among many items for sale in the Kemeralti Bazaar were a variety of traditional Turkish crafts, ceramics, bronze ware, wooden objects, antiques, clothing, carpets, leather goods, and food products. There were many cafés and small restaurants in addition to numerous fruit and produce vendors with local products for sale.
The following day we drove 90 minutes southeast of Izmir to one of the oldest municipalities in Turkey, Tïre, that relies heavily on agricultural products to keep its economy alive. Figs, cotton, grains, cash crops, watermelons, cherries, walnuts, and chestnuts are all grown in the fertile soils surrounding the city. On Tuesdays (our visit day) and Fridays, the surrounding community and visitors flock to the town to support its busy farmers’ market. This was the beginning of strawberry season, and we saw beautiful eggplants, tomatoes, artichokes, leeks, lettuces, peas, green onions, beets, peppers, walnuts, etc. on our shopping stroll. We bought some local eggplant which the chef in the Asian restaurant on board prepared — grilled with a miso paste rub — that was delicious with our Chinese cuisine dinner.
Market Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 2 – note that the stalls in front of storefronts are usually outdoor stalls of goods from that store; where there are no storefronts, the vendors occupy the same space each market day and pay a small “rental” fee to the city of TïreMarket Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 3Market Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 4Market Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 5 – we bought some of the local Turkish bread that is eaten all day, especially for breakfast; most customers bought several or a half dozen for that day’s consumptionMarket Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 6Market Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 7 – wild asparagus, a local favorite vegetableMarket Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 8. – a vendor taking a break, enjoying a Turkish teaMarket Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 9Market Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 10 – in the cafés, we only saw men having drinks, mostly Turkish tea in small glassesMarket Day in Tíre, Izmir Province, Turkey, photograph # 11 — all in balance; when a customer wanted to buy some bread, he lowered the tray and grabbed a plastic bag and completed the transaction, then he raised the tray back on his head and walked down the street to another customer
The most famous building of the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, near the modern town of Selçuk (port of Kuşadası) in western Turkey, is the Library of Celsus (circa 110 A.D.), reconstructed from 1970 to 1978 as part of the excavations and restorations since the site’s excavation between1903 and 1904
The modern-day port city of Kuşadası in western Turkey is the “jumping off point” for visits to the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. Roman Emperor Augustus in 27 B.C. named Ephesus the capital of proconsular Asia for the Roman Empire (consisting of Asia Minor). Ephesus then entered an era of prosperity, becoming both the seat of the governor and a major center of commerce. According to Strabo, it was second in importance and size (estimated to have had a population of 250,000) only to Rome. Ephesus had its own river harbor. After the city’s heyday, circa 200 A.D., the harbor silted up, around 350 A.D, shutting the harbor and ending its use for commerce. This forced a shift in the shipping of goods into and out of Ephesus to the port of Kuşadası on the Aegean Sea/Mediterranean Sea.
Of Turkey’s hundreds of ancient cities and classical ruins, Ephesus is the grandest and best preserved. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“The Greco-Roman world truly comes alive at Ephesus. After more than a century and a half of excavation, the city’s recovered and renovated structures have made Ephesus Europe’s most complete classical metropolis – and that’s with 80% of the city yet to be unearthed!
“As capital of Roman Asia Minor, Ephesus was a vibrant city of over 250,000 inhabitants, the fourth largest in the empire after Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. Adding in traders, sailors and pilgrims to the Temple of Artemis, these numbers were even higher, meaning that in Ephesus one could encounter the full diversity of the Mediterranean world and its peoples. So important and wealthy was Ephesus that its Temple of Artemis, [in ruins] on the western edge of present-day Selçuk, was the biggest on earth, and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” — www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey/aegean-coast/ephesus-efes
Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 2 – a Roman bathing facility, “Baths at the ‘State Agora’” (an Agora is an open space serving as an assembly area and a place for commercial, civic, social, and religious activities)
“[Ephesus] was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital, by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC… Ephesus was recipient city of one of the Pauline epistles; one of the seven churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation; the Gospel of St. John may have been written there; and it was the site of several 5th-century Christian Councils (see Council of Ephesus). The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263. Although it was afterwards rebuilt, its importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River. In 614, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake. Today, the ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from Adnan Menderes Airport and from the resort town Kuşadası. In 2015, the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” — Wikipedia
Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 3 – columnar arrangement of the “Rhodian Peristyle” (in Roman architecture, a peristyle is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard)Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 4 – what looks like an open-air theatre was the covered meeting hall of the elders (bouleuterion, or council chamber) that was also used as a small theatre, “Odeion”, for performances, particularly music performances, seating 1,400Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 5 – the Pyrtaneion was constructed in the 3rd century B.C. and attained its final shape during the reign of Emperor Augustus; it functioned as a modern town hall, as a place for important events, receptions and banquetsEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 6 – the Memmius Monument was built between 50 and 30 B.C. at a particularly prominent site; it is an honorific monument for Gaius Memmius, a grandson of the Roman Consul Scula, who restored Ephesus to Roman rule in 86 B.C.Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 7 – a sculptural figuration of Winged Nike, the Goddess of Victory, holding a plaited (braided) crown in her left hand and a palm frond in her right hand, the two awards to the winners of the Olympic gamesEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 8 – Curetes Street, the main street in Ephesus, was built by 138 A.D. and leads from the agora (market) downhill to the Library of Celsus (at the bottom of the street) and, beyond that, to the harbor walkwayEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 9 – Trajan Fountain, erected between 102 and 104 A.D.Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 10 – one of the most attractive edifices on Curetes Street, the Temple of Hadrian was completed by 138 A.D.Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 11 – the latrina was separate from the Roman bath and was built in the first century A.D. as the city’s public toilets; note that the toilet “seats” are arranged side-by-side with no partition between them and the narrow channel in front of the seats carried flowing water with which individuals could wet a sponge (on a stick) and used it as modern day toilet-goers would use toilet paperEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 12 – the Terrace Houses were excavated from the hillside at the end of the 20th century and in the 1990s a permanent roof was built over the houses; these were private homes of wealthy Roman citizens of Ephesus, as seen in this photograph of the peristyle courtyard of “Dwelling Unit 6” as the archaeologists have named this houseEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 13 – after being buried in mud from the mountain above the houses, the frescoes in the Terrace Houses were revealed in the excavations and still have brightly painted home scenes on the wallsEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 14 – wall fresco paintings in Terrace House Number 2
Wall paintings were used in Roman houses to portray everyday life scenes. In the Terrace Houses, different decorative schemes were found in various rooms, with the scenes varying according to the function of the room. The owner of Terrace House Number 2 used the images, above in photograph # 14, for a display of themes focused on education and social values. Several layers of wall paintings have survived in Terrace House Number 2, dating from the early 2nd to the mid-3rd centuries.
Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 15 – a stunning mosaic on the floor of a room in Terrace House Number 2, featuring Triton (on the right), as seen through the glass floor of the modern scaffolding on the second floorEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 16 – intricate floor mosaics in several rooms of Terrace House Number 2, photographed from an upper floorEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 17 – a stunning geometric patterned floor mosaic in Terrace House Number 2, photographed from an upper floor, with frescoes on the walls of the adjacent roomEphesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 18 – as we descended from the top level of the Terrace Houses and walked down stone steps built 2,000 years ago, we got our first glimpse of the Library of Celsus –seen behind sections of clay water pipes (some showing calcification inside) that were excavated in situ from the Ephesus water system that was fed by 6 aqueducts from the surrounding mountains
Façade niches in the façade of the Library of Celsus hold replica statues of the Four Virtues. From left to right, they are Sophia (Wisdom), Arete (Goodness) – pictured above — Ennoia (Thought) and Episteme (Knowledge). The originals are in Vienna’s Ephesus Museum; note that the Austrian Archaeological Foundation restored the Library of Celsus from 1970 to 1976.
Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 19 – a typical compound Roman column capital in Ephesus, photographed on “Marble Street” leading from the Library of Celsus towards the main boulevard from the harbor (“Harbor Street”)Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 20 – Harbor Street leads from Marble Street to the harbor which silted up around 350 A.D.; until then, the harbor was the main transportation hub for the thriving economy of Ephesus
“Harbour street is 500 meters [1,640 feet] long and 11 meters wide [36 feet]. On both side of the street there were covered porticos. The porticos, which were reserved for pedestrians, had the function of protecting them from the bad weather and hosted shops in the inner part. The roadway, completely covered with marble, was enriched — towards the middle part — by four columns culminating in Corinthian capitals which upheld statues of the Four Evangelists. The shafts of the columns, still in existence, denote ornamental patterns of clearly Christian imprints. There is reason to believe that this latter decorative element is the result of an addition made under Justinian (6th century A.D.), shortly before the inexorable decline of the city.” — www.kusadasi.biz
Ephesus, Selçuk (port of Kuşadası), Turkey, photograph # 21 – the Ephesus Theatre is still used today for theatre performances
“The theatre built on the slopes of Mount Panayir was constructed during the reign of Lysimachos and later it was altered many times. Like all the other ancient theatres, the theatre consisted of three main sections: the skene (stage building), the orchestra (place of action for the actors) and the cavea (auditorium) where the audience sat. The skene which was approximately 18 meters [59 feet] high, was the most imposing section of the Theatre. The facade of the structure which faced audience was three-tiered and had columns. There were statues in niches behind the columns and niches had either triangular or semi-circular frontals.
“The auditorium, still used today for seating the public during the performances in the theatre, is arranged in three large semi-circles broken-up by eleven wedges of steps separated by entrance staircases. The original theatre could seat about 24,000; the auditorium originally rose for at least 30 meters [98 feet] over the orchestra and was crowned at the summit by a porticoed structure which had the function of further improving the acoustics in the complex. The theatrical productions in the classical period were performed by male actors who wore masks on their faces. These and other elements related to the social life in Ephesus during its period of greatest splendor have been inferred from the frescoes decorating several walls of the so-called Houses on the Slope [Terrace houses].” — www.kusadasi.biz
The history of Ephesus under the Romans (129 B.C. — 395 A.D.):
“Ephesus, as part of the kingdom of Pergamon, became a subject of the Roman Republic in 129 BC after the revolt of Eumenes III was suppressed.
“The city felt Roman influence at once; taxes rose considerably, and the treasures of the city were systematically plundered. Hence in 88 BC Ephesus welcomed Archelaus, a general of Mithridates, king of Pontus, when he conquered Asia (the Roman name for western Asia Minor). From Ephesus, Mithridates ordered every Roman citizen in the province to be killed which led to the Asiatic Vespers, the slaughter of 80,000 Roman citizens in Asia, or any person who spoke with a Latin accent. Many had lived in Ephesus, and statues and monument of Roman citizens in Ephesus were also destroyed. But when they saw how badly the people of Chios had been treated by Zenobius, a general of Mithridates, they refused entry to his army. Zenobius was invited into the city to visit Philopoemen, the father of Monime, the favourite wife of Mithridates, and the overseer of Ephesus. As the people expected nothing good of him, they threw him into prison and murdered him. Mithridates took revenge and inflicted terrible punishments. However, the Greek cities were given freedom and several substantial rights. Ephesus became, for a short time, self-governing. When Mithridates was defeated in the First Mithridatic War by the Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Ephesus came back under Roman rule in 86 B.C. Sulla imposed a huge indemnity, along with five years of back taxes, which left Asian cities heavily in debt for a long time to come.
“King Ptolemy XII Auletes of Egypt retired to Ephesus in 57 BC, passing his time in the sanctuary of the temple of Artemis when the Roman Senate failed to restore him to his throne.
“Mark Antony was welcomed by Ephesus for periods when he was proconsuland in 33 B.C. with Cleopatra when he gathered his fleet of 800 ships before the battle of Actium with Octavius.
“When Augustus became emperor in 27 B.C., the most important change was when he made Ephesus the capital of proconsular Asia (which covered western Asia Minor) instead of Pergamum. Ephesus then entered an era of prosperity, becoming both the seat of the governor and a major centre of commerce. According to Strabo, it was second in importance and size only to Rome.
“The city and temple were destroyed by the Goths in 263 A.D. This marked the decline of the city’s splendour. However, Emperor Constantine the Great rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths.” — Wikipedia
Where in the world is Riccardo? 