June 9 – Kusadasi / Didyma / Miletus / Ephesus

Today we placed our feet on another new continent for us.  Our boat docked in the port of Kusadasi Turkey, which is in Asia. We had no idea what to expect, but for the most part we were pleasantly surprised. 

The Turkish Republic evolved from political turmoil that followed the First World War.  In the 1920s Kamal Ataturk took power and made Turkey a secular state that was modeled on a blend of Turk culture and European government and commerce.  Today its economy is the envy of many of the poorer European states such as Greece and Spain with a growth rate of 9%.  Turkey is still trying to gain entry into the European Union.

Turks originally came from Central Asia and migrated to the Mediterranean more than a thousand years ago. Our tour guide said the Turkish language is closest in syntax to Japanese than any other language.

Despite being enemies now, Turkey and Greece share a common ancient history as Greece and Roman ruled this area in two thousand years ago.

Our trip started out along very modern highways that went through very fertile green valleys, surrounded by high rocky hills.  The main crops are cotton, silk, and mulberries.  Mulberries are important because they attract the silk worms.   Turkish coffee refers the method of making the coffee because Turkey does not grow its own coffee beans.

Our first stop was the village of Didyma, where we saw the Temple of Apollo.  It dates back twenty-eight hundred years.  It is a fairly large site and you are able to walk among the ruins, so that you get a true feel on the size and artistry involved in the construction of the temple.   The temple was run by a group of priests called Branchids, who were treated like Oracles.  They sat in their chamber and smoked Opium all day and then gave out their proclamations, foretelling the future.  The word bronchitis is derived from Branchids, because of their chronic breathing problems due to the smoking.

Temple of Apollo in Didyma

We then went to Miletus, where there is an ancient theatre.  It is still in very good condition and we again were able to wander through the site and see the construction up close, without barriers.  Along the route from Didyma to Miletus we passed through several small rural villages, where you can see that there is some poverty in Turkey.  Miletus used to be a port city on the Aegean Sea but the Maeander River silted over the port and it is now 15 kilometers in land.

This river has many bends and curves in it as it approaches the Mediterranean Sea.  This is the origin of the word "Meander."

Roman theatre in Miletus

Our final stop was at the ruins of Ephesus.  Ephesus has a strong Christian significance because this is the site where the apostle John brought Mary to live in her final years.

Ephesus was established by one of Alexander the Great's generals, Lyssimachos, as a stop along the major trading routes of the western Mediterranean. Ephesus became a major Roman town where Anthony and Cleopatra spent a winter.

It is considered one of the world’s greatest outdoor museums. We wandered down the Arcadian Way and saw the Roman baths, the Agora which was the marketplace, the Odeon which was the theatre, and several temples and state houses of the nobility.  There was a communal laterna, where the slaves would heat the toilets in the winter.  At the very end of the road was the Celsius Library, an impressive structure, which was the third largest library of its time that held 12,000 scrolls.

Arcadian Way

Arcadian Way

Ruins in Ephesus

Ruins in Ephesus

Celsius Library

Most tours have some component built into them that involve you being placed in a shopping district.  This tour was by far the worst.  For lunch we stopped at a theme park built by Royal Caribbean that was filled junk souvenir shops and a “mickey mouse” production that was supposed to show Anthony and Cleopatra at a gladiator fight.

At the end of the tour, we went into a bazaar, where there was a Turkish rug making demonstration.  The doors were the closed and the high pressure salesmen descended on us trying to the sell these multi thousand dollar rugs to us.  When we left, the doors leading to the outside were closed so that the jewellery salesmen could have their go at you.  Once out into the bazaar we were harassed by every store owner to buy their knock off goods.  John said he saw one vendor with a sign stating that he had genuine fake watches.  It did leave a sour taste in our mouth on what would have been a wonderful experience.

As our boat was leaving the port, I heard the call to pray coming from the loudspeakers in the main mosque.  This was the first time all day that I was reminded that Turkey is a Muslim country.

Mosque in Kusadasi