Day 29 (24 June)

This is the view from our window in Izmir:


So we couldn't leave without going UP THERE.

The castle is Kadifekale.


It dates from Byzantine times, although most of what we see today is from the Ottoman restoration in the 15th century.

But long before that, this elevation, Mount Pagos, was the site of Hellenic and Roman Smyrna's acropolis and defensive fortifications. The views are fabulous.








It's all a reminder of the august history of this place. Soon after being refounded (in the 4th century BC, at a site on or around Mount Pagos), ancient Smyrna became one of the principal cities of Anatolia. Later, in the Roman era, it became an important administrative centre, "vying with Ephesus and Pergamum for the title 'first city of Asia'. Roman emperors visited there, and it was celebrated for its wealth, beauty, library, school of medicine, and rhetorical tradition."

And, in among the emperor-worshippers grew one of the early Christian churches -- one of the recipients of the "letters" recorded in Revelation, at the end of the New Testament. Smyrna's letter warns of coming persecution (and the name Smyrna itself means "myrrh", with all its associations of mortality and grief).

Izmir has been fascinating, and -- the old story -- more time would have been a fine thing, in order to peel back some more of its many layers.

But after our quick climb up the hill, we were due to check out, and do the 80-minute train trip to Selcuk (TRY 7.50 per person)

This journey is probably the shortest transition of our entire odyssey. Which was good, because it was pretty uncomfortable. The aircon in our carriage was not working, and with the sun blazing, the temperature rapidly assumed volcano level.

Not an uninteresting journey, mind you. You spend a long time rolling out of Izmir (it is Turkey's third largest city, after all). But there are big, bulky hills, which later give way to quite craggy mountains. At the foot of these are endless crop-bearing fields.


Finally, release from the inferno.

And a nice surprise: Selcuk has storks! Lots of them. Gracing the pillar tops of the Byzantine aqueduct, and indeed any other lofty pinnacle that they happen to spot, are entire tribes of storks.





Our hotel is very close to the railway station, and once installed, we went off for lunch. This included keskek (a mixture of pounded meat and wheat) and Turkish moussaka. Delicious, but not cheap. We've hit tourist territory with a vengeance here, and prices are well up on Izmir's.


Selcuk is also dominated by a castle. So we had to go UP THERE as well.

This is Ayasuluk Castle, constructed by the Byzantines using stones from previous Greek and Roman buildings.





And to get to it, you pass through the ruins of St John's Basilica, built on the command of the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. Its purpose was to mark what is said to be the tomb of St John, who (it is said) spent the latter part of his life mostly in Ephesus, and wrote his gospel and epistles there.



Within the castle, there's a high point where St John was said to write and pray. If true, it would be very understandable, as the outlook there is really beautiful:


The ruins of the Basilica give you a bit of an idea of how truly enormous it must have been, and are very atmospheric.









Not far away is what is left of the Temple of Artemis. Just one column from what used to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world... But there are storks nesting on top. They think it's still pretty wonderful...

This was the Artemis whose followers caused St Paul such grief... Great story.





Day 30 (25 June)

Today was Ephesus day. There are all manner of blog posts telling you how to "prepare" for a summer visit. (These two are particularly useful.) It's all useful advice, but you do end up feeling like you're gearing up for some sort of military campaign.

Practicalities in a nutshell:

1. You can pre-buy tickets online. This works very well (you just print them out, and cut them out, so that the entry gate can read the barcode). Doing this avoids potential queues for tickets. Actually, we would have been first in line for the tickets this morning, but we weren't to know that.

2. Everyone's right. Go early. We even missed our hotel breakfast, and made do with bread and cheese in our room, in order to be up there for 8 am when it opens. We were first through the turnstiles, and for a wonderful little while, we had Ephesus to ourselves.





3. People talk about the big tours starting at 10. Judging by our experience, they start at 9. So you need that first quiet hour to really get a good look at things (even if the early morning light makes photography a bit challenging).



4. It's easy (and pleasant) to walk from Selcuk. Estimates vary wildly, but it took us 45 minutes, and we're not fast walkers.

5. The Terns nearly came to blows over which gate to enter by (upper/south or lower/north). Actually, it doesn't matter that much. Get in. See the big things while they're quiet. Then hoover up as much as you want to after that. The site is big, but not that big.

6. And yes, everyone's right, it's worth spending the extra money to see the Terraced Houses. They're a fascinating and intimate insight into Ephesus life back in the days of the Romans.










All in all, we spent almost five hours roaming the Ephesus site (although admittedly a fair while at the end was taken up relaxing under a shady fig tree up by the Church of Mary...).

I really enjoyed the whole experience. A little tiring, for sure, as it is super-hot at the moment. But very evocative.

Under the Romans, Ephesus was the capital of Asia Minor. It was a great trading port, where both commerce and culture thrived.

The Celsus Library is superb. And how amazing Curetes Street must have been in its heyday, flanked by portico-shaded businesses, and boasting fountains, baths, and temples.





The Theatre is vast, able to seat 24,000:


Ephesus was also an important early centre of Christianity. St John's Revelation contains a letter to the Ephesian church, too. They are praised for their perseverance, but also criticized for forsaking their first love. It couldn't have been an easy environment for a new faith.




There is certainly something humbling about walking where humans walked so proudly and built so grandly -- and lost so catastrophically. Nothing lasts. The port silted up. Earthquakes wreaked havoc. It suffered attacks. The remains of the Terraced Houses, once home to the wealthy, were taken over as bases for the "dangerous" trades that had to be plied outside the city walls.

Sobering, and rewarding.