This part of the Turkey leg was one of my favourite because we had this really knowledgeable tour guide who explained so many things about the Greeks and Romans and their influences in Turkey.
One of the most impactful conversations that we had was about the Temple of Artemis. The Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World but all that remains now is ruins. As Turkey is in a very strategic location that connects the East to the West (Asia to Europe), whenever ancient empires expanded, they absorbed Turkey. The Temple of Artemis was constructed during the Greek era but was destroyed when the Romans came and later the Persians and eventually the Turkish themselves. Each time an empire became history, the subsequent ruling elite will use the remnants of the holy sites - good marble stones or rocks to build another holy structure, be it a Roman temple or a mosque. Hence, holy sites from ancient empires were never preserved and in the region around the Temple of Artemis, you could see a church, a mosque and of course the remnants of the Temple of Artemis. After he told us that, I was deeply affected. Religion is something that should give people hope and faith but at times, it is not more than a manipulative tool by the ruling elite to get people to listen to bidding. It makes me wonder what will be left of the many other holy sites around the world should the US not be the dominant force in the world years down the road?
I have always been fascinated with Greek mythology but hardly read up on them, reason: opportunity cost of time. There are a million things that I enjoy doing, sports, reading on biographies, finance, etc. that I choose to give up on some other activities which I prioritise less. But next on my list - Greek mythology.
We also went to what historians conjecture to be the last resting place of Virgin Mary and also the Ephesus Archaeological Museum which was newly renovated and reopened to the public. Our guide was patient in explaining to us the artefacts, the various interpretations and historical meanings of the displays. As I reflect on the journey, sometimes I wonder if tourism is also another possible way to present history in favour of oneself. The Chinese often take offence over Japan's presentation of the events that happened during World War II. They claimed that the Japanese had never apologised for the atrocities committed during WWII and that implied that they have never felt sorry about what they had done. Japanese textbooks glorify the WWII events up till today and omit cold hard truths about the cruelty of the Japanese Imperial Army. If the government had the ability to distort facts through education, so can they do likewise when it comes to museums, exhibits and tourism. One interesting conflict around the world is none other than the Israel-Palestinian conflict and perhaps that explains why our Israeli tour guide was so reluctant to discuss anything related to that. Rather, just focus on the biblical magic of Israel. Lol.
So claimed to be the last resting place of Virgin Mary. No one knows how true it is but add a fountain or some spring water and if you have any traces that it might be in any way related to history or religion, you see tourists.
Overlooking the town of Selcuk, small town with a population of less than 100,000.
The series of pictures explain the Romans' way of life. Ephesus is an ancient city and it was an important commercial centre both in the Greek era and the Roman era. It was also the capital of Asia Minor (what Turkey was known as in ancient times) An earthquake in the 7th century destroyed the city and because of changes in weather and shifts of the tectonic plate, the coastline leading to the Mediterranean Sea moved further away from the city centre. It was forgotten until 1860s when archaeologists discovered the site. It is a blessing in disguise because much of the city was being preserved as a result of people forgetting about it and could not be bothered to destroy it. haha. Everything is based on my memory of what the guide explained but if you want to find out more, google it.
Remains of the pipes that carried hot water to the baths.
Before you enter any Roman City, the first thing that you had to do was to take a bath. Hence this was the public bath place before the city gates. The reason why you had to take a bath is so that you cleanse yourself and rid yourself of germs that may cause you to spread any disease to the city dwellers.
All Roman cities were lined with columns leading to the main market place.
In every Roman city, you find amphitheatres because they provided entertainment to the people, to listen to opera or modern day musicals. Well, they had no Internet or television in the olden days and if people were not kept occupied, they start to gossip, complain, make comparisons and come up with weird ideas - commit crimes, revolt, etc. So keep them entertained and occupied and you get a peaceful society. The above picture shows a small theatre, known as Odeon. There is a bigger theatre in another part of this city.
Backstage leading to the theatre. These amphitheatres have very good acoustics ad some of them are still in use today for operas or orchestras or concerts. Caesarea in Israel is one of those. I remember going to another of these amphitheatres in Amman in Jordan and there was a marking on the ground that indicated the spot where you could hear your own echo as you speak. Brilliant Roman engineering, they knew Physics way before the appearance of Edison, Newton, Einstein, etc. The Greeks have amphitheatres as well and the way to differentiate was that tunnels leading to the stage that had arches like the one above meant it was a Roman amphitheatre whereas those that did not represented a Greek amphitheatre. People just had to be different and leave indelible marks on their inventions. :)
One of the many funny encounters was that each time we visited an amphitheatre (we visited countless ones), you are bound to see people trying to find the sweet spot that will enable them to hear their own echoes or test out the acoustics of the theatre. How on earth did they do it? They started singing in public. Lol. Apparently, there were quite a few Chinese tour groups when we were in Ephesus and those obasangs started singing Chinese opera.
You can imagine how big this city used to be just from this picture. The building right at the end is the famous Library that was still pretty intact.
In order to build an empire, you not only need to have good engineering skills, leadership skills, military capabilities, etc. but also to be meticulous enough to have holes drilled in rocks and stones so that you can chain your animals - horses, camels, and whatever you want (POW perhaps to help build your city).
Symbol of a hospital i.e. doctor.
We all know Nike comes from America but it was only in Ephesus that I knew the meaning behind Nike and why its logo is a tick. Nike was the name of the Goddess of victory and look at her image, curved like a tick.
Hercules' statue.
It was drizzling before we reached Ephesus and though the rain stopped by the time we reached, the roads were a little wet. Occasionally, I found the marble road slippery even though my boots had pretty good grip. So I asked the guide how on earth did the Romans deal with rainy weather in their leather sandals in the ancient times. The image above shows that the marble tiles had such "decoration" to create friction with the leather shoes that the Romans wore in the past to prevent slipping. However, these markings disappear over time with the friction caused by tourists' rubber soles these days. This was found off the main track where tourists gather. Like I said, attention to every single detail in life.
Suspected to be a love house i.e. brothel. It was interesting to know that the brothel had plenty of bath facilities because it was important that the ladies constantly kept themselves clean and men who visited them also bathed themselves before they patronised.
Temple of Hadrian - dedicated to Emperor Hadrian who visited the city during his reign. A similar replica of it was subsequently spotted in Antalya when we visited.
The two images above depict the latrine (toilet). The hole is where you place your arse. You can see that whatever waste you produced will be carried away by running water in the drain below. It had to be covered to prevent exposure to germs and bacteria. Proper sanitation ensures low mortality rates and good health ensures high productivity to enable a nation to prosper. The running water came from water recycled from the bathhouse and not fresh clean water. To cover up the smell, olive salts were added. Right in front of the latrine, there was also a pool to collect rainwater which is another source of running water and they had frogs placed in the pool. The croaking sounds of the frog helped to cover up the sounds one makes when doing big businesses, if you understood. (just a myth, take it with a pinch of salt)
And finally the Celsus Library of Ephesus. It was the monumental tomb of Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, governor of the province of Asia where his grave was placed underground. His son turned it into a library subsequently. The library was very important in educating people and enabling them to contribute to society. There was no google or social media like FB, Twitter to spread information to the masses in those days. One's learning came primarily from books but they were not cheap and a poor person had access to knowledge through libraries. Of course, I am not sure if it was a public library or a privy of the rich. The four statues in front of the library were considered well preserved given that it has been 2000 years since they were first erected. They represented four important virtues in order for one to be successful -
SOPHIA for WISDOM
ENNOIA for JUDGMENT or a GREAT MIND (INTELLIGENCE)
EPISTEME for KNOWLDEGE
ARETE for VALOR or EXCELLENCE or GOOD CHARACTER or VIRTUE
Can't agree more with the above.
Would like to make an intelligent guess of what the below is? Answers found at the end of the blogpost.
Market place or AGORA in Latin.
At the far end, you see a mountain ridge and this is where the harbour or port lies in ancient times. Like explained above, the coastline shifted and the city is now no longer close to the sea. Ephesus prospered because it was a city closed to the ports, like Venice. It started to decline when it lost its importance as a trade hub. This makes me wonder, what will happen to Singapore 100 years down the road or even lesser should the arctic sea route becomes a reality? Will future generations see us in the same light as Ephesus? We will not have amphitheatres, temples, gates and columns to display to the world but hopefully our durian-like Esplanade, Merlion and MBS will still be standing tall. lol.
The Great theatre, the bigger amphitheatre of the city. One last look at the city of Ephesus before we left. I usually get sick of monuments or places of interest after visiting them for an uncountable number of times, like cathedrals and castles during my time in Europe but somehow amphitheatres never fail to draw my attention and appear in my camera roll.
I took images of these column arches because they represented the architecture of a different era. Greek columns and Roman columns were different but I cannot remember how to differentiate them.
Evolution of Artemis's image over time. Goddess of fertility and hunting. Most coins in the era had bees or deers printed on them since bees represented fertility and deers represented hunting. Coins have always been symbolic of Gods and Rulers, I guess. The eventual form of Artemis at the bottom.
The original site of the Temple of Artemis. UNESCO world heritage site. Only some rocks and a restored column by UNESCO remains. Like explained before, subsequent rulers used the stones from the Temple of Artemis to build other monuments such as Hagia Sophia, basilica of Constantinople in the Byzantine time and other Ottoman monuments. In the far background, you can find the mosque of Isa Bey (closest to the Temple of Artemis with a round roof), fortress of Ayasoluk (right behind the mosque) and also the ruins of St. John's Basilica (with small windows on the right of the mosque). Turkey, a place where you see traces of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Moslem and Ottoman empires.
A reconstructed model of the Temple of Artemis. I asked the guide why is it that the Turkish government did not put in any funds to try to restore the Temple of Artemis and bring out the grandeur of it. After asking, I realise it was quite a stupid question. The Turks have a different religion now and why waste precious government funds on Greek mythology? The appropriate Chinese saying for this is, 一朝天子一朝臣, which means that the officials that preside with one king's reign dissipate with the death of the king. The monuments that are erected during one era have the same fate. This is why I hope that if technology is indeed so powerful, please allow me to time travel. I want to go back to the past, to be in Egypt, Israel, Rome, China, Peru, etc. and see with my own eyes these civilisations.
To end off the post, I shall reveal the significance of the image that I posed a question on:
It is actually directions and advertisement for the love house, meant for sailors who came to Ephesus.
Footprints with the left foot in bold and a cross on top of the left foot: walk to the crossroad in front and on the left
A broken heart in the middle of the stone: a love house (brothel)
A woman's head on the left top corner of the heart shape
Circle (hole): represents coin - pay money
The full interpretation: If you have a broken heart, walk to the crossroad and on the left, you will find a love house and you can pay money to buy a woman's love. The rectangle below the right foot could represent some other information but could not be deciphered.
I hope you have learnt much about the Romans and their way of life from this blog post! :)
Go to these sites if you want to find out more:
