5. Ephesus... I guess most people would call Ephesus the mother of archaeological sites as it is the largest Roman ruin in the world and one of the world's finest sites. Most tours to Turkey would bring their groups to this site and like the situation in Pamukkale, the place was CROWDED.
Now is probably a good time to talk about the different columns styles... There were mainly 3 styles we saw in these ancient cities... the first was the corinthian style, a highly decorative kind, the next one was the ionic style as those seen in the pictures below, with the shape like a ram's horn... the combination of the 2 styles was known as the composite style. I remember seeing those architectural styles during my trip to Chicago, and there had been a play on the styles in relation to the buildings that the style was on... so I guess that the styles are still quite popular today.
The city area is quite big, and very well preserved as we walked further on. The mosiac floor that you see in the bottom left corner was once part of the street area and has been very well preserved till now...
In this picture, you can see the crowds of people following behind us. Our guide did a good job of trying to push us in front so that we could see the site properly with as little hindrance as possible, but it was quite funny sometimes when he had continually remind pple to leave the picture taking till later so that he could quickly explain to us the significance of the area... :P However, the more interesting part is the left hand corner in which you see those holes, and my mother pretending to eh.. conduct some business. Yep, guessed right, these were public toliets for IMPORTANT CITIZENS... aka officials who would just use these public toliets to chit chat and network..... well.. you got to hand it to them for the ability to multi task,,
The pathway leading down to the highlight of the site: the library of celsus. It was a very big library and believed to be one of the most important and most grand of the time. The reason why I took a picture of the marbled walkway in the bottom right hand picture was the holes were made for a purpose: to prevent people from slipping on the marble stone. In ancient times, there was actually a fountain whereby water flowed down the pathways so as to the keep the marble cool in the heat.
Bottom right: Augustus gate, which was originally the Harbour gate... which gives us a sense of how far the sea has shifted outwards since ancient times..
This is believed to be the tomb of cleopatra's half sister, whom she ordered Mark Anthony to kill. Autopsies conducted on the body have found her to be half greek.
The stone carving of the Goddess of Victory... guess her name -> NIKE! The iconic tick of the NIKE logo is based on the wings of the goddess of victory. Now.... anyone know the origins of addias...
Me fooling around...
This used to be a brothel... right opposite the library. Excavations have revealed secret tunnels linking the library to the brothel... so you know what all those husbands were actually doing when they told their wives that they were going to the library.... Mom pretending to be a mamasan with her hands out for money...
The Theater - At an estimated 44,000 seating capacity, it is believed to be the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world
Inside the museum: things to note:
a. The glass bottles- people used to fill them with tears. During funerals, professional mourners were actually hired to provide the tears and these were buried with the dead.
b. The glass covered is a representation of how big and grand the temple of Artemis was in the ancient times. Today, there is nothing much to see, but the size of land gives one an idea of how grand it was in the days.
c. Bottom right: the goddess Artemis who was passionately venerated in an cult manner. She was believe to have 24 breasts or "eggs" — denoting her fertility (others interpret the objects to represent the testicles of sacrificed bulls that would have been strung on the image, with similar meaning).
d. Top left: Emperor Nero. Evil roman emperor who persecuted the christians
See that stone figure with the huge penis: that is the God of Fertility... I kid you not...
Ancient site of the temple of Artemis
The city was famed for the temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BCE), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Temple was destroyed in 401 CE, but Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of revelations. Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation (2:1–7), indicating that the church at Ephesus was still strong. Remember gospel readings at church: A reading from the letter of Ephesus....The gospel of John may have been written here, or so they say.. Incidentally, I should mention that the House of Mary is located near Ephesus ( I talked about this in my previous post). The picture below (If I remember correctly) was the secret sign to show that this was a catholic centre of worship. During the Roman empire, Christians were heavily persecuted, by the emperor Nero, and so secret signs were needed so that people could continue to practise their faith.
Now is probably a good time to talk about the different columns styles... There were mainly 3 styles we saw in these ancient cities... the first was the corinthian style, a highly decorative kind, the next one was the ionic style as those seen in the pictures below, with the shape like a ram's horn... the combination of the 2 styles was known as the composite style. I remember seeing those architectural styles during my trip to Chicago, and there had been a play on the styles in relation to the buildings that the style was on... so I guess that the styles are still quite popular today.
The city area is quite big, and very well preserved as we walked further on. The mosiac floor that you see in the bottom left corner was once part of the street area and has been very well preserved till now...
In this picture, you can see the crowds of people following behind us. Our guide did a good job of trying to push us in front so that we could see the site properly with as little hindrance as possible, but it was quite funny sometimes when he had continually remind pple to leave the picture taking till later so that he could quickly explain to us the significance of the area... :P However, the more interesting part is the left hand corner in which you see those holes, and my mother pretending to eh.. conduct some business. Yep, guessed right, these were public toliets for IMPORTANT CITIZENS... aka officials who would just use these public toliets to chit chat and network..... well.. you got to hand it to them for the ability to multi task,,
The pathway leading down to the highlight of the site: the library of celsus. It was a very big library and believed to be one of the most important and most grand of the time. The reason why I took a picture of the marbled walkway in the bottom right hand picture was the holes were made for a purpose: to prevent people from slipping on the marble stone. In ancient times, there was actually a fountain whereby water flowed down the pathways so as to the keep the marble cool in the heat.
Bottom right: Augustus gate, which was originally the Harbour gate... which gives us a sense of how far the sea has shifted outwards since ancient times..
This is believed to be the tomb of cleopatra's half sister, whom she ordered Mark Anthony to kill. Autopsies conducted on the body have found her to be half greek.
The stone carving of the Goddess of Victory... guess her name -> NIKE! The iconic tick of the NIKE logo is based on the wings of the goddess of victory. Now.... anyone know the origins of addias...
Me fooling around...
This used to be a brothel... right opposite the library. Excavations have revealed secret tunnels linking the library to the brothel... so you know what all those husbands were actually doing when they told their wives that they were going to the library.... Mom pretending to be a mamasan with her hands out for money...
The Theater - At an estimated 44,000 seating capacity, it is believed to be the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world
Inside the museum: things to note:
a. The glass bottles- people used to fill them with tears. During funerals, professional mourners were actually hired to provide the tears and these were buried with the dead.
b. The glass covered is a representation of how big and grand the temple of Artemis was in the ancient times. Today, there is nothing much to see, but the size of land gives one an idea of how grand it was in the days.
c. Bottom right: the goddess Artemis who was passionately venerated in an cult manner. She was believe to have 24 breasts or "eggs" — denoting her fertility (others interpret the objects to represent the testicles of sacrificed bulls that would have been strung on the image, with similar meaning).
d. Top left: Emperor Nero. Evil roman emperor who persecuted the christians
See that stone figure with the huge penis: that is the God of Fertility... I kid you not...
Ancient site of the temple of Artemis
