Drinking Efes in Efes

This past weekend’s trip was to Ephesus (or Efes or Seljuk, they are all interchangeable...I think). It was a combination of thousands of years of history, like Istanbul, and beautiful beaches and sea, like Olympos. That being said this is going to be a long post…sorry.

We again left Eskisehir on Thursday night, arriving in Ephesus on Friday morning. Much to everyone’s surprise (and possible dismay) we did not arrive at the hotel, but rather, the Ancient City of Ephesus where our guide was waiting for us to begin our daylong tour. He was an interesting guide with a loud voice and a wealth of knowledge which made him much easier to listen to and more enjoyable than the guide from Istanbul. The ancient city was very cool with all of its ruins including the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, ancient temples, and many other buildings. I thought it was interesting that the city was once a harbor town with the sea only a few hundred meters away but was abandoned when a nearby river, feeding into the sea, deposited sediment causing the sea to recede to a couple kilometers away. Another interesting thing was that the city used to be completely covered with soil and was only discovered during the construction of the railroad. Had it not been for the few railroad workers that found the pieces of marble/granite this city may still be underground and lost forever…or at least until someone else started to dig. Today, roughly only 25% of the ancient city has been unearthed and will take an estimated 100 years to unearth the rest.

The Great Theatre

Library of Celsus

Stone carving of the goddess Nike. The Nike swoosh was created to resemble the shape of this stone.

Ancient toilets!

Some cool pillars

After spending the morning in the ancient city, we recovered with a nice Turkish buffet. We then went to the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately, all that stands today is the one of the pillars that archeologists reconstructed to show the height that the temple once stood.

Temple of Artemis

Upon leaving the temple, we went to the cave where the Seven Sleepers resided for hundreds of years to escape religious persecution. I guess this story is referenced in both the Bible and the Qur’an along with many other accounts of what happened.

Cave of the Seven Sleepers

We then took the bus up the Bulbul Mountain to the House of the Virgin Mary. This is the place where Saint John took the Virgin Mary to live (and eventually die) after Jesus’ death. It is believed that she is buried under the house and is one of the places of pilgrimage for Christians. Something that I didn’t know was that the Virgin Mary is a common link between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Interestingly enough, our guide told us that she is mentioned more times in the Qur’an than in the Bible.

Statue of the Virgin Mary

The house that Mary is buried under

After a long day of sightseeing our tour guide had a surprise for us...and a surprise it was. He took us to a leather coat fashion show. We were the only people at the fashion show so it was kind of awkward but a great experience nonetheless. Caroline, Vince, and Ryan were even pulled on the runway to model some coats too! The owner of the shop then gave us a short tutorial on the types of leather products they make and sell and how to tell the difference between lamb and sheep skin leather. This was a full day of sight-seeing so it was nice to finally get to the hotel which was located right on the Aegean Sea, had a rooftop pool, and was all inclusive!

Vince doing his model thing

View of the rooftop pool and beyond

The Aegean Sea from our hotel rooftop

The second day of our trip took us to the Ephesus Archeological Museum which houses many of the artifacts from the excavations of the ancient city.

We then had another surprise stop, but this time it was to a local carpet maker. We were shown how they hand spin the silk from the mulberry silkworm larvae cocoons (caterpillar cocoons), how they make the carpets by hand knotting each individual strand, the difference between a Turkish and Chinese carpet, and a lot of other interesting information about carpets (like the best way to clean one is with Ivory soap and cold water and that the average lifespan of a Turkish carpet is three generations). They served us drinks (tea, coffee, beer, and wine) and was a very enjoyable experience. I will definitely be investing in a Turkish carpet later in life!

Picking up the cocoons to hand-spin the silk...

...to hand knot the carpet...

...eventually making these.

Then we walked to the Basilica of Saint John, where Saint John is buried. Not only did he bring the Virgin Mary to Ephesus but he also helped to convert many of its citizens (eventually all of them) to Christianity. They started a new city of Ephesus with the city center being the Basilica of Saint John. Next to the Basilica is the Isa Bey Mosque which is one of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in that area.

Saint John is buried under these four pillars.

Isa Bey Mosque

After another buffet style lunch we went to the Şirince Wine Village. The name Sirince mean "pretty" but previous to this name the city was called Cirkince meaning "ugly" in order to keep the inhabitants from being bothered by foreigners and sharing the village's beauty. Here we got to taste test nine or ten different types of wine and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the village. One of the local artisans even crafted most of the jewelry worn in the movie Troy.

With the end of day two, we have the beginning of day three and the trip back to Eskisehir. We left Ephesus around 10am and headed for Pamukkale and Hierapolis Ancient City. Pamukkale in Turkish means “cotton castle” which is exactly what it looks like. The whole place is covered in white, calcium carbonate deposits which harden into travertine. Hierapolis means “Holy City” and is situated just above Pamukkale for its abundant supply of water and hot springs.

If you are reading this, you made it! Thank you for your dedication and I commend your effort! Our last trip is to Cappadocia this upcoming weekend and I am expecting another amazing trip, possibly one that outdoes them all!