Efes Museum

The museum of items from Efes (Ephesus) is located in modern-day Selcuk, so we decided to visit the museum before seeing the ancient city, which is probably the best-known of Turkey's many classical sites. The museum was just a couple hundred meters from our campsite.

Nice sarcophagus in a garden setting outside the museum

Bust of Marcus Aurelius...



As found in excavations of Efes

"Honey, could you press that little button, and smile?" The

Priapos is one of the museum's most popular artifacts; they

discreetly keep it in a darkened box--it's a family museum--

which is hilarious, since you can buy a replica at any trinket

shoppe from Istanbul to Antioch, Izmir to Nemrut

Dagi

A more artful version, with Virgil's famous

lines

Sundial in the courtyard



Roman glass, which we always find intriguing

"And now for something completely different:

a woman with ..." Efes Museum's most

famous item, the larger-than-life statue of

Artemis

Different version

Entrance to the ruins of the massive Byzantine Basilica of

St. John the Evangelist (he's supposed to be buried

somewhere underneath)

View from the ticket office, the citadel in the background

We decided to take a pass on this one, since a) everything

is restored--restored ruins--everything you see is modern,
b) it's merely Byzantine, c) we're really more into the
Synoptic Gospels, and d) no plenary indulgence was offered

Temple of Artemis, or, the Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall

Another couple hundred meters away is the Temple of Artemis, another of Pliny's Seven Wonders of the World. Nature, time, and humanity seem to have had particular scorn for these seven. Only the pyramids of Egypt remain in recognizable shape.

Model of the Temple of Artemis, from the Efes (Ephesus) Museum, in Selcuk; 
the ancient world's largest, and probably not surpassed as a religious site until 
the Hagia Sofia; for all I know

Rubble in a swamp; not even very much rubble

One column remains upright, of 127

A row of stumps

A few stones still in some semblance of order

Sic transit, Gloria

Isa Bey Mosque

Just a few hundred meters from Garden Camping is the 14th century Isa Bey Mosque, one of the older still-functioning mosques in Turkey, a major tourist destination.

Completed in 1375; 17th century earthquakes brought down a 
minaret and the courtyard columns; restored in 1995 or so

Interior courtyard

Mosque interior; the floor is covered not by prayer rugs but by regular rugs, 
some very large and probably very old

Ditto

Ditto ditto



Meanwhile, back in the courtyard...

From the cemetery

Columns

A beautiful, old, mighty structure

Selcuk

We got to Selcuk, found Garden Camping just below the citadel, and set up for a few days' rest. I took a number of walks into and around town, but we did not do any sightseeing in earnest for three restful days.

Selcuk has a well-known Saturday market, indeed one of the

largest weekly markets I have seen anywhere; produce

departments in groceries and supermarkets are relatively

small in Turkey; most Turks buy their produce at markets

such as this one where there are hundreds of vendors; of

course there are garment districts, hardware districts,

houseware districts, and on and on



Aquaduct ruins in Selcuk

It's a regional center but also a tourist town--with its own

major sites and Ephesus just a few kms away; also host, in

the winter, to Turkey's major camel-wrestling (camel vs.

camel) tournament

Cat in a bowl; not a small cat either

More local ruins, near the St. John Church

A small local amusement park

Everyone has satellite TV...

The citadel, currently undergoing restoration; the

campgound is right below it

Random Magnetic Ruins

After Priene we drove on, intent on nothing but finding that nice campground in Selcuk we had heard of, near Ephesus, and taking several days off. We are tired travelers, and Vicki's arm needs rest. But the cultural and historical sites in Turkey are without end, and, not far from Selcuk, without even noticing the brown cultural/heritage signage, we passed another ruined city, this time Magnesia. It was in none of our guidebooks. We had to stop for just a few pix outside the fence. Magnesia was settled by Greeks from Thessaly, Leukippos and his followers, the Magnetes (could be a rock band; "and now, direct from their home town in Thessaly, and following a succesful tour of Asia Minor, please welcome Leukippos and the Magnetes..."), in the 5th century BCE. It became a religious center under the Byzantines, then declined. Aegean and Mediterranean Turkey are just littered with such places. I wonder whether anyone has seen them all.

Priene

It was at Priene, another Ionian League city, that Vicki articulated her "great houses" theory of touring classical ruins. In the UK of GB, a year ago, we toured dozens of the great houses. (We had National Trust and English Heritage passes). Yes, they all have certain similarities: big houses, great halls, art work, parks, grounds, gardens, follies. Taking a little more time with them, as we did, we began to see more of the historical/cultural/political/regional/other nuances. They are all quite different and quite interesting, despite the superficial similarities. (There is also a similar approach to touring cathedrals...). Anyhow, we have now attained that state where, despite the same old stones, theatres, stadia, agora, baths, nymphanea, etc., we are beginning to see each of these ruins as quite distinct and different. Of course they can't have the richness that great houses have with all their furniture, decorative arts, landscaping, recent history, familiarity, etc. (Museums can supply some of this for the ancients). But I digress.

Priene was not a coastal city but was rather well up the Menderes Valley, perched on a hilltop at the foot of Mt. Mykales' great face. As an Ionian League city, it could trace its origins to the Greek colonists who settled many of these places, sometime around 1,000 BCE. For whatever reasons, the Romans were never attracted to Priene; its influence waned, and, by Byzantine times, it was abandoned. And so it remains one of the very best examples of a purely Greek/Hellenistic city. And it is relatively well preserved.

Here's what archaeologists think it looked like, in its hey-day

Columns of Priene's Temple of Athena, 4th century BCE

Column-building is quite elementary, you see; you just

match "A" to "A" and "B" to "B" and then proceed on up

until finished

Menderes Valley from Priene

"Greek to me" department

Main Street; agora

Every now and then, you see a really nice day-pack-sized

fragment in a conspicuous place; bait for would-be

smugglers we think...

Priene's Greek theatre

VIP seating and the central altar; theatre for the Greeks was

far more a religious experience than entertainment, hence,

the altar, for sacrifices 

Me on the altar; Dionysus knows I am one of his best

customers



Priene's Temple to Egyptian Gods

Vicki leaving via the city's main gate