Kusadasi – Tapestry of Turkish Culture

Our stop in the port of Kusadasi was my first official contact with the continent of Asia.  What once had been a sleepy little fishing village only a decade ago has been transformed into a major port for cruise liners such as ours, to disgorge thousands of summer tourists to over-run the ruins of Ephesus.  Kusadasi is now a modern, friendly, vibrant resort town of 65,000 people catering to the tourist industry, which can cause the population to more than quadruple in the season. 

Backing into the port of Kusadasi

It was thrilling to think we were in Turkey, ancient Anatolia, with a prehistory stretching back to Neolithic times, perhaps the source of the Indo-European languages.  The Hittites built a magnificent kingdom here dating from 1800 BC, and around 1200 BC Ionian Greeks started colonies on the western shores, including Ephesus.  The fabled city of Troy, in its earliest building phases dates to about 1700 BC.  Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, the gateway to Europe, was once Constantinople the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, then the Byzantine Empire, then after 1453 was renamed Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire. 

We disembarked from the ship for our shore excursion and met our guide Nevin, who would first take us to Ephesus with time left over for shopping in the Bazaar of Kusadasi.  We drove through farmlands of cotton, olives, oranges, and past small concrete-block villages, trying to read the Turkish road signs.  As we approached Ephesus Nevin told us the road we were on was once underwater, that Ephesus had been on the seacoast, but the harbor silted up over the centuries and now was 6 km inland.  It started as a Greek city in the Bronze Age, about 1400 BC, and from its earliest days had been associated with the goddess Artemis.  The many-breasted statue “Diana of Ephesus” that we saw at the Vatican Museum last year originated here.  One of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” the Temple of Artemis was built in the late 6^th century BC by King Croesus, his name synonymous with fabulous riches because he first minted gold-silver alloy coins.  The temple was burned down in 356 BC by a sociopathic nobody named Herostratus who, according to the historian Pausanius, wanted to become famous, even if it meant doing something dastardly.  Nevin showed us the site of where the huge ancient temple once stood, and all that was left was a tall column of obviously mismatched sections, standing forlornly in an open field. 

 Harbour Street

 

The Grand Theatre

 

The Temple of Hadrian

 

 The Celsus Library

The ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus covered an enormous area, about two square miles that in 200 AD, at the height of the Roman period, was home to about 50,000 people.  I think there were about 50,000 people there that day, all straining to hear our own tour guide above the cacophony, all trying to get photos of the fantastic Roman ruins.  After entering through the Magnesia Gate, we stumbled down the marble paved road to see the Odeum, the Celsus Library (featured in almost every Archaeology Magazine I have), the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan, and the Grand Theatre.  Grand, indeed, it could hold 25,000 spectators, and Nevin told us St Paul had preached here.  It was almost too much, so much to take in with such a mass of humanity in the way.  I would have to come back here in the “off-season.”

As promised, Nevin took us back to Kusadasi to a carpet weaving demonstration and factory sales pitch.  I must admit the carpets were gorgeous, and I would have purchased one if I had an extra $6000 laying around.  The people were so friendly and accommodating, and we enjoyed the show.  Carpet weaving has been one of Turkey’s most treasured arts going way back.  If you visit Kusadasi and wish to purchase a gorgeous Turkish rug, and support their ancient arts, try:

Majestic Carpet and Jewelry, Ataturk Bulvari No 20, Phone 90 (256) 612 44 04

Email: Majesticcarpet@ttmail.com

 

 

More pictures of Delos

The mosaic floor from the House of the Dolphins.  This design was featured in the 1957 film "Boy on a Dolphin" a gorgeous movie with the gorgeous Sophia Loren, filmed on Hydra, Rhodes, and Delos, and on the Acropolis in Athens. Its a romance / drama about finding an ancient statue of a boy on a dolphin, filmed in post WWII Greece.  Do yourself a favor and rent this movie sometime.

The Poros Temple, the oldest temple of Apollo, from the late 6th century BC

The steps of the 2nd century BC Propylaea, the gateway into the Sanctuary of Apollo, with the Hermes Propylaeos on the right.

Marble bench near the Sacred Way and the Portico of Philip of Macedonia



The Terrace of Lions, dating from 7th century BC

If, like me, you loved reading Greek mythology as a kid,  you could not help but be enchanted by this mystical island.  The  gorgeous blue sky, the "wine-dark sea" as in the Homeric poems, the marble ruins scattered about, the incessant wind.  A thrill for the senses --  and the imagination!

Next:  Ephesus!

Exploring Mykonos Town

It was surprisingly easy to find L & G, singing the praises of the beauty of the beach and the pleasure of swimming in the Ionian Sea.  So after dropping off our stuff from the morning (wet swimsuits for them and books for me) we congregated for the hike to Mykonos Town, with NO GUIDE to accompany us! Scary.

Mykonos is part of the group of Greek islands known as the Cyclades, first settled by Ionians in the early part of the 11^th century BC (so archaeologists have determined).  According to Greek myths and legends, the name Mykonos was derived from “Mykons” thought to be a son or grandson of Apollo, and the moniker “Island of Light” is for its connection to Apollo, the sun god, as is nearby Delos.  Currently Mykonos has a population of about 11,000 people living on the 33 square miles of granite, with little rainfall and lots of sunshine.  If you’ve gone to Greek restaurants and seen photographs on the walls of whitewashed houses, blue-domed churches, golden sandy beaches, and windmills with spindly stick arms, odds are those photos are from Mykonos. 

We had a pleasant stroll from the dock past the parking lots and small warehouses to the street leading to the town center, with the sea lapping the concrete docks and rocky shoreline.  We did look for the famous windmills that seemed to have toothpicks for blades, not the familiar fan-blades as in Holland.  The windmills of Mykonos date from the 16^th century and provided power for grinding grains.  There is a grouping of them on the coast southwest of town, but it was too far for us to walk. 

This is a shopper’s paradise, and without the hard-sell tactics we encountered in Athens.  Numerous shops of jewelry, embroidered linens, pottery, hand-painted icons, and the usual souvenirs, with sidewalk cafes aplenty.  With little trouble we parked ourselves at a table by the sea and had a round of ouzo, served with water and ice, along with a bowl of pistachios and almonds.  One round led to another, and so we passed a pleasant time watching the people and the small boats in the water.  After a bit, I decided to wade in the water by the café, and C. joined me so we also could claim to have touched the Ionian Sea.  I remembered the movie “Shirley Valentine” was filmed in part in Mykonos, and thought any one of these cafés could have been the setting in the film.  Mykonos has been used in another recent movie:  some scenes from the 2002 thriller “The Bourne Identity” were filmed here.  Apparently back in the 1960’s Jackie Onassis and Europe’s jet-set discovered Mykonos, and it became an Athenian status symbol to have a holiday home here. 

Reluctantly, our free time on Mykonos was ending, and we headed back with our bags of purchases, feeling giddy from the ouzo.  What a great liquor, the best way to have licorice!  My sandals were still wet from wading in the water, grains of sand clinging to the tread.  We had just enough time to shower before dinner, and get some rest for the next port: Kusadasi in Turkey!