Priene, Miletus and Didyma

Priene Temple of Athena. Built around 350 BC

Today was the day for Greek antiquities. The three sites we visited, Priene, Miletus and Didyma, were all ancient Greek cities or sanctuaries, all hailing back 3rd to 7th century BC. By now, I was getting all muddled with who was who and who conquered who when. But one thing was a stand out, these people were smart enough to build amazing structures with "mod cons" like plumbing that was seemingly lost for so long afterwards.

The second thing that crossed my mind was that some of these sites who so unprotected, It felt wrong to be walking all over structures hundreds of years old albeit in ruins. Our guide did say that in some ways, it was a blessing that some of the better preserved monuments were "stolen" by the British and German as at least it was well preserved rather than being graffitied on by locals. As our older two climbed all over the giant ruins, it did cross my mind that the child who would have appreciated the history the most was not here!

Last but not least...fun fact for the day! The river than the word "meander" was derived from is here! The river did have a tortuous course and once upon a time was a waterway between Miletus and Didyma.

One of our favourite parts of the day, having our Starbucks coffee and enjoying the view

First stop Priene. As with most good ancient city history, it was built on several sites over history. The current site which we visited was built around 350BC. It was lovely to explore ruins in the hills amongst trees and with no one else around. The strewn rocks everywhere made it look like a Lord of The Rings film set.

Early morning exercise

brought out the Rocky in my mother

Beautiful view of the farmlands below

Smart enough to have a columns with multiple outlets redirecting water into pipes

We were so high up and in the middle of nowhere that we saw a shepherd and his sheep!

Ruin amongst the trees

Greek Drama

at the Greek Theatre

Basilica

Jigsaw puzzle anyone?

Still not sure how this is "fun"

The Sacred Hall...not so sacred anymore

Second stop Miletus. I forget its significance other than being at the mouth of the river Meander! But Miletus is old, I mean at least 2000BC old. And prior to Persian in the 6th century BC it was one of the wealthiest Greek cities. 

Our final stop was Didyma, by this stage the brain was incapable of absorbing any more facts. Too many rebuilds!!! Most important fact, we were looking at the Temple of Apollo. 

One of the many stray dogs

Miletus

Surprise! A theatre!

What sort of gladiator poses are these?!

The rest of the ruins of Miletus

Temple of Apollo at Didyma

Some serious columns

Ramp to inner sanctuary

Originally erected sometime in the 6-7th century BC

Ancient graffiti

Fried fish for lunch!

The "meander" motif

Pamukkale

 

Travertines of Pamukkale which translates to Cotton Palace. The white is from the calcite laden waters

It was a time for a road trip. We were picked at 8am for a 3 hour drive to Pamukkale. The distances involved means no cruise ship tourists. The visitors are usually those on multiday trips to Turkey or locals. 

Pamukkale became known for its hot springs and many in the ancient days believed its waters to be healing. The ancient greek city of Hierapolis became a spa town in the 2nd century BC. It was destroyed by earthquakes and the Romans rebuilt it adding an amphitheatre and baths amongst other things. It was eventually abandoned in the 14th century due to multiple earthquakes. Our guide took us wandering through the ruins of Hierapolis, making our way up to the incredible Roman amphitheatre before heading down to Cleopatra's Pool and the travertines famously seen on many instagram accounts.

Cleopatra's looks kitsch but the pool is natural, formed when earthquakes allowed the hot springs waters to fill a sunken area of ruins. So all those pillars and rocks are actual ruins and not decorations thrown in! Mal was the only braved the pools. The rest of us had a giggle at the Russian tourists who were having their photos taken in the pools with Angel wings...

We had a late lunch of pide, before stopping at a cotton factory outlet (the area is a cotton growing region) to buy some Turkish towels! So much cheaper here!! Then it was nap time on the bus until we arrived back to our hotel. 

The travertines as seen from afar

Byzantine Gate to Heirapolis. Everything is so old we're getting blase. Oh just a 5th century gate. Pfft

It was nice to walk in nature but it was a ways up hill...

...to get to this. Likely built after 60AD

Ploutonium. 1st century BC. The bits including the arched entrance near the CO2 emitting water from geologic activity is original. Everything above is a restoration

A complex and sophisticated system of canals and aquaducts to transport the water throughout the city and nearby villages

Cleopatra's Pool

One brave swimmer

The travertines. The water is cold by the time it gets here!

Pide. Simple, quick and tasty

Künefe, one of my favs

Pide with tahini. Dessert pide

There are strays everywhere in Turkey. This lucky stray gets to rest in the stores most comfortable doona...

Last but not least, the important business of sorting out family laundry

Ephesus

 

Library at Ancient Ephesus. 3rd largest behind Alexandria and Pergamum

We were picked up at 9am by our guide Burcu for our day in the ancient Greco-Roman city of Ephesus. Ephesus has been around for yonks, as early as 11th century BC according to legends but had its heyday around 200-300AD. Most probably know it as associated with early Christianity, being mentioned in the bible a few times. St Paul and St John visited and Mary, mother of Jesus, was said to have spent her last years there. We spent a few hours in the sprawling but fascinating ruins, so I won't bore you with a history lesson, but will detail our highlights with photos instead. 

The very large restaurant where our buffet breakfast was. If there was sunlight...we would have had a beautiful view of the sea

The baptism pool outside Mary's house. The early plumbing (red pipes) are original

We were surprised to see a nativity scene in a Moslem country. But where is baby Jesus?! We were told as he wasn't born until Christmas Day, they only take him out for display on Dec 24!

They even decorated Mary's house for Christmas

No photos inside, so just one outside. This was from the side of her small and cosy home

Wall of wishes. Our guide says she sometimes reads them for a laugh (terrible she knows). When we had a look some were complete essays!!

The vast ruins of Ephesus

Nike. Can you see the origin of the swoosh?

Original pavement stones nearly 2000 years old

They were smart enough to have working public toilets and sewage system back then

The front gutter was for fresh running water. The holes in the ground held sticks with cloth which you can use to dip in the water to then clean yourself...

Stray cats everywhere. Our driver gave our guide 2 bottles of food to disperse. This one was happy to pose for my phots capturing the gorgeous original mosaics

We had entry to the special ticketed exhibit of the terrace house where the rich lived. These examples were much better preserved than the ones in the outdoor

Just us and the stray dogs at the Library. Marc Antony gifted the scrolls and text to Cleopatra and had them sent to Alexandria where they all burned in the fire

what happens in the ancient times to your stone writing when your hand gets tired

A pamplet with instructions and directions to the "love" house or brothel

Theatre of Ephesus

Tunnel that the gladiator walked through

The famous Garfield of Ephesus. He has his own instagram page with more followers than me

A better idea of the scope of the theatre, taken from the gymnasium

Lunchtime! Today's food highlight - fresh pomegranate juice

Boulevard of orange trees. Our guide read our Asian minds, there are all still there because they're bitter oranges not sweet ones

After our visit onsite, we visited the museum to see where the aritifacts from the dig site were housed. Oma's comment "Look Lara that's you as a baby". Classic

The Ephesians version of boardgames

Statue of Artemis dating from 1st century BC

After our time in the ancient city and museum, we had an unexpected shopping stop. A leather goods factory used by big luxury brands, they treated us to a runway display of their leather products. Elliot and Lara were invited up to model with much discomfort on their part and much glee on their parents. These leather products would sell for 3-4 times the price on the tag once the luxury brand has been stamped on it. Lara scored herself a beautiful red leather jacket. Poor Elliot looked like one young adult dystopian movie hero after another being made to try on dark leather jackets. Notably Twilight and Divergent. He did look very handsome though!

Runway models

He was very obliging, too polite to say no!

Laundry Turkish Style. Jim the laundry man taking our laundry away to be washed and folded! $12.50 for a full load. Not bad!

Great way to end the day, eating dinner on our hotel balcony enjoying the view. Somewhere out there is Samos, a Greek Island. I have yet to figure out which one...