Rejuvenated after a nice sleep-in, Boyfriend and I set off for the 3.5 kilometre walk from our hotel in Selçuk to the ruins of Ephesus – the best-preserved ancient Roman city of the Eastern Mediterranean.We picked up Anna and Glen – a Kiwi couple from our tour group who’ve spent the past two years backpacking through Europe – and followed along the main road out of town. Only a few minutes had passed before we made a right-hand turn to stop at the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. Once one of the great Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, now sadly a bunch of broken marble and stone pillars. Apparently the Pyramids of Egypt are the last of the ancient Seven Wonders still predominately intact – luckily we’ll get a chance to see them in a few weeks.
The last standing relic at the Temple of Artemis
Anna and I in the amphitheatre at EphesusAt Ephesus we decided, in the interest of saving our liras, to share one audio guide between the four of us. Anna and I each took an earpiece and attempted to relay the information to the boys. I came to the conclusion quite quickly that I would suck as a translator: stumbling over words as I repeated statements in English is a sad indication of my communication skills.
Two hours later we were still wandering the ruins. I think we were all surprised at how extensive they are. Ephesus was a great trading city in 1st century CE; it was also the centre if the cult of Cybele – the Anatolian fertility goddess – until Cybele became Artemis – the virgin goddess of the hunt and moon – and later Diana, when the Romans conquered the city. Later Ephesus was the site of Saint Paul’s famous speech to the pagans. The pagans retaliated with three hours of chanting, “Artemis is great,” and consequently Paul was thrown out of town.
Two hours later we were still wandering the ruins. I think we were all surprised at how extensive they are. Ephesus was a great trading city in 1st century CE; it was also the centre if the cult of Cybele – the Anatolian fertility goddess – until Cybele became Artemis – the virgin goddess of the hunt and moon – and later Diana, when the Romans conquered the city. Later Ephesus was the site of Saint Paul’s famous speech to the pagans. The pagans retaliated with three hours of chanting, “Artemis is great,” and consequently Paul was thrown out of town.
The library of Celsus, Ephesus
Audio-guide weary, we took our leave when the remains of fountains and gymnasiums and latrines (it’s surprising how little the shape of a toilet seat has changed in two thousand years) all started to merge into one. Taking in the ancient world is a tiring task.
No comments:
Post a Comment