Ancient Cities: Ephesus

From Izmir, we set out on two separate day trips.  On Tuesday, we took a bus two hours south to Selçuk, where we caught a cab to Ephesus in the morning and a bus to the town of Şirince in the afternoon.  On Thursday, we took a bus three hours to the north to the town of Bergama, which sits at the base of the fantabulous ancient city of Pergamon. 

Ephesus is “the” must see for visitors to Turkey.  It practically glitters with the wealth of the ancient Byzantine inhabitants.  We walked down the long marble street past well-preserved marble mansions, bathhouses, mosaic floors, and a grand temple with detailed friezes, on the way to the massive two-story library and huge amphitheater.  The city is bursting with art – literature, theater and sculpture – clearly a central feature of life for the cosmopolitan Byzantine inhabitants of Ephesus.

Even amidst the museum quality artifacts that filled every nook and cranny of the site, there was very little oversight.  It was up to me to rein in the boys as they leapt like mountain goats around the ruins.  November once again proved to be a great time to travel in Turkey.  There was a crowd, but it was nothing like the shoulder-to-shoulder throngs described in the guidebooks. 

In contrast, the little village of Şirince where we spent our afternoon, was incredibly crowded.  Perhaps it hit me more because I was expecting to an intimate village setting.  I guess that’s what the rest of the bus-loads of visitors were seeking out as well.  It was originally a Greek village in the 1500s but most of the houses you see are 19th century white washed red-tiled ottoman style villas, surrounded by vineyards and olive orchards.  We stopped immediately at a beautiful hillside restaurant and tried the local wine while looking out over the red-roofed houses dotting the hillside.  

Walking through the town, though, was like being at the Grand Bazaar.  Vendors and shopkeepers beseeched us to buy their wares.  It was depressing.  

The occasional passing tractors and trucks filled with bags of olives were evidence that this town is not purely a tourist attraction.  Hard-working farmer men and women, many whom appeared to be my mother’s age, were returning from a long day in the olive orchards.