Ephesus and Cappadocia
Jul 11th, 2014 by willmarks
After breakfast on June 27, we said goodbye to the Freya and crew and drove about 180 kilometers to Ephesus. I am not sure we had ever experienced heat like this, 40-41 degrees (104-106 fahrenheit) so the 2 hour walk through Ephesus was a challenge, for children and adults alike.
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, built in the 10th century B.C., and it became an important Roman city beginning in the 2nd century A.D. before earthquakes eventually inhibited the city’s access to water.
We entered from the top of Ephesus, and visited the Odeon Theater, where government sessions took place, and then saw what was left of the Temple of Hadrian.
MEM with the library in the distance…
Can you find Caesar in the Greek alphabet?
Look for the swish in this depiction of Nike, The Winged Goddess of Victory?
We partially escaped from the heat when we walked up the 90 steps within the Terrace Houses, the villas where the wealthy Ephesus residents lived and where substantial archaeological work is now taking place.
We are standing in front of the spectacular Celsus Library, built in honor of Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaenus by his son in the early 2nd century A.D.
After stopping briefly at the Great Theater, which had capacity for 25,000, we made our way to lunch in nearby Selçuk, followed by a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis, or what is left of this “Wonder of the World”.
Evelyn and Max at the base of the Temple column
The drive to the Izmir airport was 80 kilometers, and then Pegasus Air took us to Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul with a second leg to Kayseri. Our new guide, Erkut Aldeniz (and driver), led us 70 kilometers to our cave hotel, Yunak Evleri, in Ürgüp, within the historical region of Cappadocia.
We were up at 4:15 a.m. for a flight with Royal Balloon.
Erkut met us back at our hotel, and we drove to Devrent, where we looked out over a gorgeous valley, dropped down to Pasabag, and rode on to Göreme.
According to the UNESCO website, which points to “monastic activity” in the region beginning in the 4th century A.D., this area is “within a volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion to form a succession of mountain ridges, valleys and pinnacles known as “fairy chimneys” or hoodoos…the density of its rock-hewn cells, churches, troglodyte villages and subterranean cities within the rock formations make it one of the world’s most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes. Though interesting from a geological and ethnological point of view, the incomparable beauty of the decor of the Christian sanctuaries makes Cappadocia one of the leading examples of the post-iconoclastic Byzantine art period.”
Here we are within the Göreme Open-Air Museum, a “vast monastic complex” of churches built into the rocks between the 10th and 12th centuries A.D. Note the sign between Max’s legs.
In Avanos, we visited a pottery business where MEM were given a quick lesson, and we watched some local artisans at work, before choosing not to make any purchases, likely a good move.
After a tasty lunch at Sedef Restaurant, we went down into the Kaymakli Underground City. Excavation of the city may have begun during the Hittite times, possibly as early as 1600 B.C. and the current structure, which included further carving by Christians, indicates peak capacity may have been in the neighborhood of 3,500.
Does the look on my face say, “she’s cute and fun, but oh is she going to be a handful someday…”
I was surprised with a birthday cake at the delightful Ziggy Cafe & Restaurant!
On our last full day in Turkey, we took a guided bike ride with a required support truck in tow; the presence of the trailing mechanic was a bit much, but it made us feel safe while pedaling up the highway portion of a not so scenic but still enjoyable tour.
Finally, we closed out at the Keslik Monastery, from the Byzantine era. Here is where meals were served…
After paying for a swim at a hotel up the road, we dined at Han Çiragan Restaurant & Cafe (we preferred the prior night’s Ziggy) and sadly watched Netherlands score late and twice to defeat Mexico 2-1.
In front of our cave hotel…