Turkish Mosaic circuit. Day 10 (180 Kilometre distance covered).

13th October 2010

Selçuk - Didyma - Priene - Ephesus - Selçuk

We left Selçuk on our way to the ancient Ionian sanctuary of Didyma, containing a temple to Apollon and an oracle, said to have been as important as the well known one of Delphy.

The first impression was one of deception, because there weren't but a few ruins, (which belong to a temple started in the late 4th century to replace the original one destroyed by the Persians in 494 B.C.)  but once we walked around and started thoroughly looking at some of the stone carving pedestals and columns, I must confess I changed my initial perception of the site.

Stone carved Medusas

The ruins of an ancient Greek city of Ionia, Priene was to follow and although we were left at our own mercy, in the sense that the guide "abandoned" us, we were lucky enough (at least some of us) to have listened in to the explanations provided by a French speaking guide, as we reached the remains of the Temple of Athena.

These certainly changed the perception of what we had in front of us, namely in regards to this Temple, funded by Alexander the Great, at the foot of an escarpment of Mycale.

The last visit of the day, before returning to Selçuk, was Ephesus, one of the best-preserved (the best according to many historians) classical city on the Aegean sea coast.

A notice at one of the many stalls at the entrance to the site called my attention ... the concept of "genuine fake" ... one thing I was sure ... what I was about to see afterwards was "genuinely genuine" ...

It started to rain and although it wasn't but light rain, I felt it did affect part of the visit.

The Library of Celsus (built in honour of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaneanus in 135 AD expected to store 12,000 scrolls and  serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus) and the Temple of Hadrian (built 138 AD having four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch in the middle of which there is a relief of Tyche, Goddess of victory) did catch my attention more than the others, with the exception of one or two carved figures along the Curetes street or on the Domitian Temple. 

Two perspectives of the Library of Celsius

Library of Celsius façade details

Domitian Temple (Left).  Temple of Hadrian (Right).

We still managed to "squeeze" in three visits to different Turkish production and exhibiton halls of "Turkish delights" and dried fruits and sweets;  Turkish cotton and silk carpets and Turkish made leather goods ..., but I'll talk about those later, as I am fairly impressed with what I have seen today ... even if (historically speaking) the more I see the more I seem to become confused.

There is too much information and I haven't had the capacity to "absorb" it all ...