Sunday: Izmir / Ephesus
Jun. 13th, 2007 01:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deirdreWe docked at Izmir and loaded up onto our tour bus. After seeing the frou-frou stuff that came with us, I knew that this was my favorite tour. We were provided a small bottle of water, an amphora (more about that later), a small evil eye pendant, and an earphone so we could hear over a radio. This made coordinating a group on a large site (as Ephesus is) much easier. We could all move herd-like even if we couldn't see each other.
I wanted to go see Ephesus for the ruins there, and the tour we went on included the house where Mary (as in mother of Jesus) spent her latter days. The only reason Rick and I took that tour in particular (neither of us being Christian) was that it also included a trip to a museum.
Mary's house is on a hill away from Ephesus proper, so that she would not be sullied by the goings on at Ephesus (which, at the time, included extensive worship of Artemis). It is a place of pilgrimage for both Christians and Muslims. It was, apparently, recently visited by Pope Benedict.
Having been injured in Corfu while walking into a church, I decided not to go inside, but rather sit outside at a respectful distance. The day was overcast with a light rain, and it was pleasant to sit outside. Just above Mary's house, the trees had burned back in a fire; one of the tour perks was the planting of ten trees (on our behalf, not by us, thankfully) in the forest to help re-grow the lush landscape surrounding the house.
The amphora we'd been given was to carry holy water from the springs just beyond Mary's house. There are three fountains: the first is supposed to provide something that I've forgotten, the second wealth, and the third health. However, the guide pointed out that they all came from the same spring, so we should not see these conventions as limiting.
After Mary's house, we drove to the large site of Ephesus. By then, the rain was beginning in earnest. The old stone floor we traveled on became wet and treacherous, which meant I spent a lot of time watching where I was walking, and less time looking up at things. I'd have a moment, look up, and see something new and fabulous. The grounds are huge: Ephesus was a city five miles square, though the part we walked was probably only a mile end-to-end. Overall, even though the Delos excursion had more warnings about uneven footing, I think Ephesus was probably the more challenging footing even if it were dry.
I avoided the vendors, which was probably a mistake. After all, a couple of days later, I realized that Ephesians meant people of Ephesus. It turns out that the silversmiths of Ephesus protested Paul's visit lest it interfere with their sale of statues of Artemis.
Pity it didn't occur to me to try to get a silver statue of Artemis when I was there. I wonder if I could have found one? In general, I didn't notice a lot of statues of old deities for sale in Turkey, but I didn't look very hard, either.
I wanted to go see Ephesus for the ruins there, and the tour we went on included the house where Mary (as in mother of Jesus) spent her latter days. The only reason Rick and I took that tour in particular (neither of us being Christian) was that it also included a trip to a museum.
Mary's house is on a hill away from Ephesus proper, so that she would not be sullied by the goings on at Ephesus (which, at the time, included extensive worship of Artemis). It is a place of pilgrimage for both Christians and Muslims. It was, apparently, recently visited by Pope Benedict.
Having been injured in Corfu while walking into a church, I decided not to go inside, but rather sit outside at a respectful distance. The day was overcast with a light rain, and it was pleasant to sit outside. Just above Mary's house, the trees had burned back in a fire; one of the tour perks was the planting of ten trees (on our behalf, not by us, thankfully) in the forest to help re-grow the lush landscape surrounding the house.
The amphora we'd been given was to carry holy water from the springs just beyond Mary's house. There are three fountains: the first is supposed to provide something that I've forgotten, the second wealth, and the third health. However, the guide pointed out that they all came from the same spring, so we should not see these conventions as limiting.
After Mary's house, we drove to the large site of Ephesus. By then, the rain was beginning in earnest. The old stone floor we traveled on became wet and treacherous, which meant I spent a lot of time watching where I was walking, and less time looking up at things. I'd have a moment, look up, and see something new and fabulous. The grounds are huge: Ephesus was a city five miles square, though the part we walked was probably only a mile end-to-end. Overall, even though the Delos excursion had more warnings about uneven footing, I think Ephesus was probably the more challenging footing even if it were dry.
I avoided the vendors, which was probably a mistake. After all, a couple of days later, I realized that Ephesians meant people of Ephesus. It turns out that the silversmiths of Ephesus protested Paul's visit lest it interfere with their sale of statues of Artemis.
Pity it didn't occur to me to try to get a silver statue of Artemis when I was there. I wonder if I could have found one? In general, I didn't notice a lot of statues of old deities for sale in Turkey, but I didn't look very hard, either.