Connecting with Classicism

Selcuk

Saturday, June 6.

View from our breakfast terrace.

Breakfast here at the Akay Hotel starts at 8am and we try to be among the first. We are pacing ourselves for an expected family Skype conference at 9am Turkish time to discus progress with the publishers. We don’t want to be the cause of any delays. At the appointed minute, we find that not all members of the board are in fact online. Never mind. We had looked forward to an early start at one of the most acclaimed archaeological sites in the Western world – Ephesus – to avoid the crowds later in the day. We will take our chances. On the way to Efes (the local name), we notice that the centre of the town has been turned into a Saturday morning farmers market. Being regular marketeers at home, we find it hard to resist such a local opportunity. A parking spot appears nearby as if to say, please come and have a look.

Vine leaves of course are an important part of the local food culture so there are plenty of those on offer.

The size of some of the tomatoes is impressive.

Colourful and busy as it is, it does not grab us for longer than a few minutes – enough to buy half a kilo of some of the best cherries we have had for a long time. Back into the car and we follow the brown signs to Efes. Along the way, we see a sign ‘Mary’s House’. It is a location which a number of our friends have recommended visiting as it is claimed that Jesus mother had lived there for a while. Driving along the narrow road suddenly takes us into what is clearly one of the car parks of the Efes site. As we drive in, we realise parking costs 5tl. It is not our intention to stay so we communicate this to the attendant who waves us through to the exit gate.

The attractive but unremarkable Selcuk.

We drive on looking for Mary’s House. We come to another parking area for Efes. Perhaps Mary’s House is here. This time we pay the parking fee but then I realise that this too is a formal entrance to the archaeological site. Now that we have arrived and there are not too many tour buses, perhaps we might as well stop and explore. The weather too is almost perfect so let us give it a go.

The attractive orcharding and horticulture landscape around Selcuk. This kind of scene probably has not changed for millennia.

For those not into architectural archaeology, this is what the place is about. It is the most complete classical metropolis / urban setting in Europe and that is with only about 80% of it being explored and excavated. Excavation began about 150 years ago. How a complete city (or what remained) had become buried and forgotten about since the fall of the Roman Empire seems very strange. However, we must remember that archaeology and scholarly interest in heritage and conservation is only a relatively recent phenomenon. Over 200 years ago, obvious stone pieces of buildings poking out of the ground were just that – old remains. Now, the city’s renovated and excavated remains reveal the structure and life of the capital of Roman Asia Minor.

It is the Hellenistic period which laid the important urban structure foundations of Ephesos.

At its height, it was a vibrant metropolis of about 250,000 inhabitants. That is a sizeable city even by today's standards. To quote Lonely Planet, “Counting traders, sailors and pilgrims to the Temple of Artemis, those numbers were even higher meaning that in Ephesus one could encounter the full diversity of the Mediterranean world and its peoples. So important and wealthy was Ephesus that its Temple of Artemis was the biggest on earth and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.” In that sense, it was not typical of most Roman towns but certainly shows all the elements of Roman urbanity.

'My' Ephesos however is the Roman city.

This is the real thing!

An Ionic capital, illustrating entasis - the slight tapering of the column from base to the capital.

The Great Theatre, built into the hillside, held 25,000.

The Library, built in the 2nd century AD, was designed to hold 12.000 scrolls, safe from temperature and moisture.

Having learned architectural and urban history as well as Western history generally, all the elements are familiar to me. We choose not to have a guide. For some visitors, it is also a basic lesson in history itself. I am less interested that people in this city had a bathhouse and public toilets. What captivates me is the spirit and ethos of the place. To be physically close to much of what I had learned and read about is bringing a sharper reality to our Western classical heritage. It is much like visiting the town where my mother was born. I had no idea where the house was but knowing that she and my grandmother walked the streets of Sohobusimo spiritually linked me with that time. I feel I can connect with the urban spirit and ethos of this great period of achievement.

The history of this city is very long and colourful. Legend has it that it was founded by a mythical person in around the 10^th century BC. However, historical records have it that it was quite big and important because of its deities, especially for the worship of Artemis in about 700 BC. Its fortunes and ‘landlords’ changed over the centuries. Alexander the Great left his historical footprint here too. It could be said that the city experienced changes once its harbour started silting up. The German Goths sacked the place in 263 AD, as they did to much of the rest of the Roman world. Emperor Justinian I gave it new prominence in the Christian era when he built a basilica dedicated to St. John in the 6^th century. What remains of it is within a short uphill walk from where we are staying.

The motifs and mouldings are still used today.

As we reflect and visualise this fine old city, what strikes me is that there was much more public life in Efes than in cities of today – temples, baths, libraries, theatres, even toilets. Bathhouses were almost an all purpose social and cultural venue as well as a place for cleansing and exercise. The classic High Street lined with shops, the public meeting place of the Agora are all there. Of course, much of it has been reconstructed like a giant jigsaw puzzle. However, from what is there, even those with limited imagination can put together a vision of a buzzing international city. One thing which is more difficult to appreciate is that the city actually connected with the sea and had a harbour. Today, the sea is not even within sight or smell as geology and geography have changed over 2000 years. We hope enough funds and means can be found to uncover what is believed to be most of the city still under soil. We would like to make a return visit in 20 years to see what else lies beneath the grass.

The very public multi-hole public toilets.

It was clearly a prosperous city which could afford a rich heritage. But we have prosperous cities today. What kind of legacy are they leaving? Many of the Ephesus fine buildings were paid for by individual benefactors, whereas today's edifices are decided upon by anonymous corporate CEO's or property managers. That is a significant difference. We tend to generate waste, not a legacy.

Much of Roman cities remain because they used durable materials, knew how to build and use the arch and discovered cement.

Alternating brickwork with stone has been practiced almost to this day. In more prominent locations, this would have been dressed with slabs of stone, usually marble.

History is landmarked by tragedies and disasters. Seeing the remains of this city that once was, highlights the the loss of so much art and learning when the Roman Empire collapsed and was overrun by the so called Northern Goths. It is a tragedy of the Western civilisation to have had to experience the Dark Ages of cultural regression and stagnation for something like 1000 years. Of course, the Eastern Empire survived longer when Constantine made Christianity the state religion. Not everything was discontinued by the onset of the Dark Ages. We owe as much to Byzantium as to Rome. During the Byzantine times, aspects of former pagan rituals and practices were incorporated into much of Christianity that still survives today, as part of the process of cultural derivation and evolution. 

A roadside history lesson.

Columns and other major structural elements were keyed together.

Many parts of this large site of an unknown size is still being excavated. However, what is open to the public is the ‘main street’ through the city. That is why there are two entries. As we go in, someone tells us that although the route is some 2.5 km long, it is possible to catch a shuttle bus at either gate which will take you to your parking area. The bus is free but you are obliged to go via a carpet factory for a demonstration. We have enough time. Why not? 

Roman milestones, inscribed with the name of the Emperor at the time.

Back to the car park......

......with big commercial opportunities.

We start our exploration from the top gate and meander down. At our exit below, we look for the shuttle bus. We are directed to a location under a large fig tree. The ‘manager’ of the service is very chatty. We have just missed a bus but he will ring and get him to pick us up. He also has a small trinkets stall under the tree. As we make small talk in his reasonably comprehendible English, he plies Lois with small gifts of beaded bracelets and she buys a couple of his blue glass ‘evil eyes’, all of which he claims to be making himself. Well, may be. 

The shuttle manager.

The bus eventually arrives and we are the only passengers. We arrive at what we are told is a government run carpet making school where ladies are taught the craft. We might as well learn something about how Turkish carpets are made.

Silk cocoons being prepared for spinning.

We are shown where silk comes from and how they turn the cocoon into fine silk thread. They play their standard patter.  We are then explained the basics of Turkish pile carpet making, with the emphasis on the fact that the Turks double knot theirs, apparently unlike most other traditions. When we see the ladies at work and realise the rate of progress, we gain new respect for hand made rugs. Making carpets by hand is not the road to riches. The ladies are apprentices, taught to produce local designs, using traditional methods. Many however would earn some money working from home in villages and small towns where jobs for women are in short supply.

We are invited into the showroom. It is dazzling like Aladdin’s cave, full of brilliant patterns and colours. We agree to be sat down and then plied with the mandatory tea. We have had a busy morning. This is cool and comfortable and we can do with a drink. In any case, as we are constantly reminded, it does not cost anything to look at things which are attractive. 

These guys are well practiced at putting on a show and keeping visitor’s interest. The patter is easy. The assistant throws the rugs down with a Matador like gesture and flair. He must sense that we are just a little vulnerable. We would not mind having a new piece in the sitting area. How can he read our minds? When we show some interest, he starts eliminating the dozens to a few. Then the game is really on.

Mostly vegetable dyes are used.

We try not to fall for anything but we do like one. His special sense has picked it up. We put on an indifference act. Just out of interest, how much are they? He assures us that it is a fixed price which includes packing, insurance and shipping at no extra cost plus a certificate of authenticity +++. When we start humming and hawing and shaking our heads, he finally sharpens his pencil. Well, the price is not absolutely rigidly fixed and if we are not using American Express, he can do a bit better. Finally, he has got the better of us and we buy what we think is a very attractive rug for about $600 Aus. He obligingly explains the patterns and iconography. The rug we have bought is about 70 years old. Many (most?) are made as dowry items but often not used much. To the village Turks, it is like money in the bank. If they are hard pressed for some cash, they sell one of the rugs. Phew!!! Have we been sucked in? We were rug vulnerable to start with and so don’t feel that we have been talked into something against our will. However, we certainly did not expect to finish our day at Ephes with a rug. Were we set up? Who knows but we are happy with our transaction.

We have had almost no food since the meagre breakfast. On the way back to our lodgings, we enjoy the scenery, take a few more photographs and then target some lunch, just around the corner. It was good but not exceptional – not even worth photographing. Back for a stretch, a break, an email check and writing before a late evening soup at our lunch venue. We have had much better soups at more modest roadhouses. They will not see us again.

And so to bed.

The Oleanders here are brilliantly coloured and big.