Day+6

=Bursa, Ephesus and Kusadasi July 4, 2009 =

AM Departure from Bursa for Ephesus and Kusadasi. PM Lunch will be taken enroute at Ramiz Restaurant in Akhisara. Afternoon visit to Ephesus. If you’ve ever heard the words ¨an epistle to the Ephesians¨, now is your chance to sit in the theatre where St. Paul preached. Walk along colonnaded streets imagining them crowded with people visiting the shops and taverns or simply strolling in the shade. Ephesus was one of the greatest cities of antiquity with its vast Temple of Artemis was numbered among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The city housed everything that was necessary for civilization to flourish, education, politics, entertainment, sport, and the good life in general. Examples are the Library Celsus, bathhouses, a gymnasium and luxurious mansions, decorated with mosaics and frescoes rivaling those of Pompeii. Ephesus is among the best preserved classical cities of the Mediterranean, and the perfect place to get a feeling for what life was like in Roman times. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel in Kusadasi.

 We start the day with a visit to the Great Mosque in Bursa which we missed yesterday because of the traffic delays getting into the city. The Mosque is different than those we saw in Istanbul with much more paint and almost no tiles. It also has a huge fountain in the center of the main worship area. Orhan explains that Mosques were more than just religious centers, they were social centers that served as the hub of local life. They were often surrounded by markets because the tax revenue from the shops supported the mosque. The Koza Han supported the Great Mosque in this type of arrangement.

Today we visited the Roman port of Ephesus. It was the largest Roman Port in Asia Minor in its heyday and was actually the Provincial Capital of Roman Asia and had a population of 250,000. Today the ruins are about a mile inland from the coast and the harbor has completely silted over. The city is perhaps the most visited site in all of Turkey outside Istanbul. It was crowded compared to other sites we visited and quite hot – much like cities today. The ruins were amazing: Temples, theaters, mosaic sidewalks, the famous library, excavated villas, and public toilets all combine to give a very rich image of life in a Roman City. A small group of us sang the Star Spangled Banner on the floor of the amphitheatre in honor of American Independence Day. An Italian tour group applauded us.  After several hours at Ephesus we travel to the coast and stay in the resort town of Kusadasi. Our hotel is amazing and swimming in the Aegean at sunset is a great conclusion to another wonderful day. It’s hard to comprehend all we are seeing and experiencing.

[|Today's Photos] ==