April 29 – St. John, Temple of Artemis and Ephesus

More beautiful scenery and mountains as we head out for another day to another sight.

During the drive we saw storks. 

First stop this morning was St. John the Evangelist Basilica near Ephesus.  It was built by Justinian I in the 6^th century over the supposed burial site of St. John.  As with many of the very old buildings in Turkey the building is much the worst for wear due to age and earthquakes. 

The baptistry was a “walk-through” and had been restored.

From the site we could see an old castle above…

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More St. John the Evangelist Basilica
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and the Temple of Artemis below.  

The Temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  One of the columns as been erected so that there is at least something at the site.  However, they can’t do much excavation work here as the site sits right about at the water table level so any excavation holes that are dug are quickly filled with water. 

There was also a small mosque at the foot of the basilica hill.  Much of its exterior was from stones taken from the basilica.

After enjoying the views from the hilltop we headed down to spend some time exploring what little remains of the Temple of Artemis.

Then it was on to Ephesus…a major tourist draw for those loving Greek and Roman architecture and Christian history.  The site has known human habitation since 6000BC.  It was once considered the most important Greek City and the most important trading center in the Mediterranean.  The coastline has receded a lot and it is now quite a ways from the sea.

Excavation work has been ongoing for over 100 years and only about one third has been excavated.  The following lists some of the main features we saw

Stoa (covered walkway),

Bouleuterion or Assembly Hall,

The long main street (Curetes Street),

the Fountain Arch,

The Temple of Domitian,

A statue of the Goddess Nike,

Heraclies Gate

A backgammon board carved in stone,

The Library of Celsus

The Nymphaeum Fountain,

Terrace Houses,

The Alytarchs Stoa,

Public Latrines,

Marble Street,

The Agora,

The Theater,

Harbor Street,

and Tombs.

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More Ephesus
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More Ephesus Statues
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The crowds weren't too bad as the tourists haven’t come back from the pandemic.  Guess that is one of the advantages of traveling just now.  Erdal said often Curetes Street, the main street down the hill, is packed with tourists. 

From there we had a bit more traveling before arriving in Izmir for the night.