Takin' It to the Streets

Today we once again enjoyed some Turkish driving, though this time missed out on the Turkish speeding ticket*, as we drove the 100km from Izmir to Ephesus.  We did visit Ephesus 15 years ago but actually remembered very little.

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, three kilometers southwest of present-day Selcuk. It was built in the 10th Century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists.  During the Classical Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League, but the city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC and was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation.  The Gospel of John may well even have been written here.  The city was destroyed by Goths in 263 and although rebuilt, the city's importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly being silted up by the Kucukmenderes River.  An earthquake in 614 AD further destroyed the city.

The city was famed for the nearby Temple of Artemis which was completed around 550 BC and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Now Ephesus is one of the largest Roman archeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean.  The visible ruins still give some idea of the city's original splendour, and the names associated with the ruins are evocative of its former life.

Looking down Harbour Street, though the
 coast now lies about 3km away

The Great Theatre dominates the view down Harbour Street, and was already constructed in the Hellenistic Period on the slope of the Panayirdag hill, with the natural slope being exploited for the erection of the auditorium.  After numerous phases of restoration and renovation, the capacity of the theatre in the 2nd century AD had reached 20-25,000 spectators.  As a result the Theatre of Ephesus, with its cavea comprising three tiers and closed off by a portico, as well as its three-storey stage building, is believed to be the largest theatre of the ancient world.

In addition to theatre performances, concerts and artistic and athletic competitions, assemblies also took place here, and in the later Imperial period gladiatorial contests were also held.

Along the road from The Great Theatre lies The Celsus Library, one of the most well-known monuments in Ephesus.  It was built between AD 100 and 110 by Gaius Iulius Aquila for his father, the senator Tiberius Iulius Celsus Poiemacanus and can actually be interpreted as a heroon which was built over the burial chamber of the deceased.

 

A flight of nine steps at the facade, flanked by statue bases, led to a vestibule from which the actual library room could be entered.  The aediculated architecture of the impressive facade contrasts with the brick construction of the buildings interior, although the floors and walls were revetted with marble.  Designed with an exaggerated entrance - so as to enhance its perceived size - the building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light, and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls.

The library was destroyed during an earthquake in around AD 270 and was not rebuilt until 1970-78.

An image of what the interior could have looked like

The Celsus Library pre-1970

From the corner of the Library and Hadrian's Gate starts The Curetes Street, which runs up through the valley depression between the two city mountains.  At 210m and with an elevation of 20m, this main boulevard was prestigiously equipped with porticoes and [slippery] marble paving.  A sewer channel even ran under the [up to 10m] wide street which shops lay behind deep 2.5-3.5m porticoes filled with mosaics.

The Curetes Street (from half-way down)

The Curetes Street from the top

At the bottom of The Curetes Street lies Hadrian's Gate, and slightly further up, Hadrian's Temple.  The former three-storey gateway marked the start of the Processional Way and is reminiscent of Hadrian's Gate in Athens.

Hadrian's Gate

Hadrian's Temple

At the top of The Curetes Street lies the former Temple of Domitian, which served the Imperial cult.  It was constricted with 8 x 13 columns upon a six stepped substructure on a terrace supported by mighty buttresses.  After the victory of Christianity it was torn down to its foundations and today the impressive building has almost totally disappeared.

Entrance to the Temple of Domitian

To the right of The Celsus Library lies the Agora.  The Commercial Market was already founded in the 3rd Century BC and its visible form goes back to an expansion under Emperor Augustus (27 BC - AD 14).  It consists of a square with three gates in the north, west and south, a central courtyard enclosed on all sides by two-aisled, two-storey halls with business and administrative offices.

Looking from the north-west corner of the Agora

I love all this history, and as I said in an email to Toots back home, it's pretty cool to think the streets we're walking on have actually been walked on by Paul or others from the bible.  Really, pretty cool.

* In my defence, fifteen years ago we didn't see a single recommended speed sign in the week plus that we drove for.  I admit that it was me that was driving too fast - in fact it was the only time I actually drove and as it happens it was our last leg of the journey - but it was also the only speeding ticket I ever got.  Until we moved to AD anyway.  But that was a whole different ball game...