Sunday, August 21, 2011

Selçuk, Ephesus, Denizli, and Pamukkale (Turkey)

Selçuk is the town functioning as the gateway to Ephesus. The ancient Greco-Roman city of Ephesus (Efes in Turkish) was the second largest city in the world in 1st century B.C. We heard that archaeologists sometimes use theater capacity to estimate population size. Assuming one in ten people were theater-goers makes me think the ancients must have been a much more cultured bunch... or that there was nothing better to do. For me personally, the true mark of civilization was the presence of toilet seats in the Ephesus latrines! We were lucky to arrive as the archaeological site opened and before the swarms from the cruise ships and coach buses came to view the largest collection of Roman ruins in the Eastern Mediterranean. For religious travelers, probably the most famous resident in the area was Mary, whose house where St. John took her to live (post-Ascension, pre-Assumption) is also open for visits.

Denizli also is better known as a way-station. The real draw is Pamukkale ("cotton castle" in Turkish), a short bus ride way. Hot springs flowing down the mountainside form strange white terraces, or travertines. You can walk up the surreal landscape without shoes and bathe in the shallow, pale blue pools along the way. Not exactly sure why, but the place seem to inspire the taking of many Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editıon-type provocative shots from the bikini-wearing masses. Even though the temperatures were soaring, the fact that the water running along these icy-looking surfaces (calcium carbonate deposits) was not the tiniest bit cool was difficult to wrap your head around. At the top of the slope, included in the ticket was Heirapolis, a Greco-Roman spa city. For a hefty surcharge, you could swim in the same antique pool. The other ruins were less impressive after Ephesus, but a more jarring sight was seeing the same visitors - still clad in their thongs or speedo's - clamber over ancient structures.

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