Ephesus and Greece

After a day at sea travelling through the Dardanelles we berthed in Kusadasi on the West coast of Turkey. Although the main attraction is Ephesus our first stop was the house where the Virgin Mary lived in her last years. It has been re-built and is a simple affair. 

A slightly more modern statue (1996) was of the Virgin Mary presented by the American Society of Ephesus (who else would have such a society?).

Turkey is economically successful and quite entrepreneurial. Their humour was also apparent in the stall approaching the entry to Ephesus.

Ephesus at first glance seemed relatively compact. However, beyond the initial gate and amphitheatre the site moves down a valley and the excavations kept expanding. At its peak it was a city of 250,000 - about the size of Canberra. The main street was lined with shops most of which had Greek writing. Although the Romans ran the administration it was in harmony with the main inhabitants.

Some of the shops and houses were a bit grand with several floors and magnificent arches.

The sanitation system was sophisticated if not exactly private. Water from the uphill baths flowed into the trench below the seats and a small dished drain in front allowed access to water for personal cleaning. Recycling has been around for a long while! 

Further down the street were the more upmarket Guchi type shops. Here the path was level and decorated with a  large mosaic. Behind these were a series of terraced houses. The scaffolding in the background covered a large area where many more terraced houses were being excavated.

Down the road was the library. As an administration building it was one of the few that had Roman lettering. It has been rebuilt following various earthquakes using as much as possible of the original stones.

Towards the bottom of the city was the main amphitheatre. This seats some 45,000 people – it is massive. We were due to have an evening orchestral recital here as one of the Cunard excursions but unfortunately it was cancelled due to a lack of numbers. Elton, Joan Baez and others have all held concerts here – they must have been spectacular.

 It certainly occupies most of its hillside.

This is the port road leading to many miles of agricultural land. The river slowly silted up over the years and now the shore is a 20 minute drive away. Like many cities the top properties overlooked the water and the area is now the subject of  a fresh dig to uncover what is likely to provide some pretty expensive properties as well as valuable discoveries.

There were many carvings/sculptures along the way. This is the quite famous Angel of Ephesus.

Our tour guide suggested a small extension to our 5 hour tour and took us into a large shop where we found ourselves sat at walkway watching a fashion parade of leatherware. All nine of us thought many of the jackets to be just brilliant and walked away with one each. That is of course except for our two extremely fashion conscious members Helen and Martin who each bought two!!

I regret to say this was then followed by a carpet factory. The workmanship was really on display. Imagine doing one carpet for some 6 – 12 months. Although the work would be shared with a colleague working the left side you would certainly have to get on with her. Knotting with one hand was an amazing albeit very repetitive talent.

What looked a lot more fun was making the silk threads. A rough brush was used to snag a few wet cocoons and then this was fed into a guide and wheel type frame.

Each cocoon comprises about 1Km of thread. It is also amazingly strong – much greater than steel of the same section. 

After the demonstration came the tea and display of many carpets. We did not need one but eventually ended up ordering a small special one for use in our newly decorated bedroom. Jo saw one she liked but it was too expensive. After much ringing of hands and having walked away from a deal on some four occasions she eventually gained a reduction from £2300 to £1000.

On our return to QV we found ourselves alongside a new ship that was about 20 metres longer and 2 decks higher. Italian and probably Concordia’s replacement. Interestingly she was not full so maybe a maiden voyage.

We then sailed into Greece and Santorini. It is a great spot where we had spent a week for our 30^th anniversary. However, 5 cruise ships made both the main towns of Oia and Firra very crowded.

Getting to shore was by tender – thanks to the Boatmans Seaman Union. Our tenders and boatman stayed on board. Still it all presumably helps the Greece economy.

Regardless of the crowds the views in Santorini remained spectacular. Here the small boat harbour.

An example of the many Bougainvillea displays.

Whitewashed alleys.

And of course the famous blue domes

I am guessing most will have seen this shot.

It was taken from our lunchtime venue.

Jo and I walked down the path to the sea shore. Quite a challenge for those in Birkenstocks who spent much time slipping down the path while facing donkeys charging up the path.

Back on board our cabin the leather corner had to be negotiated ……

 

to access the balcony for drinks.

Our last stop in Greece was Olympia. We travelled by bus for the 25 kms trip to the site. What was noticeable were the many lay byes packed with rubbish. Presumably there has been no money to pay the rubbish men. At the risk of being political Greece has a cultural problem. In Oli Helen wanted to buy some bracelets for the girls and asked what the discount was for buying three. The girl advised if we were paying cash she would take the 10% tax off. She was happy to discount the government but not her profits! Changing this culture will take a generation. We did not buy.

Olympia was extraordinary with the first games held in 8BC in honour to Zeus. There are many magnificent sites. The ruins of Phillippeon (4BC).

The Palaestra

And arch to

The stadium itself

The officials and athletes all had to swear an oath to honour the games but just like present day they had cheats. Once discovered the cheats were fined and the money used to build a bronxe statue of them which formed a corridor leading to the stadium arch. All who entered the stadium were reminded of the earlier cheats and that their names were forever sullied. Maybe this is an approach worth re-visiting.