Our tour starts with a sprint. A briefing on the Sunday evening, then a Monday 5.30 am wake-up, 6.00 am breakfast, 6.30 am briefing and then on the move by 7.00 am. I hope that this isn't setting the approach for the next 35 days. Our group in Turkey ıs eight, plus a tour leader. We are two NZ girls, ladies from Scotland and Townsville, men from Bristol and California and ourselves. Our guide ıs Turkish.
The first day (Monday) was a five hour bus ride (combined with people from another tour, making a full big tour bus) to a lunch stop.
Then we had a five hour tour of Gallipoli, with an excellent local guide who certainly knows the area and the events well. We had a very good look around many of the places that we have all heard of - Anzac Cove (very small), Shrapnel Gully, Lone Pine, the Nek etc.
From there, we went to Canakkale (by ferry across the Dardenelles - so we are now ın Asia). Our hostel was basic, but clean. A good fish meal and some Turkish wine rounded out a long day.
The next day (Tuesday) started with a trip to Troy ın the morning. Troy was interesting, though you certainly need a guide to appreciate the site. Troy is many cities, each built on the ruins of the other as time passed. While there is debate about which level is that of the Troy of the IIliad, the two candidate levels actually had the same walls, so ıt is actually possible to see part of the walls of the Troy of the legends. These were preserved by the accumulation of dırt and clay over them - in fact, the whole city was lost until the late 19th century under a mound of dirt. So, we saw the remains of the city and could look out over the plain from the position of the city gate to see where Achilles fought Hector.
We then took a local bus to Izmır (a good bus but a long drive from 1.00pm to 7.30pm), followed by a mını-bus (one hour) to Selcuk. Our hotel ıs good. We had a light meal (dips and a beer), as we had grabbed some donar (delicious) during the bus ride.
The next day (Wednesday) we headed out to Ephesus, which was a major city, particularly in Roman times. It probably had a population of over 500,000 (being one of the great cities of the Empire, with Rome, Antioch and Alexandria). As this is an earthquake prone area, various quakes have effectively destroyed the city (before and after the Roman times). Silting of the harbour also resulted in malarial outbreaks that killed a third of the population, which encouraged people to move elsewhere. These quakes might have wrecked much of the city, but they meant that as the site was abandoned and became buried under dirt and rubble, ıt was forgotten until it was rediscovered ın 1895.
We had a guided tour. Major parts of the city have been revealed and restored, so you get a good view of how the city might have looked or functioned. This is probably the best preserved Roman city after Pompeii. The giant open-air theatre or stadium ıs amazing - it could seat 25,000 people. We stood in the Agora (market place or square) where Paul preached nearly 2000 years ago.
On the way back to Selcuk, we visited the site of the Temple of Artemis. This was one of the wonders of the ancient world - a temple grander than the Parthenon. Little remains other than one pillar (topped by a bird's nest) and marble remnants over the site - as the site ıs near Selcuk it formed a convenient quarry for some Selcuk buildings.
The first day (Monday) was a five hour bus ride (combined with people from another tour, making a full big tour bus) to a lunch stop.
Then we had a five hour tour of Gallipoli, with an excellent local guide who certainly knows the area and the events well. We had a very good look around many of the places that we have all heard of - Anzac Cove (very small), Shrapnel Gully, Lone Pine, the Nek etc.
From there, we went to Canakkale (by ferry across the Dardenelles - so we are now ın Asia). Our hostel was basic, but clean. A good fish meal and some Turkish wine rounded out a long day.
The next day (Tuesday) started with a trip to Troy ın the morning. Troy was interesting, though you certainly need a guide to appreciate the site. Troy is many cities, each built on the ruins of the other as time passed. While there is debate about which level is that of the Troy of the IIliad, the two candidate levels actually had the same walls, so ıt is actually possible to see part of the walls of the Troy of the legends. These were preserved by the accumulation of dırt and clay over them - in fact, the whole city was lost until the late 19th century under a mound of dirt. So, we saw the remains of the city and could look out over the plain from the position of the city gate to see where Achilles fought Hector.
We then took a local bus to Izmır (a good bus but a long drive from 1.00pm to 7.30pm), followed by a mını-bus (one hour) to Selcuk. Our hotel ıs good. We had a light meal (dips and a beer), as we had grabbed some donar (delicious) during the bus ride.
The next day (Wednesday) we headed out to Ephesus, which was a major city, particularly in Roman times. It probably had a population of over 500,000 (being one of the great cities of the Empire, with Rome, Antioch and Alexandria). As this is an earthquake prone area, various quakes have effectively destroyed the city (before and after the Roman times). Silting of the harbour also resulted in malarial outbreaks that killed a third of the population, which encouraged people to move elsewhere. These quakes might have wrecked much of the city, but they meant that as the site was abandoned and became buried under dirt and rubble, ıt was forgotten until it was rediscovered ın 1895.
We had a guided tour. Major parts of the city have been revealed and restored, so you get a good view of how the city might have looked or functioned. This is probably the best preserved Roman city after Pompeii. The giant open-air theatre or stadium ıs amazing - it could seat 25,000 people. We stood in the Agora (market place or square) where Paul preached nearly 2000 years ago.
On the way back to Selcuk, we visited the site of the Temple of Artemis. This was one of the wonders of the ancient world - a temple grander than the Parthenon. Little remains other than one pillar (topped by a bird's nest) and marble remnants over the site - as the site ıs near Selcuk it formed a convenient quarry for some Selcuk buildings.
No comments:
Post a Comment