Hello people and pinmapplers!
There are journeys that take us far, not only in distance but in time, and it is an indescribable pleasure to be able to travel to the past, many centuries ago and discover the remains and vestiges of other incredible civilizations, their art and their heritage, so good. that despite everything, despite the weight of history remains, it reminds us of where we come from and motivates us to want to know more.
This happens in places like Ephesus, an archaeological site located in the western end of Turkey, near the city of Izmir, the third largest in the country. And from there we travel by road through the wine-growing area (yes, the wine-growing culture of those times has remained) of Selçuk until we arrive, and we already see those impressive remains that excite us.
They excite all of us who love history and specifically those who adore the history of the Roman Empire, I am one of those who thinks a lot about the Roman Empire, I love everything. And there I was able to enjoy because in its day Ephesus was a prosperous Roman city in the province of Asia Minor and it was a coastal city with a port, now it is not. Due to evolution and changes in nature, it has been gaining ground and now it is a few kilometers further inland and we do not have that perception of a rich commercial port city but it was.
The ancient Ephesus
It doesn't matter because we find many things that leave us amazed. When we arrive we see small remains scattered across the grass, it gives the feeling that we have to go as if playing hide and seek looking for these places among an environment of total peace and tranquility, there are hardly any people. And we find a set of sarcophagi that seem to be on display, and other natural places with built remains, only ruins remain, and pieces of beautiful columns that allow us to guess and imagine how magnificent the buildings of that time would be.
Ionic capitals with their scrolls and other Corinthians with nice leaves that we stumble upon and can touch, wonderful, and more decorated columns, more empty sarcophagi...
And little by little we approach more important and busy areas, busy before and also now, although there are still not many people and we can enjoy it very freely as if we had been citizens of such an ancient city. We find large esplanades and taller columns and the main attraction...
The Library of Celsus
Of this we only have the imposing and fantastic façade so famous because I believe it is a World Heritage Site. A library that once had to contain so much knowledge now lost. We approach to touch those ancient stones full of knowledge and we look up and see those ceilings, again amazed. We can not stop.
And around many more monuments with imposing and beautiful arches, decorations and inscriptions that we try to read…
The Amphitheater
More elegant columns that remain with all the dignity that the strength of the centuries has given them, and more remains that confirm how well they built and how beautiful everything must have been. And how much fun some of them also had in the amphitheater that is also preserved, we went up and down and went behind them through some of its tunnels, perhaps how much they would conspire out there without others seeing them.
The main street
From there we return to the main street of the city, that I know well as I visited Ephesus two times, and which today is still seen as the main street full of facades, columns and other architectural elements on both sides, so you have to move your head from side to side.
Suddenly we turn our head and find some unexpected residents, cats live there peacefully, they seem to be the hosts who are proud to show us their magnificent home.
We said goodbye finding another surprising inhabitant, a turtle that who knows if it is as old as some of those carved stones. And when we left we followed the route because outside of Ephesus but very close there is a hidden but very visited place, let's go!
Bonus track: Mery's house
Along the way more local animal friends, now some sheep... and they tell us that we are going in the right direction until we reach a place where there are many tourist buses parked, more people around, why?
There is a structure, a house or small stone church, and next to it they have left thousands of paper notes and beyond there are some pipes where water comes out and people drink and wash their faces.
It is the house of the Virgin Mary, yes, they say that when Mary grew old she ended up in this place, here she retired and died and that is why many devotees come on pilgrimage, it is a place that many consider sacred so that is how we respect it and we visited it. We also drink water from the multiple fountain, just in case...
