Let's Talk Turkey! ( Ephesus May 26th)- From Noa's notes

If you take another ferry boat from Mykonos over to the Greek island of Samos (which the was home to the famous mathematician & philosopher Pythagoras), then you are very near the country of Turkey. We knew we had to visit Turkey, at least for the day. So we took a short one hour ferry from Samos to the port of Kusadasi in Turkey.  Once there, they actually took our passports and kept them. This was a little worrying, in that all travelers know that you are NEVER to leave your passport anywhere and should ALWAYS keep it with you. But, everyone was expected to leave their passports with the police at the port, so we had no choice but to hope it would be safe.

When you envision Turkey, we think of exotic sights with scarves and hookahs and camels all around, but alas, it is again quite modern and looks like San Diego. there was a Starbucks, Burger King and McDonalds all right there for the cruise ship passengers to enjoy.  Kusadasi is a bustling tourist stop for many cruise ships since it is also the gateway to visit the ancient Greek and Roman city of Ephesus just 40 minutes away. In the summer the town increases in size by six times up to 300,000 visitors to enjoy the Turkish Riviera.  However, after getting past the port the town became a bit more traditional and we heard the "call to prayer" over some loud speakers.  We jumped on a tour bus with an english speaking guide and Noa took some notes while "Falco" spoke of the history of his great land:
The population of Turkey is 74 million people.
It borders the Mediterranean Sea & Black Sea, Iraq, and Syria
98% of the people are muslim
Ephesus had 5 different civilizations established & pass through its times
In 300 BC Alexander the Great conquered Ephesus and his rule went until about 132 BC
Alexander the Great died of malaria, which became a plague during his time and forced the relocation of the Ephesus- one of the 5 or so re-establishments.  But in his time conquered all the way to India.
The main crops are cotton, tobacco, sesame & sunflower seeds, and artichokes
Ephesus is on the route of the famous "Silk Road" and helped to create many wealthy people.
The Romans ruled after ATG until about 400 AD when the Persians took over.  Constantine named the eastern capital of Rome "Constantinople" which is now Istanbul.  Hadrian built a giant library at the site as well as other monuments.

The city of Ephesus was built on a slope so that the residents would have fresh running water from the springs.  Or maybe the slaves had to carry water up to fill the reserviors every day.  They made Terra Cotta water pipes to carry the water underground and to the fountains.  Also through the Latrines- see separate post!
They built 3 types of columns: Doric (was plain), Ionic (is scrolly on top with vertical lines on the side) and Corinth columns (has flowery vines decorated at the tops).


We saw the famous stature of the "Nike" with the swoosh as part of her robes.  We tried to touch in in hopes that we would be able to run faster.  Guess we won't know if that worked until later.

Amphitheater

Nike Swoosh

Pillars of Hercules