The wonder of Ephesus

Another highlight of my tour of Turkey was visiting the ancient ruins of Ephesus.  These famous ruins date from the 10 BC and comprise the most complete classical metropolis in Europe - and that's with 82% of the city still to be unearthed.  It is truly spectacular.  I'm not even going to go into its long drawn out history - totally amazing.  

It was one of those "at least its not raining days" but I think it beats the heat in the middle of summer...also while I was overwhelmed by the ruins I must admit I did not really know the names...it all blurred together.  I will only comment on the ones I know for sure...done by checking google of course...where would we be without Google. 

So here we go...

Token dog picture with Bath of Varius in the background

Bath of Varius

Pillar guarded by a cat...

The Odeon

I believe this is the temple of Isis. 

Celsus library - magnificant! 

 Holes in the road so surface water could flow into the drains. 

Cats everywhere! 

Yes they are what they look like - the latrines....there was a fee involved and sitting "on the loo" was quite a social occasion.

Looking towards the Celsus library - built in 117 A.D.  

The road leading to the Celsus library 

Watch out!  There could be lions behind these bars!!! :)  Well, there were a thousand or so years back. 

This is an advertisement for a brothel ...seriously... note the foot telling you where to turn and the crudely drawn heart...

I believe this is the Eastern Gymnasium  

Memmius monument - constructed in the 1st century AD by Memmius.  You can see the statues of his father and grandfather on this momument. 

Can you see the Nike logo on here?  The founder was inspired by this statue.  Yes this was the goddess Nike - also known a the singed goddess of Victory.  

Fountain of Trojan - built around 104 C.E. (!!!!) it is one of the finest monuments in Ephesus and was constructed in honour of Emperor Trojan.  

The Theatre....the most magnificent structure in Ephesus...constructed in the third century B.C. and further enlarged during the Roman period - I'm sure they needed more room for the Gladiator fights as well as their fun filled throw the Christians to the Lions extravaganza.  It was also used for plays and concerts and held up to 25,000 spectators  

 Roman coffins

A last look at the theatre....

And it's goodbye to Ephesus.  I hope you enjoyed the photos.  Ephesus is a popular stop on the Greek island cruise circuit and it's certainly well worth a visit.   As a history geek I got the shivers thinking of all the many people and animals who lived here - the drama, the sadness, the laughter and the thought of chariots (as in other similar ruins you can still see the marks of the wheels) racing down the roads....