Ephesus

It's 1 A.M. local time. We just got into the flat in Istanbul that will serve as home base for the next week or so. It's compact, but has everything we need. The owner was even nice enough to leave milk, bread, a few eggs, and some tomatoes for us.

It was a full day. We slept soundly in the hotel by the sea in a town near Ephesus. In the morning we had a short turkish breakfast (olives, bread, watermelon, and a hard-boiled egg) before being picked up for our touring.

We spent the whole morning at Ephesus. The site has been well-preserved and much has been uncovered by a long-running Austrian project. Since the 1960's they have been digging out a set of dwellings built into the hillside near the great library of Celsus. The dig revealed some fantastic mosaics and frescos that give a very clear sense of what life was like for the upper-crust in a provincial capital city. The presentation of these ruins were very impressive--metal and glass walkways showed things off with nary a foot-tred.

The library fascade is even more beautiful in person than in the photographs. The details of the carving are extraordinary. There is also some evidence of the city's Christian history. Walking into the theater, I had the wonderful thought that both St. John the Evangelist and St. Paul once preached there. I stood near where the stage would have been and imagined myself in their position, preaching to a crowd of hundreds, perhaps more, in a bustling trade town--at the time the largest seaport on the Aegean.

As it typical on these group tours, historic site tend to alternate with "Turkish Culture" demonstrations--which is a way of saying they show you how they make things you can buy. It's one step up from an infomercial. So after Ephesus we stopped at a carpet co-op to learn all about how they make turkish carpets. Actually, this tour was quite informative and we saw some true masterpieces made by local women in their homes. One of the most impressive of these was silk, about 10 feet by 20 feet. It took the woman who made it 3 1/2 years of work. The list price was about $18,000 USD/CAD, which really means about $9,000 when the haggling is done. The carpet salesman told me that if we bought the same carpet in Toronto we would probably pay at least $30,000, and I tend to believe him. Even then, I think it would be a bargain considering that this is huge pure silk carpet that took a master several years to complete the intricate design.

I was sorely tempted to buy a prayer-sized cotton rug for my own meditation and devotions, but we just don't have $400 for something like that right now. Still, they did a good job of trying to sell it to us. Funny how sales jobs go through the same routine everywhere, I wouldn't have been surprised if they pitch guy had learned his craft in the U.S. or Canada. But he was a nice guy and true to his word about not pressuring us too much.

Lunch outside the carpet place was one of the best lunches I've had in Turkey so far. As is typical, there were hot and cold appetizers including olives, a tomato salad, and a seaweed dish topped with a delicious yogurt sauce. The main course was several kinds of simple grilled spiced meats and potato. I washed in down with the local beer (which is a surprisingly good pilsner).

After the carpet place we headed to the old Temple of Artemis. Little remains of this structure--once one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Much of the marble was carted off in the Byzantine era to build other monuments and places of worship for the new religion.

Next was the house that supposedly belongs to the Virgin Mary. While it seems quite possible that the Blessed Virgin Mary (and St. John the Evangelist) spent their last days in Ephesus, the claim that this particular house was hers is more dubious. The site was crowded and commercialized and it was hard to maintain a pious attitude. Still, I said some "Hail Marys" and thought pleasant things about the God Bearer. Yet this marion shrine, IMHO, is not nearly as spiritually or otherwise impressive as Our Lady of Guatalupe in Mexico City. Anyway, we saw the house (mostly a reconstruction) and had fresh squeezed O.J. and ice cream in the cafe.

Up until this point, our tour guide had not mentioned the next stop--a leather fashion show. I kid you not, we went from the house of the Blessed Virgin to a fashion show complete with strobe lights and gawdy club music. After the show we were shown into the shop to peruse the leather goods. Our tour guide waited outside looking disgusted by the whole thing as she sipped her apple tea. Lots of hovering salesmen and people from the cruise ships with sunburns and stickers on their shirts that identify to which tour of which ship they belong. Stupid. I mean, the leather was nice, but they didn't even try to pretend this was anything other than a sales job--no wonder it's last on the tour.

When we got back to Selcuk (a town near Ephesus) Betsy and I had time to walk to the old Basilica of St. John. This is where the Evangelist was buried. A large shrine church on the site was once one of the most impressive churches of the world. Earthquakes and then the Turkish conquest of the area in the 14th century left it in ruins, but the restoration underway since the 1920's has done a wonderful job. Enough remains to get a clear sense of the plan and the grandeur of the place. I was particularly impressed with the large baptistry. I've seen the cross-shaped font with steps going in before in some modern churches, and I suppose this was one of their models. Naturally, I stepped down and imagined what it would feel like.

From there it was back to the tour office in Selcuk where I am composing most of this message. While we waited for our ride to the airport I bought a sandwich for Betsy from a local vendor and a peach from a local farmer's market. People are friendly and helpful even though I no almost no Turkish. I do feel right at home, though, and think I've pretty much figured out the essentials of life in Turkey for a rolling Moss (gathering no stone).

Tomorrow we are meeting up with an old friend and collegue of Betsy's--Vasileios. He is a Greek Byzantianist that we always seem to be meeting in odd places. The first time that Betsy and I came to Toronto together we stayed with him. Then when he was studying at the Met in NYC we went and visited him there! Now we are in Turkey and he's here, too. Tomorrow he's going to show us a church that he has researched extensively (he even wrote a book on it). In the evening we are meeting with a friend of a friend who does good work in Istanbul.

I'll post some pics tomorrow. We're wiped tonight.

-t