the second layer - gallery - turkey

(Above and below) The Library of Celsus, the facade of which was incredibly restored. To the right of the library, was the Gate of Augustus. Interestingly, it displays some ancient Roman graffiti, putting a curse on "those who piss here," as the dark corners of the gate were probably often used as a urinal.

turkey

central - ephesus, pammukale, cappadocia

By far the most interesting, well preserved and beautiful Roman ruins I have ever seen. The ancient city of Ephesus lies just a few kilometres from modern day Selchuk. It was once the second largest city in the Roman empire and served as a transport hub between modern day Europe and Asia. It is also believed that the Virgin Mary, accompanied by St. Paul, visited Ephesus near the end of her life and a small house now marks the spot where she stayed. The city was founded by Ionians sometime around 1200 BC and is today the best-preserved ancient Roman city in the Mediterranean. The buildings are in such good shape that it's easy to imagine what it looked like when it was all complete, there are streets and houses, a library, a brothel, a market square and even public washrooms.

Ephesus (Efes)

(Above) A statue at the entrance to the Library of Celsus and (below) a marble block carving of a man and a ram.

The ancient Roman communal mens toilet.

Writing on a wall.

A carving of a winged woman.

Me in a large columned facade.

The Temple of Hadrian.

The Odeon theatre.

Anita in the Gate of Hercules.

The unique, above ground calcium buildup here at Pammukale has formed a series of travertine pools, fed by natural springwater. These brilliant white ledges flow over the edge of a high plateau. In recent years, the water supply has dried up and many of the pools have been destroyed by over-use. They are now strictly controlled and the water supply is regulated.

Pammukale

(Above and below) The hard white calcium buildup and (right) ruins of an ancient Roman city, Hierapolis, and baths at Pammukale.

Pammukale from afar.

A Roman theatre just behind the springwater source.

My sandals on a travertine ledge.

Cappadocia is the name for the lower central area of Turkey on the Anatolian peninsula. The area is famous for its underground cave cities, strange rock formations and homes and large gorges. The first ever nature cave paintings were made here over 9000 years ago and show the eruption of one of the three vocanoes in the area. The volcanic ash deposited on the ground, covered by harder rock basalt. As the ash compacted, it hardened and also formed stone that was much softer than the basalt above. Over time, wind and rain ate away the softer ash rock and left the harder basalt on top, like little hats, It was in this way that the strange rock formations of Cappadocia were formed. Around 4000 BC, the first settlers came here and carved their homes into the ash rock. Cappadocia (and in particular Goreme) is now filled with hundreds of tiny rock houses.

Cappadocia

(Above) The Goreme Valley and (right) inside one of the underground cities.

(Above) Many of the churches carved into the walls of the Ilhara Gorge once contained brightly coloured frescoes. Sadly, many of these frescoes have now either deteriorated or been vandalized beyond recognition.

(Above) We stayed in some renovated cave homes at our hostel.

(Above) Hiking with our tour group through the Ilhara Gorge.

(Above) The Ilhara Gorge and (below) Pigeon Valley.

(Above) Everybody out for beers and nargile (water-pipes).

(Above) The 'Fairy Chimneys' of Goreme.

A small village inside one of the many gorges.

(Above) Two of the three volcanoes that helped form Cappadocia.

Tony, Anita, Anna and myself in the city of Efes.

Anita, Anna, Tony and myself pretending to use the ancient Roman public toilets in Efes.

Anita and this cool old dude archeologist we met up with in Goreme. He was on his way to a dig in Syria.