Turkiye Day 5 - Ephesus Archaeological Site (Efes), Selcuk

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Alhamdulillah! Tidur yang lena tanpa gangguan albeit the day before jalan menyusuri pelbagai runtuhan tombs di Hierapolis. Poyo sangat statement kan.

8 April 2015

Kale Hotel, Pamukkale

Pagi ni bangun awal sebab bakal naik bas jam 9am. Lepas bersiap, terus turun pi lobi angkut sekali backpack. Senang kerja. Habis breakfast ndak payah naik bilik ambil beg bagai lagi. 

# 'Love notes' from the hotel's previous customers. Ramai suka Ahjumma. Memang beliau friendly & super helpful.

# Hotel stay came with free breakfast. Hari-hari makan macam ni, confirm aku dapat body retis Kpop.

Sebab the night before I sailed to dreamland without charging my hp & camera so pagi tu aktiviti charging gadgets while indulging in the healthy breakfast. Dari lobi hotel boleh nampak bas. Tiadalah kejadian tertinggal bas ketika sedang yakin-enak bersarapan.

# Took the Pamukkale Turizm bus to Selcuk. Bus fare is TL 30.
Tips: Those yang overnight di Pamukkale & intend to go to Selcuk the next day, boleh ambil bas dari Pamukkale jak. Ndak payah pi Denizli Otogar TAPI dari Pamukkale bas akan tetap stop di Denizli Otogar.

Bus arrived on time but departed 5 minutes late. Sebab ada passenger ndak jumpa bus stop. Dalam bas, sambung men-charge lagi. Untunglah ada usb ports. Pastu sempat bercerita sama 2 pria dari Surabaya. Diorang baru balik dari Cappadocia the day before, siap recommend company mana yang best untuk ber-hot balloon. 

"Demi pengalaman dong. Biayanya juga nggak mahal. Sekitar 250Euro. View indah sekali."

Kaya mamat Indonesian berdua tu oii. Aku mampu telan liur, rasa macam ada paku karat tersangkut di kerongkong. Tempting juga hot balloon ride tu tapi memang dari awal aku ndak plan mau naik pun. Budget tidak mencukupi untuk berbelon bagai.

Soon after bas bergerak, aku pun membuta. Layan feeling view sepanjang jalan...then ndak sedar aku terlelap. Aku terjaga masa bas berhenti di RNR. Masih dalam mamai, punyalah laju berdesup aku turun & cari WC. Macam kena sampuk Dewa Kucil. 

We reached Selcuk Otogari at around 130pm. Turun dari bas, terus terpa booth Pamukkale Turizm. Mau tumpang letak beg. Tiada kerja aku mau mengangkut beg berat tu sambil explore Ephesus. Ganggu konsentrasi gitu.

Selcuk, Izmir

# Selcuk Otogari

# Naik dolmus dari Otogari to Ephesus Archaeological Site. Fare TL 2.50. Cari sign Efes depan dolmus.

Kalau naik dolmus jarak dari Otogari pi Ephesus ni dalam 20 minit jak; and it runs every 10-15 minutes. Dolmus adalah jenis bas berhenti-henti. Masa ni aku pun mula risau. Sempat ka tidak untuk explore the whole site. Sebab aku kena ada di Selcuk Gari (train station) by 5pm the latest. Plan aku; mau early dinner di Selcuk before departing the train to Denizli Otogari. Naik overnight bas pi next destination.

There are three entrances to Ephesus; but based on my observation dolmus drivers will drop passengers at The Harbor entrance. While tour buses will enter the site via The Magnesian Gate (road to the house of Mother Mary). Kalau turun dari Harbor Entrance, akan jumpa site The Theatre dulu. If turun di Magnesian Gate, akan jumpa Odeon dulu.

# Deretan kedai before the main entrance (The Harbour Entrance).

Masa ni aku cuma fikir untuk cepat masuk jak. Ndak payah mau explore kedai bagai, that I can do lepas keluar dari Ephesus. Tu pun kalau aku ada spare time. 

# Ticket counter at the right side. Entrance fee is TL 30. This time I decided to forgo the audio guide.

"Ephesus, once, the trade centre of the ancient world, a religious centre of the early Christianity . Today, Ephesus is an important tourism centre in Turkey." -yahoo-

From the entrance,  I walked a few hundred meters more. Kiri kanan surrounded by tall trees; and more tapak yang penuh dengan sisa runtuhan before arriving at a 'T-Junction'.

Sila imagine what life must have been here hundred of years ago! Sailors & traders will arrived (picture below) at this street first the moment they entered the port. Pasal tu marble blocks atas jalan ni cantik tersusun; space between each block pun sama rata. And similar to the streets in Hierapolis, the sewage channels ran beneath the marble blocks.

From where I stood to take this picture, there should be gates in the form of monumental arches in front of me. But sadly, what remains now are only ruins. Hilang rupa bentuk. Both sides of the street were shops & galleries. And this was also once a lighted street. Opposite the Harbour Street is the street leading to The Great Theater. 

# The right junction. Leading to the harbour. Yes u read that right. HARBOUR!

# The left junction.

# Meow yang gebu! Sat idly like a statue in front of the Theater's entrance.

# Exercise paha! Sampai Malaysia, ukur lilit paha lessen by 0.001 inch. Sobs.

The Theater is the largest in Anatolia having the capacity of 25,000 seats. Unlike the one in Hierapolis, this time I entered the Theater via the lower section. Kiranya merasa lah dua pengalaman. View from the upper & lower section. 

# As seen in this picture, seats are divided into 3 horizontal sections. 

Lower section where seat's back made from marble; were reserved for important people. Audience entered from the upper section. This theater was used not only for concerts & plays but also for religious & political discussion. Kerlas kan diskusi dalam teater ala stadium. Sometimes it was also used for gladiator & animal fights; the most displeasing part for me. I didn't spent much time here like I did they day before in Pamukkale. I was glad I chose to climbed the steep path to the Grand Theater in Hierapolis site. Teater yang tu lagi besar & cantik! The reliefs pun berdiri kukuh still.

Moving on from The Theater, I walked upon the Marble Road to reach the Celcus Library.  

# Whats left today; a portion of the Sacred Way that will also lead to the Temple of Artemis. 

# Arch entrance to the Commercial Agora & Temple of Serapis. Principal God of Egypt is called Serapis.

On the Marble Road, there are some drawings on the marble block. They are also statues of important people put up along the street. Letters from Emperor were carved on blocks to let people read. It was said that in ancient times, one of the most popular spots to visit in Ephesus is the Brothel. Or perhaps the sign pointing adirection towards it. Refer picture below. There is a footprint, a woman's head, a heart, a money purse & one finger showing the direction to the Library.

Footprint tells to turn at that point, u've arrived at ur destination; The Brothel! Woman's head symbolized the women waiting there. While the heart sign showed the women are eager for love. Gitu!!

# First advertisement in history. 

Finally, highlight of my trip to Ephesus! The Celsus Library. I promised the bestie to visit this place; kiranya on behalf of her for she didn't get to visit this place when she went to Turkey a few years back. We share the same minat towards ruins. Susah mau explain, kan Ernie kan!

# Alhamdulillah! Dreams are made of this!

Never had I imagined I would stand before this library. Walau cumalah sisa library. Sebelum sampai, layan gambar orang jaklah di instagram. Bila sudah sampai for real, terus rasa macam mimpi. 

Celsus Library was actually a monumental tomb for Gauis Julius Celsus; built by his son Galius Julius Aquila. Grave of Celsus was beneath the ground floor; near the entrance. The library has two stories. Columns & three entrances to the library on the ground floor. Three windows opening on the upper floor. 

# Considered to be the most beautiful structures in Ephesus.

The virtues of Celsus lies on the statues located in the niches of the columns at the entrance. The statues symbolize wisdom, knowledge, intelligence & valor. Today, the statues in the niches are copies from the originals. 

# Statue of Sophia which symbolizes wisdom. 

# Incredibly detailed cravings; remain to this day.

# Manuscripts were kept in cupboards; in niches on the wall. 

According to history, there were double walls behind the bookcases to prevent the manuscripts from any damage. Hence I reckoned, perhaps there should be thousands of manuscripts behind that wall?

# Celsus's graveyard is beneath this floor. There should be a statue of Athena over it...but I didn't see any Athena nor statue when I was there. 

Gate Mazeus built by the slaves Mazeus & Mythridates for their Emperor Augustus; who gave them their freedom.

# At the right side of the library is the Gate of Mazeus.

# That small area depan gate ni was once used as an auditorium. 

Entering via the Mazeus Gate, I arrived at the Commerical Agora area & Temple of Serapis. On the way from the Theater, lalu pintu gerbang untuk pi temple ni but it was closed. Rupanya ada tiga pintu masuk pi area agora ni. One of them is via the Mazeus Gate. 

# The other side of the gate.

Commercial agora or also known as market. Seluas alam! This is the most important trade center here. Market or pasar ni bentuk empat segi; surrounded by columns. I walked around the agora. Trying to imagine orang berniaga di sini dulu. Mesti meriah! Semua pakai baju ala-ala sari putih selimpang di bahu, rambut tocang & gulung bulat-bulat di kepala. Erk, imagination ran weirder! Di tengah pasar ni ada sundial & water clock tapi penatlah aku buat pusingan nan hado sundial yang aku jumpa. Atau sundial sudah jadi serpihan runtuhan?

# Walau zaman dulu kala, tengok keadaan pasar ni...sumpah, its super huge! 

Done touring the agora, I went out via the same laluan I went in earlier. Pastu layan ambil gambar Celsus Library lagi sekali. Then nampak sekawanan meow depan simpang Marble Road-Curates Street. Ada 5 ekor semua, gebu gebas. Diorang busy berebut makanan, ada tourist baik hati bagi snacks. Aku? Cuma mampu usap kepala diorang, tanda kasih sayang sejati. What to do, aku pun lapar. Jangankan snack, mineral water untuk basah tekak sendiri pun tiada. 

Sebab busy mencurah kasih sayang; memang aku simpan kamera terus. Instantly I missed the children masa ni. Terus cepat-cepat sedar diri, kalau layan feeling haruslah ndak pasal akan demam. Sudah rasa rindu sedikit terubat, aku continue aktiviti meng-explore Ephesus. Memang aku ndak tengok jam langsung because I know when I do that, aku akan start congak remaining time that I have to tour the whole Ephesus. Nanti stress sendiri sebab mau kejar masa. Hence, ndak payah tengok jam & enjoyed my exploration. Insha Allah sempat. 

# Taiko Curates Street. Pantau pergerakan tourist dari C.Mainland yang bising berdengung.

Once atas Curates Street...can u guess what was the first thing that I looked for? Nanti cerita. Ngeh~

Although it was only a day trip to Ephesus, I still wanted to update the trip in parts. Bear with me peeps. See u in the next entry.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye Day 4 - Hierapolis Archaeological Site / White House Cafe, Pamukkale

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Sambungan from previous entry (here).

Letih mendaki limestone dengan panahan matahari mengigit kulit, I had my brunch at the cafe up there. And actually lepas brunch, I went exploring the Hierapolis prior melepak layan blues in front of the travertines pools. Tapi saja buat separate entry mainly to avoid kebanjiran gambar. Senang sikit mau bercerita.

7 April 2015
Hierapolis, Pamukkale

"Hierapolis, whose name means sacred city was believed by the ancients to have been founded by the god Apollo. It was famed for its sacred hot springs, whose vapors were associated with Pluto; God of the Underworld. The city also had a significant Jewish community. It is mentioned once in the Bible when Paul praises Epaphras in his Letter to Colossians. Ephaphras was probably the founder of Christian community at Hierapolis. Today, Hierapolis is a World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination." -yahoo-

# Explanation of the Monumental Fortress. It is the largest monument at Hierapolis dating to the Middle Age. 

# How the Monumental Fortress looks now. 

# Water fountain

I walked upon the 2 kilometer road from the water fountains towards the Main Street Frontinus, not knowing that along the way each side of me is a tract of land used for burials called necropolis. During the Roman & late Hellenistic era, burials weren't allowed inside city boundaries. Hence the main necropolis was a short distance away from the city. 

Coming from the North Gate, I toured the travertines prior the Hierapolis city. If aku masuk via the South Gate, aku akan jumpa Hierapolis city dulu. And automatically aware that I will have to walk through the necropolis sebab depan Gate of Domitian ada signboard yang explain pasal this city. Alhamdulillah, malam tu tidur lena tanpa ada mimpi mistik. Drama sangat kan mindset. Asal limpas burial land, mesti benda ndak baik jadi. Choi betul. 

# Ruins of the tombs & funeral monuments. These tombs belonged to rich families based on its structures & complexity.

In Hierapolis ancient times, people came for medical treatment. The native people of the city buried their dead bodies in tombs of several types according to their traditions and socio-economic status.

Picture above is an example of Sarcophagi; a box-like funeral container for a corpse. Most commonly carved in stone & displayed above ground. Sometimes it may also be buried. 

# The main thoroughfare of the ancient city; Gate of Domitian 

The gate led into a colonnaded street known as Frontinus Street. This was where the heart of the city during the Roman times. 

# Houses, shops & warehouse were once here; under covered walkways.

# Also known as the principal street. It is paved & has pavements. 

# Once was a busy street. In the center of this road runs the main drain; covered with large stone blocks. 

# Large public toilet or called latrine.

After the Frontinus Street, I walked passed the Byzantine Gate. And continue walking through ruins of a huge agora. It's a marketplace in ancient Greece. Sambil jalan, sambil imagine macam mana keadaan di sana masa dulu. Tapi ndak boleh hanyut sebab jalan dalan ruins ni kena pandai cari laluan. Few times aku jumpa jalan mati & terpaksa patah balik. Belum cukup kuat untuk robohkan sisa runtuhan. 

# What's left of the Christian Basilica. 

Kali ni misi adalah untuk jalan sampai di hujung sana. Tu yang sayup-sayup kelihatan dari jauh (right side of the picture above). Memang gigih berjalan dalam runtuhan batu bata. More ruins on the hill but I decided to not go. Cukuplah yang aku larat jak, kalau melebih-lebih nanti bahana sama diri sendiri. 

# Ruins of The Cathedral; one of the principal buildings in the Christian city.

# I could't believe I managed to forced myself to climbed this 40' path. Mainly to get to The Theater. 

# Super massive!

This theater occupies four blocks; that's how huge it is. During its glory day, it could hold up to 20,000 spectators & had reserved seating for distinguished spectators in the front row. But sadly, only 30 rows of seating have survived. 

# Refused to go down. Cukup cuci mata from up here. Bongkah batu adalah besar, kalau jatuh...siapa yang susah? Kaki sudahlah kurang tinggi.

# Stage buildings decorated with reliefs. 

Tengah busy selca, suddenly this one Ahjumma tapped my shoulder. With a wide smile she offered to take my picture. Eh haruslah si Err ndak menolak! Tiadalah memanjang muka seketul jak dalam kamera. Gomawo Ahjumma.

Lepak kejap jak atas ni sebab aku sudah mula rasa bahang membakar kulit muka. Walau angin sepoi-sepoi, tapi sinaran matahari adalah super pedas. 

# Credit to Ahjumma baik hati. 

As mentioned in my previous entry, hasrat untuk layan sunset from the travertines pool terpaksa cancelled sebab suddenly cuaca jadi gloomy. Tanda mau hujan. So habis sesi layan drama hati di area travertines, aku atur langkah untuk turun pi pekan.  Mau balik bilik, and bersiram. 

On the way to the hotel, sempat singgah few shops. Cuci mata...pastu terbeli fridge magnet. Baguslah juga sebab lepas balik bilik, aku memang tiada plan untuk keluar meronda pekan lagi kecuali pi area tasik. So betterlah beli awal-awal. 

Sampai bilik...lepas bersiram, aku terus tidur. Gila punya penat! And I woke up just before dusk. After Maghrib, siap-siap mau pi lake. Sekali keluar hotel, sejuk tiada ampun. Bukan angin sepoi-sepoi lagi...tapi angin penampar keluar. Then ndak lama, drizzling. Haruslah on the spot batal niat mau ber-lake bagai. Marilah jamu perut. 

# Taken on the way back to the hotel after exploring the archaeological site.

Located just few steps away from the hotel I stayed at. Yang ni memang totally recommended in Trip Advisor. Gigih aku cari restoran apa yang paling famous. I came across White House Cafe. 

Masa aku sampai, tiada yang sudi menjamu selera di beranda. Sebab sejuk melampau! Masuk dalam, tiada meja kosong. Full house. So aku pun decide untuk take away jak. Tengah belek menu, tiba-tiba the lady boss waved & showed me a vacant table. Tadi memang tiada, tapi dia angkat dari luar. Semata supaya aku boleh dine in. Mampu lagi untuk say no? Terus duduk dengan senyuman ratu cantik. Fuh keperasanan tiada sempadan.

# Chef adalah husband & wife. Ada sorang assistant lelaki; said to be the wife's nephew. 

Live kitchen. Memang terasa macam di rumah! Meals is only prepared upon order. Part mau place order aku memang fail. Perut lapar tapi minda cakap jangan order banyak nanti ndak habis; sayang kalau membazir. Tengok menu, semua pun mengundang kejadian saliva dropping. In the end I ordered manti & a cup of hot tea. Fickle-minded.

# Manti (according to the menu). Lady boss told me ni resepi turun temurun dari nenek beliau. Patutla sedaps!

Dinner was superb delicious. It's a popular local delicacy. Mini dumplings stuffed with meat; and later topped with yogurt & secret sauce. I had to google the dish' name because I have forgotten what it is called already. Akibat bertangguh untuk update, thanks Bie. I key in the word Turkish Mandu & the word Manti came out. Dingdongdeng. Keyword Mandu harus ada unsur kampong. Sekian.

While enjoying my dinner, I noticed that people keep coming to this restaurant. But the owner had to turned them down because it's already full house. There were no empty spaces to put the table from outside. Memang terbukti kedai ni pilihan utama most tourist who came to Pamukkale. I read nothing but good reviews about this restaurant in Trip Advisor. I was lucky I came early else I could be one of them. Lady boss suggested them to go to other restaurant instead & I heard one of them said;

"I really love ur cooking. Can u suggest any cafe around here that serves delicious food like u?"

Nganga owner dengar. Terus sengih manjang sambil cakap we are #1 here. Without denying gitu.

Tapi bagus cara owner ni. Once diorang rasa ndak mampu untuk terima order lagi hatta untuk take away sekalipun, diorang terus inform customer. It was still early; ada lagi few hours before they closed tapi sebab sudah banyak tempahan so diorang terpaksa tolak cara baik. Demi jaga kualiti makanan yang diorang served.

Balik bilik dengan rasa senang hati. Perut kenyang katakan. It didn't take long for me to sail to dreamland that night. Proof that I was super exhausted. Penat melantun-lantun. Duh! As if u ran with the Torch from Istanbul to Denizli.

Esok pagi, bakal berkunjung pi tempat baru lagi. Another experience yet to be cherished.

eryantierdabdulkarim