Turkiye Day 5 - Ephesus Archaeological Park, Selcuk

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Ok fine! Laaaama gila tinggal blog ni. Kunun janji mau wrap up cerita Turkiye as soon as possible but I got tangled with some businesses I ended up abandoning most of the things I used to love doing. Gitu ayat ndak menahan! Sebabkan lama aku paused cerita Ephesus ni, makanya makin banyaklah cerita di hari kejadian yang sudah evaporate from my tiny memory box.

Previous Entry (here).

8 April 2015
Selcuk, Izmir

Once standing upon the Curates Street...haruslah aku fokus tumpuan to search for the Brothel. Ngeks kan perangai. Curiosity killed the cat katanya! Ntah apa yang di-investigate sangat.

Kunun Brothel tu dapat dijejak based on the founding of Priapus statue with an oversize of phallus in the house. The Brother is just a peristyle house on the corner of the Curates Street. Didn't get to see the statue thought because it was presented in the museum. 

# Inside the Bath of Scholastica

# Please meet Scholastica (statue without head); a rich Christian lady whom built the Scholatisca Baths. 

This was thought to have been a three-storied building. But only the first floor survived. The other two collapsed. 

Climbed the stairs & I reached the Latrine; public toilets of the city. It was part of the Scholastic Baths. There was an entrance fee to use this toilet. Drainage system was under those 'seats'. Speaking of the importance of hygiene back then. Kira maju ok!

# This opened toilet was designed like this so people could still 'socialize' while doing their business. 

# Standing at the highest point of Scholastica Baths. 

# The Octagon; a monument to Ptolemy whom is the youngest sister of Cleopatra VII.

This is a vaulted burial chamber placed on a rectangular base with the skeleton of a 15 year old woman in a marble sarcophagus. Ptolemy was murdered in Ephesus in 41BC.

Next to The Octagon is the Temple of Hadrian. Said to be the best preserved & most exquisite structures on Curates Street. It was built to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Hadrian from Athens. The ornaments that are seen at the temple today are just copies; the originals are displayed in Ephesus Museum. In which I didn't get to visit due to time constraint. 

# Four columns at the facade supported the curved arch. And that relief at the center of the arch is Tyche; the goddess of victory. 

# Inside the temple, architectural ornaments depicting the story of the foundation of Ephesus can be seen. 

Just across the street from the temple is Ephesus Terrace House. Or also known as "the house of the riches". The houses was first built in the 1st Century BC. It was divided into six parcels each representing a residential unit. The rooms of each unit are grouped around a central colonnaded courtyard.  Heating system consisted of clay pipes beneath the floors & behind the walls which carried hot air throughout the house. 

The building at the back (refer picture below) is where the excavation works of the terrace houses on the slope are currently underway. It started in 1960 & as to date; two houses have been restored. To visit the houses, I paid an extra TL 20. But I only entered after I finished touring the Ancient City. Hence stories about the two houses will be in the next entry. Insha Allah.

# What was left of the terrace house. The mosaic tiles on the paved sidewalk in front of the lower level of the terrace house remain intact; albeit slightly stained. A prove the owners must have the city elites. 

# The Curates Street

I continued walking along Curates Street. Reached the Fountain of Trojan before arriving at the Hercules Gate. And I immediately thought of the Trojan back in Malaysia. Sabun basuh baju! Ngeks! Anyhow, the fountain is one of the finest monuments here. It was constructed to honor the Emperor of Trajan. 

# Statue of Trajan (now what was left is just ruins of the statue) stood in the central niche of the facade looking over the pool. 

Right after the fountain is the Hercules Gate. It marks the end of Curates Street. The gate was actually brought from another place in the 4th Century. Today, only two side of the columns remain while the other parts haven't been found yet. Heracles Gate narrowed the access to the street in order to prevent vehicles from entering. Curates Street was meant for pedestrian only. 

# Called so because of the Hercules reliefs on it.

# As I arrived at the end of Curates Street, I turned back. 

Can't help but to do my favorite thing. "Imagining what life would have been in the past along this street". It must have been one super busy street. Everyone was wearing white cloths. The ladies wearing the lofty, deeply drilled with curls & braids hairstyle. Fuh, really lah Bie. Imagine komuniti yang lavish jak!

Gotta stop here. This is already too long an entry after being dormant for nearly a month. Gitu ayat poyo. As I said, I've been busy. Perasan sibuk; so to say. Will continue sharing my Turkiye's trip in the next entry. Aigoo didn't know I would scribble the Ephesus stories in more than 2 parts. 

Till we meet again. Have a nice day peeps! 

eryantierdabdulkarim