Turkiye Day 5 - Ephesus Archaeological Park, Selcuk

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Previous post (here).

Oh wow! It's been nearly four months since my last post. Bravo! I sincerely apologize for the eternal hiatus, peeps. Ok bercakap as if ramai orang tunggu new post dari kau kan Bie. I've been busy rearranging my life. I've got tons to share tapi habis kerja; sampai rumah automatik rasa macam tidur lagi utama. Sedar ndak sedar; I've taken too long a break from scribbling. Luckily sempat blog walking cuma memang jarang tinggal jejak. Perasan-penat-dan-sibuk memang macam tu. 

Anyhow, let's continue from where I last left. Mula mau buat conclusion pasal cerita 2015; as in new year post lah. Tapi rasa macam malas; nanti-nanti lah aku buat. When time permits or more like when I'm rajin enough. 

So upon arriving at the end of Curates Street; I turned around & started envisaging the busy life at that street back then. Semua harus berbaju putih ala-saree. Don't ask why must white; why must ala-saree. 

# Memmius Monument 

# Some of the ruins from the Temple of Domitian.

# I reckoned this must be some spot where people lepak & killed their free time. 

# Very intricate carving. Kukuh sampai hari ini. Kagum!

# Fountain of Pollio; water was brought to this fountain via aqueducts. Water distributed from the fountain by a branching system of baked clay pipes. The city provided water for free of charge at public fountains. Nevertheless, this fountain was the source for refreshment in hot summer days. 

# Temple of Domition; the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an Emperor. 

# Prytaneion; where religious ceremonies, official receptions & banquets were held. 

# The Odeon. It is a small theatre with a stage building, seating places & orchestra. Meetings of the Senate were held here. And it function as a concert hall for performances as well. 

# Hello there Miss Bulus! Enjoying yourself at the Basilica nampaknya. 

# Bath of Varius built of cut blocks of marbles. Excavations haven't been completed yet but the three sections could be seen for now. Frigidarium (cold water), tepidarium (warm water) & caldarium (hot water).

After completing my route, I returned back to Curates Street. I did not plan to exit via the Magnesian Gate because as per the personnel at the ticket counter; there will be no public bus at the Magnesian Gate. That entrance/exit are meant for visitors with cars or tour group. So berpatah balik lah si Err. Keluar ikut entrance tadi lagi senang. 

On my way out, just before the Celsus Library, I saw this huge zinc-covered building. It is situated up the hill; opposite the Hadrian Temple and Heroon. I need to buy a different ticket (15 TL) in order the enter the building. Confident habis yang aku masih banyak masa to wander around. 

Turned out that covered building is an excavation site of the Terrace Houses (Slope Houses). The excavation work is still going while I was there. So far there have been 7 houses excavated owned by the richest Ephesians. Houses are date back to the 1C AD. 

# Assembling fragments & ruins

# Many of the houses are two-storied. Each has their own courtyard & rooms without windows. 

# Spot the lion on the mosaics. Back then. they even had decorated tiles as such. 

# Note the special fiber above this complex. It not only act as rooftop but also it prevent the complex from sunlight in which could fade or damage the conservation.

# Windows & balconies were built facing the courtyard; not the street in order to keep the home safe from burglars. 

# Excavators doing their job. 

# And they have colored tiles as well. 

# Decorated floor with tiles & mosaics. Sangat detailed & neatly arranged.

Lepas ronda lebih kurang, it's time to go back to Selcuk town. Perut sudah berdangdut minta isi makanan. I decided to have my lunch before taking the train to Denizli that evening. Later that night, I will be taking the night bus to Goreme from Denizli Otogari. 

Out from the historical site, baru ada perasaan untuk intai jam. I took merely 2 hours to cover the whole site. Still plenty of time for me to stroll around. Lagipun bas pi Selcuk Otogari belum sampai. Hence I took my own sweet time; duduk di bench lepas penat. Then pi gerai-gerai jual souvenir; cuci mata. Walhal sebenarnya sempat grabbed few fridge magnets. Nampak pula pondok post office just in front of the taxi stand, apalagi...sesi tulis poskad bermula. Sempatlah kirim few postcards including untuk diri sendiri. Ngek~~

# The best pomegranate juice. Minum jus untuk lepas lelah katanye.

# Mari post poskad sebelum beredar. Kenang-kenangan gitu.

#Took the bus back to Selcuk Otogari from the same stop where we descended earlier.

Turned out, yang naik bas tu adalah orang-orang yang naik ngan aku pagi tadi. What a coincidence. Sempatlah bercerita sama Minah US yang travel solo juga. Route kami reverse. I'll be leaving for Goreme later that night where as she just arrived from Goreme earlier that morning. We didn't wait long for the bus to come. Paid 2.50 TL for the bus fare & off we went back to Selcuk Otogari.

Sampai bus terminal (otogari)...si Err buat drama sebabak. Ciskek mengharukan betul. Yang tu kita continue next entry. Insha Allah, akan rajin update lepas ni. Sila percaya.

eryantierdabdulkarim