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The next day brought us to Asia Minor at the port of Kusadesi. We joined an excursion to take us to the ancient city of Ephesus; a major tourist attraction, as one could easily guess from the number of souvenir stands (1). Our tour guide was Kürşat (2), who was born in Istanbul, educated for three years in Washington D.C., and conversed in English like a native speaker. There are few signs, so most visitors stuck tightly to their tour groups (3). We were also tailed by a photographer who would then try to sell you the photos he took of you back at your tour bus.
The ruins are vast, and still more is being unearthed under temporary shelters on the hillside (3). Popular highlights include the public latrines (4), which everyone took photos of (5); some people making their companions sit down to more clearly demonstrate their use. The façade of the Roman Library is impressive in its scale (6) and level of craftsmanship (7). Ruins of a Temple of Diana (Artemis) (8), hint at the level of devotion the city’s inhabitants had to their patron goddess. An expansive Roman Amphitheatre (9) has stood up well to hordes of tourists climbing the steps and shouting “Can you hear me now?” The medical centre is indicated by the staff of Asclepius (10), a symbol still used in such disciplines as, oh, I don’t know… pharmacy. Poppies dotted the entire site (11), scrambling over fallen marble much like the visitors, giving life to broken stone. We had enough time to do a bit of haggling in the markets filled with pashmina, leather, carpets, and aggressive shopkeepers before sailing away from Kusadesi (12). < previous | index | next > |
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