Turkey: discovery of the ancient cities

From Friday 10 December 2022 to Wednesday 15 December 2022

Izmir We left Istanbul at 4 am, still in company of our two acolytes Marc and Victorien, and we arrive with difficulty at 11:30 am in Izmir. Indeed, our bus seems to meet technical difficulties on the last part of our journey. The atmosphere is tense, the driver, annoyed, speaks vehemently on the phone. According to what we understand, he wishes that the company sends a new bus, what it refuses or is not able to grant. Fortunately, the state of the bus allows us to reach our destination. Izmir is the third most famous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is located in the east of the country, on the Aegean coast. This city is huge, but there is not much to do. It is above all an ideal destination for the summer because of its beaches. It is missed for us, because even if the temperature is rather clement, it rains strings.

We make the tour of the bazaar and we walk in Kulturpark. We take advantage of some clearings to reach the high part of the city thanks to the elevator Tahiri, built in 1907. We learn besides that the characteristic red bricks surrounding this elevator come from Marseille. We spend the evening looking for a restaurant where to have dinner, because of the rain all the stores are closed.

Bergama The next day, we go on a day trip to visit the ruins of Pergamon and Akepolios which are located next to the town of Bergama. It takes 1h20 by mini-bus from Izmir.

Akepolios is an ancient treatment site famous for its many thermal water baths, lucid dream chambers, healing mud, postprandial treatments, and musical therapies. Besides being the fitness center of the nobles of Pergamon, Akepolios is also the home of the famous physician Galen, the father of pharmacy.

To reach Pergamon, the ancient acropolis located a few kilometers from Akepolios, you have to walk through the village to reach the cable car. We hope, it is indicated on the internet that the cable car is open on nice days. Today, the weather is fine, but it is not for all that that the cable car functions. We are already imagining that we have to climb to the top of the hill. It's not the physical effort that bothers us, the climb is only 350 meters, but rather the time it will take. We have only two hours left to visit before we head back to the city center to catch our mini-bus back to Izmir. Determined to visit Pergamon before leaving, we start our climb. Luckily, a cab passed by just in time. 15 minutes of road later, we are at the top of the hill. The most amazing thing is that we paid only 30 liras (about 1,90€), which is cheaper than two cable car tickets. The acropolis is superb, the sight is splendid! We walk among the ruins and the song of the imam who calls to the prayer reminds us that we are in Turkey and not in Greece.

This ancient acropolis was the place of residence of kings and aristocrats. We see the ruins of the royal palaces, the arsenals, the temple of Trajan and the library, a very important monument and famous for being the second largest library in the world at the time, after that of Alexandria. We finish our visit with the temple of Athena and the theater.

It is in Pergamon that the parchment was invented, in reaction to the restriction of delivery of papyrus exercised by Egypt which was afraid that the library of Pergamon exceeds that of Alexandria.

Our visit finished, we ask the ticket office of the site to call us a cab. It's very accurate in terms of timing, but you should never underestimate the Turkish cabs, we arrive a few minutes early!

This evening, we have dinner in company of Marc and Victorien. We buy some baklavas for the dessert, the first ones since we set foot in Turkey. While we ask to the salesman where we can drink some tea, he invites us spontaneously in his store and offers us something to drink while tasting our pastries. Ephèse While yesterday we visited the treatment center and the dwelling place of the nobles during the Antiquity, today we leave on the traces of one of the most influential cities of the time, the city of Ephesus. Again, we leave from Izmir, where we slept and said goodbye to Marc, who returns to France tomorrow.

The ancient city of Ephesus is next to the town of Selčuk, which is easily reached by mini-bus. It is not without a touch of emotion that we take our first steps in this once powerful city. It is always strange to imagine that thousands of years ago, the houses were inhabited, the streets crowded, the theater and the library animated... We see here the heritage of one of the most important civilizations of our world. So, in turn, we ask ourselves, what legacy will we leave? We enter in the city via the main street, marbled and equipped, already at the time, with a sewer system. We cross the ruins of the gymnasium then we reach the theater, magnificent. With a capacity of up to 25,000 spectators, it was here that the gladiatorial combats took place. It was in this theater of Ephesus that the very first gladiatorial combat of history took place, the first of a great series, in 69 BC, under the auspices of the Roman governor Lucullus.

Continuing a little further, we see the superb library of Celsius, erected in honor of the governor of the same name in the 2nd century BC. Of this library, partially destroyed by a fire (whose cause was still unknown if it was natural or not) and an earthquake, it remains only its sumptuous facade, on which stands four statues representing the four qualities attributed to the governor. Sofia for wisdom, Ennoia for intelligence, Espiteme for science and finally Arête for virtue and excellence.

Besides the theater and the library, we see the temple of the Emperor Hadrian, the fountain of Trajan, the terraced houses, the odeon, the public latrines, the brothel, the temple of Domitian.

Another monument attracts our attention, more for its history than for its aestheticism: the octagon. It would be the tomb of Arsinoe, younger sister of Cleopatra. The story tells that Arsinoe was murdered by her elder sister, Cleopatra, because of a difference of opinion as to what to do with the Roman Empire. Whereas Cleopatra wishes to unite with Rome and already dreams of governing one of the most powerful empires in history, Arsinoe refuses this collaboration and takes advantage of the absence of her sister to replace her at the regency of Egypt. With the return of Cléopâtre, Arsinoë is forced to the exile and finds refuge in the city of Ephèse. The assassin sent by Cleopatra will however know very well how to find her... We end our visit by the ruins of the cathedral of Saint Mary. The city of Ephesus is important for Christianity because it is in this city that the apostle Jean would have written the gospel that bears his name, 'the gospel of Jean'.

Before taking our bus to Pammukale, we visit the Ephesus museum in downtown Selčuk. Pammukale We arrive in Pammukale quite late, and we wait for Victorien's arrival at the bus station. He will accompany us in our journey through Turkey during the next days. There is no question of visiting tonight, we plan a good night's sleep to get up early tomorrow morning in the hope of seeing the sunrise on the site of Pammukale. Unfortunately, the next day, the sun is hidden by clouds. And it is under the rain that we discover the thermal water basins and the deposits of calcite which gives to the hill a white color, from where its name "Pammakule" which means "the cotton castle" in Turkish. Adjacent to this hill, we walk through the ruins of the spa of Hierapolis, founded by the Romans in 190 BC. The ancient pool, in which you can bathe for 100 liras (about 6 €), contains the ruins of columns of the city's monuments. Most of the monuments on this site have been damaged by several earthquakes.

This morning is incredible! After walking (under the rain) through the ruins of the city, we go back down the white hill by the thermal pools. Me who didn't want to take off my socks (mandatory to walk on this calcite ground), I don't want to put them back on at the end of this walk. It was so nice to soak my cold feet in this naturally warm water! We even have the chance to have some clearings while going down again.

While waiting for our mini-bus direction Antalya, we see three hot-air balloons very close which go up slowly in the sky. The view from above must be breathtaking! But a little patience, an even more beautiful experience waits for us in some days! Antalya Three hours and thirty minutes later that same day, we arrived in Antalya. And what a surprise when we arrive at our accommodation. Unhealthy, with a strong smell of cigarette! Fortunately we will only sleep there...

The next morning, we go to the archaeological museum of Antalya which tells us the history of the region from the prehistoric period to the ancient period. Victorien joined us there accompanied by the person who lodged him for two days. The museum is magnificent, several miniatures of the major historical places are presented.

After this cultural interlude, we join the city center in electric scooter and we make the tour of the old city. On our way, we cross a man, French-Turkish, owner of a travel agency. It is him who advises us to rent a car for our program of the next day. We do not hesitate a long time. We planned to go to visit Thermessos, an ancient city lost in the middle of nature. There is a bus which passes by there, but it deposits us too far from the site so that we can hope to make something else of our day. Renting a car would allow us to do more.

Thermessos, Düden, Perge As planned, we go early to pick up the car at the rental agency. As soon as it is done, we head for Thermessos, an ancient city lost in the middle of the mountains at 1050 meters above sea level. Of course, after all this time, nature has gradually taken over, giving the ruins of this ancient city a mysterious and adventurous side. The most impressive building is its theater built on the side of the cliff. There are no words to describe the feeling of the view on the mountains. On the way down, we stop for a moment to contemplate the tombs in the old cemetery.

Back in the car, we drive in the direction of the waterfall of Düden, in the lands in the North of Antalya. We do not expect to find a waterfall when we enter the park, moreover mainly frequented by local people. We will spend a good moment, not only the waterfall is pleasant to look at, but a cave arranged allows us to observe some bats and to pass under the waterfall. Beautiful places to take nice pictures! This is the reason why most of the people are here.

We continue our day by the visit of Perga, ancient city founded around 1000 BC. We see there the stadium, the theater, the agora, several fountains and the main road lined with columns.

We finish quietly our day again by the waterfall Düden, even this time much more in the south, in the place where the waterfall flows in the sea. The sky, stormy, contrasts with the blue of the sea. Very quickly, the storm bursts and we take pleasure to observe the lightnings in the distance.

At 6:30 pm, we return the car. We will run away to eat before taking our bus at midnight for Cappadocia.