Türkiye

We checked off a new country on our list as we sailed into the port of Kuşadasi in Türkiye. After breakfast, we met in the theater again for our excursion and then walked off the ship past a troupe of locals performing a traditional dance for us and boarded our bus. It was a major change from yesterday as our guide was incredible. On the bus ride, we showed us a map of the various regions of the country and explained the differences in culture. He taught us about their wedding traditions and food and drink and was very engaging and entertaining.

Basilica of St. John

The first stop on our excursion was the Basilica of St. John, believed to be the place where Saint John was buried. John took the Virgin Mary to what is now Türkiye following the crucifixion of Jesus and they both lived out their lives in the area around Kusadasi and Ephesus. We were unable to visit the House of the Virgin Mary as it was closed for renovation.

Storks

We paused for a restroom break in a small shop outside the Basilica grounds where our guide pointed out the storks that have taken to nesting on light poles throughout the region.

Ephesus

After a short bus ride, we arrived at the ruins of the city of Ephesus, famous in its day for the Temple of Artemis, which was designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Our guide pointed out the stall selling "Genuine Fake Watches" in case anyone wanted a genuine fake souvenir later. We passed through the first gate and our guide paused to give us an overview of the ruins and the history of the city.

On the southern part of the Basilica is the State Agora, built in the Roman Period in the first century BCE. The agora was used not for commerce but for business and it played an important role as a meeting place for the governmental discussions. During excavations, a great number of graves from the 7th-6th centuries BCE and an archaic sarcophagus of terra cotta were found.

The Gaius Laecanius Bassus Fountain. which is one of the monumental fountains in Ephesus, was built in the direction of the Temple of Domitian. It consists of a courtyard, two tiers of columns on all three sides, and two pools in the front. It also has a large pediment on the facade.

Memmius Monument is situated on the north side of Domitian Square. It was constructed during the reign of Augustus in the 1st century AD by Memmius, the grand son of dictator Sulla. One can see the figures of his father and grandfather on the blocks today. The structure has four facades. In the 4th century AD, a square fountain was built on the northwest facade.

The Temple of Domitian is the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an emperor. It was built on a high and wide terrace on vaulted foundations. The northern size of the terrace seems to be two-stories high, reached by stairs that are still visible today. The temple had eight columns on the short side and thirteen columns on the long side, and four additional columns in front of the cella. At the northern side, there was an u-shaped altar, which is now displayed in the Izmir Museum. It was in the reign of Domitian that an emperor gave permission to build an Emperor Temple.

The Nike relief dates to the late Roman period, around the 4th and 5th centuries. Nike holds a palm in her right hand and a wreath of laurel leaves in her left hand. Nike is mentioned as the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, and as Victoria in Roman mythology. The goddess also represents speed and strength; because Nike has the ability to run very fast and fly. The famous "Nike Swoosh" can be seen in the dress on the relief.

Curetes Street is one of the three main streets of Ephesus between The Hercules Gate to the Celsus Library. This street took its name from the priests who were called as Curetes. There were fountains, monuments, statues, and shops on the sides of the street. The shops on the south side were two-storied.

The Fountain of Trajan was built around 104 AD and is one of the finest monuments in Ephesus. It was constructed for the honor of Emperor Trajan, and the statue of Trajan stood in the central niche on the facade overlooking the pool. The pool of the fountain of Trajan was 20x10 meters, surrounded by columns and statues of Dionysus, Satyr, Aphrodite and the family of the Emperor.

The ruins of the Bath of Varius Ephesus to the east of the Basilica dating to the Roman period in the 2nd century AD and the mosaics in the 40 meters long corridor date to the 5th century. It is built of cut blocks of marble. It has three sections, frigidarium (cold water), tepidarium (warm water) and caldarium (hot water).

The Temple of Hadrian is one of the best-preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. It was built before 138 AD and dedicated to Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 128 AD. The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, goddess of victory. The side columns are square. The pedestal with inscriptions in front of the temple is the bases for the statues of the emperors between 293-305 CE, Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius I, and Galerius.

Our guide gave us the option of climbing the stairs to the terrace houses or waiting in the shade under a large tree. Despite her ankle injury, Becca decided to brave the stairs and we climbed to the preserved "Houses of the Rich", luxury Roman Villas. There are six residential units on three terraces at the lower end of the slope of Bulbul Mountain. The oldest building dates back into 1 BCE and continued in use as a residence until 7 AD. The Ephesus terrace houses are covered with protective roofing which resembles Roman houses. The mosaics on the floor and the frescos have been consolidated and two houses have been opened to the public as a museum. They had interior courtyards (peristyle) in the center, with the ceiling open. They were mostly two-storied but the upper stories have collapsed over time. On the ground floor there were living and dining rooms opening to the hall, and upstairs there were bedrooms and guest rooms. The heating system of the terrace houses were the same as that in baths. Clay pipes beneath the floors and behind the walls carried hot air through the houses. The houses also had cold and hot water. The rooms had no windows, only illuminated with light coming from the open hall, so that most of the rooms were dim.

After climbing down the rock stairs, which Becca found more treacherous than the climb up the metal staircases, we went to the Library of Celsus, the most striking building in the city. The building served as a library but also a mausoleum as well as contains the tomb of Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus who had been consul in 92 AD. After his death, his son, had the library built in his father's honor. The library was completed in 135 AD and Celsus' body was put in a white marble sarcophagus which was placed in a crypt beneath the building. The two story facade is ornated with 16 columns arranged in pairs. Columns at the center of the facade are shorter than the others which is an optical illusion giving the impression of greater size. A staircase with 9 steps leads to the facade of the Library. Lace-like marble work of the facade's ceiling can be seen after climbing the staircase. The columns were richly decorated with the motifs of vegetation and mythological figures: Bellerophon riding Pegasus, a couple of Eros and Psyche darting from acanthus leaves, and the scenes of the life of Apollo and Dionysus.

The Ephesus Great Theatre is located on the slope of Panayir Hill, opposite Harbor Street, and is easily seen when entering from the south entrance to Ephesus. The theatre is cut into the west slope of Mount Pion upon which the Acropolis was located. Hellenistic theatres are generally built on a natural slope of a hill in order to benefit from the gradient of the hill.The excavations of the Great Theatre reveal that it was first constructed about 250 BCE, during the reign of Lysimachos. During the Roman period, it was enlarged and formed its current style that is seen.

Lunch

After Ephesus, it was time for lunch, but not before having to make our way through a horde of vendors all trying to see Turkish Delight and maps of Ephesus. One tried to follow us onto the bus after we told him no several times. The bus took us to the Charisma De Luxe Hotel where we had one of the best meals on all our excursions although they served us way too much food. (We ate the first two courses, thinking that was our meal, and then they came back with two more courses of food). We had some free time to go out on the terrace to take some photos and Becca wished she had brought a swimsuit so she could just stay and play in the pools and take a cab back to the ship.

Rugs

Every excursion in Kuşadasi is required to end with a rug weaving demonstration, supposedly to maintain the ancient art of rug making, but really just another way to separate tourists from their money. The heat of walking around Ephesus and all the food had not sat well with J. R. so he decided to make his way back to the ship. He made the mistake of handing the ladies his credit card and cash while they went to the rug demonstration. Rebecca walked away with a small Turkish rug for that was supposedly 25% of the original price but we all knew better.

Night on the Infinity

The ladies found J. R. napping in the room when they returned and he was feeling better so we all went down to the bar to have a drink. J. R. opted for a Jameson and Ginger, which helped settle his stomach. The evening show was comedian Travis Jay, and he turned out to be reasonably funny. Some of his jokes had a long set up, but the punchlines were surprising in a few cases. After dinner, we had a night cap and went to bed, foregoing the Totally 80's Game Show, which we had done on previous cruises and didn't really care for. We wish Celebrity would drop it and just go with the 80s dance party.