Today we head for Kusadasi via the ancient cities of Aphrodisias and Ephesus.

Founded in the 5th century BC Aphrodisias was dedicated to the goddess of love – Aphrodite. It was the centre of the arts and in particular sculpture. The ruins are in pretty good shape with a 3km long wall still surrounding the city and the Temple of Aphrodite, which was at one time converted to a Christian Basilica, in relatively good condition for its age. There are numerous other buildings such as the Tetrapylon, a 2nd century gateway with 4 sets of 4 Corinthian columns, the Theatre of Aphrodisias later used for gladiator combat, the stadium which seated 40,000 etc etc.
 
One of the annoyances with visiting some of these sites is the long grass, which they are continually having to cut. It is a good hiding ground for snakes. Bruce had to take evasive action when he was startled by a Black snake which shot across his path and made him leap about a meter high. Although non poisonous there are also vipers at some sites.
 
Next stop was the Ephesus Museum. Although we had been to Ephesus in August 2009 on the Aegean cruise we had not visited the museum. It was apparently more important to try to sell us carpets and jewellry. Prior to 1923 artifacts and art dug up in Ephesus were sent to museums in Britain and Vienna. The new Turkish Republic stopped this practice and this museum was established to house artifacts retrieved after 1923. The most stunning of the artifacts was probaby the statue of the goddess Artemis. There were many other areas of interest however – gladiator section, section on funeral relics and more.
 
Following the museum we went to the city of Ephesus, the ancient Greek city which later became a Roman city. It is best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean. The city is most known for the Temple of Artemis (550 BC), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The library is also one of the better preserved buildings and there is also has a large gladiator graveyard. The city's importance as a commercial center declined as the harbour began to silt up.
 
This being our first stop near a large body of water (the Mediterranean Sea) we went out for a lovely fish dinner. We will discuss Turkish food in another blog.