Ancient Ephesus (Part 2)

Ancient Ephesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Terrace House 2 is the site of so many mosaics and wall frescoes that it has been covered over to protect them. To see these, and to get an insight into the way some people in the city lived about 2000 years ago, we paid our additional entrance fee (TL15pp, about £4) and went in.

At the time of the Roman Empire, Ephesus was one of the most densely populated cities in Asia Minor with more than 200,000 residents. The privileged and governing classes lived in the city centre, with farmers and artisans residing further out. The Terrace Houses were constructed in the reign of Tiberus and were occupied continuously for 250 years until a large earthquake destroyed the area (approx 270AD). Following this, the population thinned out and the houses were used for other things (eg artisans’ workshops) until the 7^th century AD.

Excavation work and reconstruction is still going on. Almost as soon as we entered we saw large work benches, spread with shards of marble, floor mosaics and wall frescoes.

In another room we saw more of the large workbenches and realised that they were tying to piece together the marble walls. It must be a bit like doing a huge jigsaw puzzle but without a picture to work from. Having said that, from what they have pieced together an artist’s impression (above right) has been drawn of what the room would have looked like.

The terrace houses were peristyle houses, similar to those in Rhodes, Delos and Miletus. They were set in pairs on terraces and accessed by a flight of steep narrow steps. Built on either 2 or 3 floors, the houses opened onto a central, open-air peristyle courtyard which provided ventilation and lighting for the interior rooms.

The houses reflect the grandeur of the Romans who lived in them. Not only were there rich marble wall coverings, detailed frescoes and beautiful mosaics, the houses had a heating system and hot and cold running water. The pipework for the water and the remains of the underfloor (and in-wall) heating system were clear to see.

The reception rooms were particularly beautifully decorated but even the kitchen, bathroom and toilets had decorated walls and mosaic floors. In many areas the paint still looked remarkably fresh, though in one place there was some Roman-era ‘graffiti’ on a painted kitchen wall, which the information boards said gave details of the prices of some common goods.

The mosaic floors are fabulous and the glass-floored high-level tourist walkway around the buildings provides a great perspective on them.

Marble Way looking north with the lower agora to the right of the picture    

As we left the covered area of Terrace House 2 we got an excellent view along Marble Way and across the lower agora.

Public latrines (right foreground), Gate of Hadrian (left mid-ground) with the Library of Celsus (background)    

It really was starting to get busy now and we were quite glad that we were walking the site in the opposite direction to the norm because we left the crowds behind us as we continued up the Street of the Curetes.

Fountain of Trajan on the north side of the Street of the Curetes    

The Gate of Hercules

The Street of the Curetes formally ended at the Gate of Hercules. This gate was erected in the 5^th century AD and, in a fit of town planning that has been copied to this day (though in less elaborate style), closed the street to vehicular traffic.

The State Agora Baths (right)

At the top of the hill the ancient city widened out again as it was no longer constrained by the 2 hills that flank the Street of the Curetes. In this area, there had been another agora, the State Agora, which was the city’s administrative centre and in which was a small temple. Close by were the State Agora Baths.

The bouleuterion with the Basilica Stoa just beyond

Adjacent to these was an impressive long 2-storey, 3 aisled stoa, the Basilica Stoa, which was commissioned in 11AD. It is still impressive today and is shown above from the top tier of the bouleuterion. However, in its day, the bouleuterion, which seated about 1400, would have been roofed. Though you would not have had the view, it would have made attending wintertime plays, concerts and meetings far more comfortable.

Most tourists visit Ephesus by arriving at the top gate and exiting through the lower gate so just inside the entrance at the top gate is an excellent model of the ancient city as it would have been.

Inevitably, there are a variety of stands just outside the gate vying for attention too!

But for us, it was to be a stroll back down through the ancient city and a whizz forward to 431AD and Christianity, to see the the remains of the Church of the Virgin Mary.

Kuşadasi, Turkey