Considering how vast the archaeological site at Ephesus is, it is shocking that there is not a proper sized museum in Kushadasi. But at least there are some fine things worth seeing in the little museum, which has a lot of busts and gladiator monuments. There is also a model of the temple of Artemis, and two statues of her. Since Artemis was a goddess of fertility those lobes on her breast are probably eggs, though some have thought they... Read more
Who was it that thought that was a safe angle to put rows of seats on a hill. Imagine drinking a little meade at the top and then trying to climb down to your seats half way down the slope. Yikes! The stage down below had to be moved around lest,it fall off the hill!! The temple of Dionysius was also right next to the stage, and here are the ruins. At least there are ruins to see of this... Read more
As history tells us, the reign of Trajan was involved the apex of the expansion of the Roman Empire. The emperor himself was flush with resources and all about honoring himself, by numerous building projects, in this case the giant temple built on top of the acropolis at Pergamon. To give you an idea of how egocentric this project was, there were already historically famous temples to no less than Zeus down below the acropolis top, and the temple of... Read more
The tourist visiting the site of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, will be sadly disappointed. Only one meagre column still stands in a swampy field. Much more impressive is the remains of the temple of Artemis in Sardis. Artemis was not merely a one city deity, she was a regional deity of fertility among other things. The ruins at Sardis, which are apart from the main site one visits at Sardis are well worth exploring. For one thing, the... Read more
The word audacious comes to mind when examining the synagogue at Sardis. Compared for instance to the synagogue at Migdal or the one at Sepphoris, this one is both big and bold, and lavish. It displays the wealth of the Jewish community in Sardis. This is the only synagogue I know of with two places for storing scrolls— two arks! Perhaps one for the Torah and one for the Prophets scrolls? And then there are the elaborate floor... Read more
Considering the tyranny going on in our country authorized by an elected official, there is no better time to remind ourselves of our fundamental American values, in particular our democratic values, from the mouth of Abraham Lincoln. Read more
I love museums, and many of them in Turkiye are treasure troves. This museum was created out of what formerly was a tobacco processing building. Hooray for a better use of this space. I have shared on this blog before about this building but there were some new things to share this time around. For instance there are the sarcophagi of Klazomenae… These remarkable decorative coffins are from the 7th century B.C. from Ionia. I also love the recreation... Read more
Like many ancient cities, where occupation of the site has been continuous into modernity, the ancient remains of Thyatira are mostly buried under the modern city. This is true of many of the NT cities, including for example Thessalonike. But there is a small excavation site in downtown Thyatira, and here are some of my pictures worth sharing. Then, and now Thyatira was not a vast city. The other part of the problem is that Turkey has many hundreds of... Read more
It was not just Laodicea that was a major city that acquired a considerable Christian presence. Papias became the bishop here, and Philip and his prophesying daughters settled here, and he was later martyred. There is considerable irony here in that there is a huge necropolis, but also the thermal pools here were thought to bring health. What it actually did was slightly delay the inevitable. People died. In this post I wanted to show you main street, beyond the... Read more
Full marks to Professor Shimshek and his team for continuing over many years to unearth the vast site at Laodicea, including things from the Byzantine era as well. We will focus on one of the churches unearthed here. While the stones here may be apparently silent, they speak volumes about the religious struggles between Christianity and paganism, but also between Jews and Christians in this place. The struggles only ceased in the early Medieval period due to yet another devastating... Read more
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