Miletos , modern Balat, is fifteen kilometers away from Priene. It is on a hillside surrounded by large ports at the mouth of the river Maeander at the head of the gulf of Latmus. Now the sea is far off, silted up by the river. It had trade links with countries on the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Miletus was of the most powerful and important Greek metropolises in Asia Minor and was part of the influential Ionian Confederation. The city encouraged erudition and founded several schools attracting scientists, architects, philosophers and geographers. Western philosophy originated in Miletus and it is the native city of famous men such as Anaximenes, Hippodamus, Cadmus and Isidorus. The first coins were minted in this city, exact weight measures were established and the Phoenician alphabet perfected. From the results of excavations, it appears that Miletus was actually the Hittite settlement Millawanda and it was certainly a Mycenaean colony by the fourteenth century B.C. . Miletus then fell into Persian hands and razed to the ground. It was rebuilt in 479 B.C. by Hippodamus, the famous architect and due course passed to the Romans. It began to prosper once more, new streets and monuments were constructed and it was renamed Castrum Palatia. The Apostle Paul preached Christianity here and the Emperor Justinian built city walls. The Venetians established commercial trading posts. In 1424, under Sultan Murat II, Miletus became a city of the Ottoman Empire but as the port silted up caused by detritus brought down by the river 
Maeander, the city's decline began.The Roman Theatre dating from the second century A.D. could hold twenty-five thousand spectators. The stage was decorated with exceptional sculptures and friezes and the facade was impressive, measuring one hundred and forty meters. Two columns on the top rows supported the imperial box. At the summit of the hill there are ruins of an ancient Byzantine fortress, the bouleuterion, the city's oldest surviving building, in the center of the two agoras. It was constructed along the lines of a semi-circular theatre and was dedicated to King Antiochus IV. The southern agora, the largest of the two, dates from the third century B.C. . There were porticoes on both sides housing numerous shops. It was
, in fact, the market place but is now completely overgrown. Close by the agora is an exquisite mosque, the Ilyas Bey Mosque, built in 1400 A.D. by Ilyas Bey. The mosque has a square floor plan surmounted by a central dome but the minaret has collapsed. The decorations above the entrance door and the niche are highly elaborate. The Baths of Faustina, built around 150 A.D. and named after the wife of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius are in excellent condition. The walls of the Frigidarium and the Calidarium, fifteen meters high, are complete and there is a statue of a lion from whose mouth water spouted. Even the dressing rooms are still recognizable. The remains of the Gymnasium are worth seeing; used as the students classrooms. The Museum houses a collection of artifacts found during excavations.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Miletos
Aphrodisias
Aphrodisias - lies one hundred and seventy kilometers from Kusadasi, in foothills of Mount Baba Dagi not far from the village of Geyre by the river Maeander. In antiquity Aphrodisias was dedicated who was worshipped as the city's patron as it testified by the remains of a temple dedicated to her in the first century B.C. . It was a refined city of culture, popular with artists, writers and philosophers such as Alexander of Aphrodisias, an authoritative commentator on Aristotle or Chariton, who wrote erotic novels. The city was much loved by the Emperor Augustus who took an interest in its welfare and in his honour the citizens erected the Sebasteion, a street sanctuar
y complex with decorated columns.Before entering the archaeological zone, visit the Museum which has a collection of sculptural treasures, Graeco-Roman statues and ceramics dating from Bronze Age. The head of Apollo is breathtakingly ravishing, perfext and slightly feminine and the remains of the lower part of a statue of Aphrodite, are suggestive and modern, with the goddess's legs crossed- which unusual. There is also a fine frieze taken from the Monument of Zoilos depicting the slave who was a native of Aphrodisias being freed by Augustus. The Theatre is on the hillside, on the Acropolis. It was built by the Greeks in the first century B.C. and reconstructed and enlarged by Marcus Aurelius. Its capacity was for over ten thousand spectators and it later became an
arena for gladiators and wild animals.Next to the theatre are ruins of the Baths of Hadrian, an impressive building erected in the second century A.D. . The marble flooring is an perfect state of conservation. The complex was made up of five different areas with a gymnasium with columns and two large pools. At the bath's entrance through the main gate there is a sinister door-knocker depicting the head of Medusa. The Odeum or city meeting-place, had both stage and steps made of with marble. Not many of these survive, as is the case with few fluted columns remaining in the Temple of Aphrodite behind the Odeum. The temple was built in the first century B.C. with a double columned structure and a cella and an atrium.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Pigeon Island
Pigeon Island -, with its gleaming image, really deserves to be symbol of Kusadasi. The eye-catching view of the island, uniting with the panoramic colors of sunset attract every visitors. As the island was much-frequented place of birds during the seasonal migrations, it was named as Bird Island.
In the times of Ottomans,the name of the island was given to the town and the town was started to be called as "Kusadasi" (Bird Island). Since then, the name of the island was changed into "Pigeon Island". The island was used for military purposes during the Ottoman Era and before, as the location of the island was strategic for securing the shores or preventing the attacks from the sea. The Byzantine castle standing on the rocks, used against pirates, is known as "Pirate Castle".
Pigeon Island, unlike its name, is now connected to the land by a mole. But, it is even an ideal place providing a wonderful opportunity for relaxation. Within the borders of the impressive castle, you may watch the charming yachts sailing peacefully on the glassy waters of Kusadasi or sit in one of the restaurants by the shore and sample fresh sea-food or other Aegean specialties with the panoramic view of Kusadasi and enjoy the unforgettable times in Kusadasi.
Temple of Artemis
The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings who paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. Recent archeological excavations at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory... earrings, bracelets, and necklaces... artifacts from as far as Persia and India.
The Temple of Artemis (Artemision) - A column and scanty fragments strewn on the ground are all that remains of the Seventh Wonder of the World. According to Strabo, the Temple of Artemis was destroyed at least seven times and rebuilt just as many times. Archaeological findings instead attest to at least four rebuilding of this temple, starting in the 7th century B.C. . Chersiphone and Metagene erected an Ionic dipteral temple in the 6th century B.C. and its building required was set on fire by Herostratus; the successive majestic structure, built entirely of marble, was begun in 334 and was finished in 250 B.C.It aroused the admiration of even Alexander the Great who would have liked to have taken charge - at his own expense - of the continuation of the work. Among others, Scopas and Praxiteles worked there, while the design is attributed to Chirocratus.
The Hellenistic temple was built on a podium, to which one ascended by a plinth formed of thirteen steps. A double colonnade encircled the peristyle and the inside space (105 x 55 m) . The relief of the columns were believed to be the work of Scopas, while Praxiteles worked at the realization of the altar. The decadence marked by the Goths ( 3rd century) continued in the Christian era, when materials for the nearby Basilica of St.John and for is left of numerous works of art which at one time used to adorn it, although interesting tokens are kept at the local Museum at the British Museum in London.
The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated facade overlooking a spacious courtyard. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally over the whole platform area, except for the central cella or house of the goddess. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides.
Didyma
The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated facade overlooking a spacious courtyard. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally over the whole platform area, except for the central cella or house of the goddess. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings who paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. Recent archeological excavations at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory... earrings, bracelets, and necklaces... artifacts from as far as Persia and India.
Today Didyma - is a small village close to the sea and praised by tourists and Turks on holiday for its golden sandy beaches. The sea however is not the only attraction for tourists, more so the ruins of the famous Temple of Apollo, a superb example of architecture dating from the Graeco-Roman period, and a sign of grandeur of this area, outstanding for culture and art. Even before the arrival of the Ionians, Difyma was a holy place and its oracle was much feared and much attened.The Persian King Xerxes destroyed the temple in 480 B.C. and looted many of the statues and also removed its vast treasury which owed its magnitude to the generosity of Croesus, King of Lydia. Alexander the Great decided to rebuild the temple after his victory over the Persians which had never been completely finished and was still uncompleted under the Romans, probably on account of its enormous dimension ( one hundred and twenty meters long and twenty-four meters wide) . Christianity put an end to pagan rites and festivals and prevented the temple from being completed. Indeed, in one atrium of the temple a basilica was built.
Traces remain of the temple's base and three Ionian columns standing twenty-five meters high are still upright, out of the original one hundred and twenty. There are also stones from the sacrificial altar and an antique fountain. The interior court, the pronaos and the steps leading to sacrarium can be all be identified. All around there are fragments of statuary such as the head of the Medusa with snakes for hair and fangs for teeth as she was transformed by Athena. Facing the temple there are a few steps from a second-century B.C. stadium where games were held on Apollo's feast days. A long Sacred Way with colonnaded porticoes, lead from Miletus to the sanctuary.
