OTR in Turkey - Day Five- Towards Pamukkale

As for any OTR (at least in my view), part of the fun is making each trip to a new location an integral part of the overall travel. Reaching Pamukkale from Ephesus would require about 2 hours and 30 minutes, but by following the quickest route we would have missed the opportunity of exploring a bit more of the "ancient Greece" of Turkey.

A much longer and rewarding itinerary is o go through the archaelogical ites of Priene, Miletus, Didim and Afrodisias, before finally reaching our next stop.

Priene is about one hour drive from Ephesus and it was a fascinating visit. 

Priene is renowned for its use of the Hippodamian plan, named after the Greek urban planner Hippodamus of Miletus. This grid plan divided the city into rectangular blocks, which was a novel approach at the time and influenced many future city layouts.

The most famous monument in Priene is the Temple of Athena Polias, a beautifully preserved Ionic temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, which was designed by the architect Pythius, who is also credited with designing the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

It is considered one of the best examples of Ionic architecture. While the few standing columns were impressive for their size and elegance, what impressed us the most was the large quantity of column pieces scattered all around, which gave us the feeling of an unreal landscape, something from another world.

The second major attraction of the site is the well-preserved Hellenistic theater, which could seat around 5,000 people. The theater features a well-preserved stage building (skene) and a semi-circular seating arrangement (theatron), showcasing classical Greek architectural styles. The seating is divided into five wedge-shaped sections ("kerkides") by staircases. The first row of seats, known as "proedria," was reserved for VIPs, such as city officials and honored guests, and was made of marble with backrests.

The natural setting also contributed to the overall beauty of Priene, making this visit really enjoyable.

Miletus is twenty minutes further south. The main architectural landmark is The theater of Miletus, one of the largest in the ancient world, could seat up to 6500 people. It is a prime example of Greek architecture that was later expanded and modified during the Roman period.

The theater is located on the slope of a hill on the northern side of the ancient city of Miletus. This strategic placement takes advantage of the natural landscape, which was common in Greek theater design to enhance acoustics and provide dramatic views for the audience.

The theater faces the south, offering a panoramic view of the city and, in antiquity, it overlooked the harbour, creating a stunning backdrop for performances.

The theater features a semi-circular seating arrangement known as the cavea, carved into the natural hillside. This design maximizes the use of space and improves the acoustics, allowing sound to travel effectively throughout the audience.

The cavea is divided into three horizontal sections (tiers) by two diazomata (horizontal walkways). These sections are further divided into vertical wedges (cunei) by stairways, providing easy access for spectators to reach their seats.

From Miletus we headed further South to Didim. Didim (also known as Didyma) is a small town and district in Aydın Province on the western coast of Turkey, near the Aegean Sea. It is famous for its ancient ruins and is best known for the Temple of Apollo, one of the largest and most significant temples of the ancient world. 

The area known as Didim was originally called Didyma, an ancient Greek sanctuary and the site of the Temple of Apollo. Didyma was not a city but a sacred precinct, renowned for its oracle, second in importance only to the Oracle of Delphi. The word "Didyma" means "twins" in Greek, which may refer to the twin gods Apollo and Artemis, who were worshipped in the region.

The most prominent structure in Didim is the Temple of Apollo, also known as the Didymaion. The temple was originally built in the 8th century BCE and was later reconstructed in the Hellenistic period, beginning around 300 BCE, under the orders of Alexander the Great. It was designed to be an enormous and elaborately decorated structure, making it one of the largest temples in the ancient Greek world.

The Temple of Apollo at Didyma is famous for its size and architectural complexity. It was designed as a dipteral temple, meaning it had a double row of columns surrounding the inner sanctuary. The temple was never completed, but its ruins suggest that it would have been a massive structure, with dimensions of approximately 109 meters by 51 meters. 

Last stop before reaching Pamukkale was the Unesco World Heritage site of Afrodisias (Aphrodisias). Afrodisias was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017, in recognition of its outstanding cultural and historical significance. The site is considered a key example of Greco-Roman urban planning, architecture, and sculpture.

Named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, Aphrodisias was renowned for its sanctuary dedicated to the goddess, as well as its exquisite marble sculptures, which made it a prominent artistic and cultural center in the Greco-Roman world.

The main landmarks in Afrodisias are 

• The Temple of Aphrodite, one of the most important temples in the ancient world dedicated to the goddess of love. The original temple, constructed in the Ionic style, featured a peripteral design with columns surrounding the main building. In the 5th century CE, the temple was converted into a Christian basilica. This transformation involved altering the layout of the structure, including the removal of some columns and the addition of an apse at one end.

• The Tetrapylon, a grand, four-sided gateway that marked the entrance to the sanctuary of Aphrodite. This ornate structure is characterized by its elaborate Corinthian columns and decorative friezes, reflecting the architectural grandeur of Aphrodisias (unfortunately under restoration at the time of our visit)

Tetrapylon

• Sebasteion, a grand complex dedicated to the Roman emperors and the goddess Aphrodite. It features a series of reliefs that depict various scenes from mythology and the imperial cult.

• The Odeon, one of the best-preserved examples of such a structure in the ancient world, that was used both for musical performances, poetry readings, and other cultural events and as a  bouleuterion , meaning it was used as a meeting place for the city council (boule). This dual purpose made it an essential part of the city's civic life.

• Hadrianic Baths, named after the Roman Emperor Hadrian, are a well-preserved example of Roman bath complexes. They feature various rooms for different bathing activities, including a frigidarium (cold room) and caldarium (hot room).

• The Pool, 170-meter long. Also known as the South Agora, the area was added to the city around the mid-1st century AD (at the time of visit it was closed)

• The Theatre, a well-preserved Roman-style theatre with a capacity of about 8,000 spectators. 

• The Atrium House, one of the most significant residential structures unearthed in the ancient city. It provides a glimpse into the domestic architecture and lifestyle of the elite during the Roman period

We finally reached Pamukkale after about 400km drives, and 10-11 hours, considering the driving time and the time spent at the different sites.

Feasible, but it would definitely be worth to do it at a more relaxed pace, taking more time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and spending the night in Aphrodisias.

The main drawback of this solution would be having to enter Pamukkale Cotton Castle not so early in the morning the following day.


Practical Information

Visiting these four archaeological sites was a bit of a rush. It is doable, but there will be limited time to dedicate to them. Having done it, my advise would be to do it in two days, adding also Stratonikeia to the list of ancient cities to visit.

That would require one night "somewhere", before reaching Pamukkale in the following day. 

Priene is open everyday from 08:30 am until 7 pm. The cost is 4 euros and it is included in the Museum Pass.

Miletus is open everyday from 08:30 am until 7 pm. The cost is 3 euros and it is included in the Museum Pass.

Didim is open everyday from 08:30 am until 7 pm. The cost is 6 euros and it is included in the Museum Pass.

Aphrodisias  is open everyday from 08:30 am until 8 pm. The cost is 12 euros and it is included in the Museum Pass.

OTR in Turkey - Day Four- Tire

 After visiting the Ephesus archaeological site, we headed to the town of Tire, at about 40 km distance.

We planned our itinerary in order to be there on Tuesday, when Tire Market (Tire Pazarı) takes place. It is one of the largest and most vibrant open-air markets in Turkey and it's famous for its variety of goods, including fresh produce, textiles, handmade crafts, and local delicacies.

Tire is known for its traditional crafts, particularly felt-making, copperware, and the production of fine embroidery known as “oya”. Moreover it is still possible to find traditional saddles for donkeys. Visitors can watch artisans at work and purchase handcrafted items that reflect the town’s cultural heritage. The "Felt Art" of Tire is especially renowned and makes for unique souvenirs. The few remaining keçe (felt) makers can be found on the cobbled lane running uphill from the small Leyse Camii (1543).

Tire can be a good place to purchase original and authentic items, not to be found in purely touristic places like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. But the real fun is to get lost in the different alleys, observing the colourful stalls, the sellers and the buyers, possibly testing some street food and experiencing a more relaxed pace.

Turkey Museum Pass: is it worth the money?

Due to the high inflation, Turkey is not as cheap as it used to be. Touristic attractions have become particularly expensive and the government is obviously looking at tourists as cash cows.

At the same time, we are offered an opportunity of keeping the costs under control, or, at least, to be able to visit more places at the same costs that we would spend for just the must do.

Museum Passes are on sale either on line or in most of the ticket booths (at least in the main sites), that allow to enter a huge number of museums and other attractions withing a predefined period of time.

In our case, since we were spending three weeks in Turkey, two on the road and one in Istanbul, the most convenient was the MuseumPass Türkiye, which, even at the staggering costs of 165 euros, is good value for money. You can visit more than 350 museums and archaeological sites that belong to Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism and enjoy your journey through history. MuseumPass Turkiye is valid for 15 days starting from your first museum visit and it allows you to enter each attarction once.

Let's just consider the main sites:

Pergamon Acropolis               15 euros

Ephesus Archaelogical Site    40 euros

Terrace Houses                       15 euros

Pamukkale/Hierapolis            30 euros

Goreme Open Air Museum    20 euros    

Zelve Open Air Museum        12 euros  

Aphrodisias                            15 euros

Galata Tower                          30 euros

Topkapi                                  42 euros*

* at the time of writing Topkapi does not appear anymore in the muze.gov site among the museums included

Just these museums would have an overall cost of 219 euros, significantly more than the cost of the pass itself. And this without considering that there are many other sites which are included in the pass.

So if you are an independent traveller, the purchase of the Museum Pass could be an option to save on the overall cost of the sites you will be visiting, provided that you make your plans in a way to fit all or most of the visits in the 15 days of the pass. 

OTR in Turkey - Day Four- Ephesus

Ephesus is normally very crowded, especially starting from late morning, when tour buses flood it with people. The best strategy is to enter when the site opens, at 8 (based on our experience, with the Museum Pass it is possible to enter even earlier, since there is no need to wait for the ticket booth to open), in order to avoid the crowds as much as possible.

Therefore we postponed the visit to the ancient city to the following day and we spent the rest of the afternoon in Sirince (see specific post).

The following morning at 8 am we were at the Lower Entrance Gate (also known as the “North Entrance” 37.9434659138961, 27.34146430726145), ready to start our exploration.

In Ephesus there are actually to entrances: the Upper Entrance Gate (also known as the “South Entrance” 37.93561208539849, 27.345445016309636) and the Lower Entrance Gate. There are basically two reasons to enter from this last one: 

• touristic buses download the people at the Upper Entrance and then wait for them at the Lower Entrance. In this way groups will start their visit from the top and they will not have to climb to visit the different attractions. As a consequence this means less people crowding the Lower Entrance
• The Library of Celsus and the Terrace Houses are closer to the Lower Entrance, just about ten minutes walk.

In this way it was possible to have these two main attractions almost for the two of us (actually not only for the two of us, but there were only about 5-6 other people, giving us plenty of possibilities of taking pictures without having to fight off the crowds of other tourists).

Library of Celsus at 8,20 am

Just a few steps away from the Library, the Terrace Houses are an unmissable attraction in Ephesus (a dedicated entrance ticket is needed, included in the Museum Pass). These houses were luxurious residential buildings that belonged to the wealthy elite of Ephesus during the Roman period, particularly between the 1st century BCE and the 7th century.

 The houses were built in a stepped, terrace-like fashion, hence the name "Terrace Houses." This multi-level design maximized the use of the hilly terrain and provided stunning views of the city. They typically had multiple stories, with living rooms, dining areas, bedrooms, kitchens, and private baths. Central courtyards, often featuring fountains or small gardens, were surrounded by colonnades and served as the focal point of each home. The interiors of the Terrace Houses are particularly famous for their exquisite mosaics and frescoes. The floors were often adorned with intricate mosaic patterns depicting scenes from mythology, nature, or geometric designs. The walls were covered with vibrant frescoes, some of which depict mythological figures, landscapes, and everyday life, offering insight into the cultural and artistic tastes of the period.

Even in this case we had the luxury of being practically alone, thus being able to better enjoy this attraction.

After one last look to the Library, which at 9,30 am started getting crowded, we started the exploration of the rest of the ancient city.

Library of Celsus at 9,30 am

Following the main road we first encountered the public Latrine. 

Located near the Library, these latrines were part of a larger bath complex and served as a communal restroom for the citizens of Ephesus. The public latrines were built in the 1st century CE and feature a large rectangular room with marble benches lining the walls on three sides. These benches had circular holes cut into them, which served as the toilet seats. Beneath the seats ran a sophisticated drainage system, including a channel of flowing water that carried away waste into the city’s sewer system. A second channel of clean water ran in front of the benches for users to cleanse themselves.

The public latrines were not just functional spaces but also social hubs where people gathered, conversed, and conducted business. The seating arrangement encouraged conversation and interaction among users, making the latrines a place of socializing as well as sanitation.

Next stop was the small Temple of Hadrian (we were there at about 10 and the city was already pretty crowded), lots of people were arriving from the Upper Gate.

The Nike Relief, located along the Curetes Street

Ephesus is open everyday. The official opening time is 8 am, but based on our experience, if you own the Museum Pass and so you do not have to buy the ticket, it is possible to enter even earlier.

The entrance cost is 40 euros. The Terrace Houses require a separate entry ticket which costs 15 euros (both included in the Museum Pass).