<div align="justify">A trip to Ephesus, probably the most evocative ancient city in the eastern Mediterranean, is a sojourn into the past. Ruled over the centuries by a succession of empires like the Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and finally the Ottoman empires. I found the once-proud city now as a city of desolation with fascinating ruins scattered over a vast expanse. I spent several hours just soaking in the atmosphere of the forlorn city. Every ruin and defaced statue speaks volumes of the former grandeur. Even in their present state, Ephesus’s ruins elicit superlative praise from many tourists and archaeology buffs.<br /><br />It was a delight exploring the marbled promenades, a spectacular library, an enormous amphitheatre, streets adorned with intricate mosaics, walls covered in vivid frescoes, luxurious terrace houses, a gymnasium, multiple bathhouses and ethereal temples. I scouted for the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus’s greatest claim to fame. But it was outside the tourist ambit now. From a distance, I had a fleeting glance of the solitary remaining column of the temple. The sacred centre of the cult of Artemis here was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.<br /><br />Writing wishes<br /><br />Before proceeding to the ruins of Ephesus, I tarried a while at the House of Virgin Mary, a small stone house ensconced on a remote mountainside overlooking Ephesus and the Aegean. I joined the queue of pilgrims who had come from all over the world on a devout pilgrimage to venerate Mary, who spent her last days here. I pinned notes written with wishes tucked into a wall dedicated for petitions. Outside the chapel stands a stone wall with several recesses offering access to water from the spring, which is said to have healing powers. After the worship, I had a sip of the water emanating from a spring.<br /><br />Exploring the marbled Curetes Street, named after the Curetes priests of Artemus, I could imagine its former grandeur, lined with fountains, monuments, various shops, galleries, taverns, vast residences embellished with mosaics and tall columns with life-size statues. Standing in this important processional route, I could visualise the pomp and pageantry of a majestic procession of ornate chariots followed by toga-donned denizens and maidens scattering rose petals in honour of renowned rulers like Alexander or Antony and Cleopatra when they strode down the Processional Route.<br /><br />As I passed by partially reconstructed buildings and monuments, I looked for the grooves made by chariot wheels. I walked past the fasçade of the Temple of Hadrian with beautiful friezes on the porch and a serpent-headed hydra above the door to keep out evil spirits. Travellers have eulogised the central Square that once held the town hall and the Temple of Domitian, which was once a sanctuary with a colossal statue of the emperor for whom it was named. Sadly, these silent ruins now are a heap of collapsed walls and columns. But when I saw the large relic of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, holding a wreath from laurel leaves, an emblem of victory, in her left hand and a stalk of wheat in her right hand, I felt the excitement of an explorer on the verge of discovery. Observing closely, I found that the shape resembled the modern day Nike symbol.<br /><br />Ephesus is to be experienced rather than described. It is full of surprises and quirks like the lines of marble-seated public toilets ranged side by side sans partition at the sides of what was once a pool; it was here that the ancient citizens gathered and indulged in gossip while they attended to their personal business. Another interesting thing which caught my attention was the signage of a brothel carved into the stone walkway. It depicted a woman’s face at the entry to a house and, next to that, a life-size foot and a bird.<br /><br />Ambling down the main thoroughfare, I saw from a distance the three-tiered remains of the magnificent fasçade of the iconic second century Celsus Library built as a tribute to the Governor of Asia Minor. In the naves of the ground floor stand the statues of wisdom, virility, goodwill and knowledge –— plastic replicas of the original marbles, which are now in Vienna’s Museum of Ephesus. The superb engineering ingenuity in adopting a humidity-control system and air channel to protect the 12,000 scrolls in the niches of its walls was mind-blowing.<br /><br />Capacity crowd<br /><br />The most overwhelming of the city’s enormous relics is the third century BC Great Theatre, which holds 25,000 spectators. I tested the perfection of this acoustic and architectural wonder. I stumbled upon some tourists singing Christian hymns at the same spot where St Paul once preached the teachings of Jesus. It played host to theatrical performances, assemblies, gladiatorial and animal combats. I came across other spectacular treats including the baths and commercial market in Agora. I culminated our monument- hopping with Izmir, Turkey’s third largest metropolis. After a short ramble along its café-lined seaside promenade, past the Customs House and the Konak Pier, and a quick round of shopping in the traditional bazaar, we reached Konak Square to have a fleeting glimpse of the Clock Tower, a lofty, exquisitely carved minaret-like white structure atop a two-tiered-based ring with arches, columns and fountains. In the same pigeon-packed square soars another tower, the minaret of Konak Mosque, a small octagonal store and brick building, surrounded by horse-shoe shaped windows and ornately painted blue porcelain tiles. This 18th-century mosque is another impressive relic of the Ottoman glory. As I left Izmir, I could sense the palpable influence of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, everywhere, and the memories of his reverential image lingered on.</div>
<div align="justify">A trip to Ephesus, probably the most evocative ancient city in the eastern Mediterranean, is a sojourn into the past. Ruled over the centuries by a succession of empires like the Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and finally the Ottoman empires. I found the once-proud city now as a city of desolation with fascinating ruins scattered over a vast expanse. I spent several hours just soaking in the atmosphere of the forlorn city. Every ruin and defaced statue speaks volumes of the former grandeur. Even in their present state, Ephesus’s ruins elicit superlative praise from many tourists and archaeology buffs.<br /><br />It was a delight exploring the marbled promenades, a spectacular library, an enormous amphitheatre, streets adorned with intricate mosaics, walls covered in vivid frescoes, luxurious terrace houses, a gymnasium, multiple bathhouses and ethereal temples. I scouted for the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus’s greatest claim to fame. But it was outside the tourist ambit now. From a distance, I had a fleeting glance of the solitary remaining column of the temple. The sacred centre of the cult of Artemis here was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.<br /><br />Writing wishes<br /><br />Before proceeding to the ruins of Ephesus, I tarried a while at the House of Virgin Mary, a small stone house ensconced on a remote mountainside overlooking Ephesus and the Aegean. I joined the queue of pilgrims who had come from all over the world on a devout pilgrimage to venerate Mary, who spent her last days here. I pinned notes written with wishes tucked into a wall dedicated for petitions. Outside the chapel stands a stone wall with several recesses offering access to water from the spring, which is said to have healing powers. After the worship, I had a sip of the water emanating from a spring.<br /><br />Exploring the marbled Curetes Street, named after the Curetes priests of Artemus, I could imagine its former grandeur, lined with fountains, monuments, various shops, galleries, taverns, vast residences embellished with mosaics and tall columns with life-size statues. Standing in this important processional route, I could visualise the pomp and pageantry of a majestic procession of ornate chariots followed by toga-donned denizens and maidens scattering rose petals in honour of renowned rulers like Alexander or Antony and Cleopatra when they strode down the Processional Route.<br /><br />As I passed by partially reconstructed buildings and monuments, I looked for the grooves made by chariot wheels. I walked past the fasçade of the Temple of Hadrian with beautiful friezes on the porch and a serpent-headed hydra above the door to keep out evil spirits. Travellers have eulogised the central Square that once held the town hall and the Temple of Domitian, which was once a sanctuary with a colossal statue of the emperor for whom it was named. Sadly, these silent ruins now are a heap of collapsed walls and columns. But when I saw the large relic of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, holding a wreath from laurel leaves, an emblem of victory, in her left hand and a stalk of wheat in her right hand, I felt the excitement of an explorer on the verge of discovery. Observing closely, I found that the shape resembled the modern day Nike symbol.<br /><br />Ephesus is to be experienced rather than described. It is full of surprises and quirks like the lines of marble-seated public toilets ranged side by side sans partition at the sides of what was once a pool; it was here that the ancient citizens gathered and indulged in gossip while they attended to their personal business. Another interesting thing which caught my attention was the signage of a brothel carved into the stone walkway. It depicted a woman’s face at the entry to a house and, next to that, a life-size foot and a bird.<br /><br />Ambling down the main thoroughfare, I saw from a distance the three-tiered remains of the magnificent fasçade of the iconic second century Celsus Library built as a tribute to the Governor of Asia Minor. In the naves of the ground floor stand the statues of wisdom, virility, goodwill and knowledge –— plastic replicas of the original marbles, which are now in Vienna’s Museum of Ephesus. The superb engineering ingenuity in adopting a humidity-control system and air channel to protect the 12,000 scrolls in the niches of its walls was mind-blowing.<br /><br />Capacity crowd<br /><br />The most overwhelming of the city’s enormous relics is the third century BC Great Theatre, which holds 25,000 spectators. I tested the perfection of this acoustic and architectural wonder. I stumbled upon some tourists singing Christian hymns at the same spot where St Paul once preached the teachings of Jesus. It played host to theatrical performances, assemblies, gladiatorial and animal combats. I came across other spectacular treats including the baths and commercial market in Agora. I culminated our monument- hopping with Izmir, Turkey’s third largest metropolis. After a short ramble along its café-lined seaside promenade, past the Customs House and the Konak Pier, and a quick round of shopping in the traditional bazaar, we reached Konak Square to have a fleeting glimpse of the Clock Tower, a lofty, exquisitely carved minaret-like white structure atop a two-tiered-based ring with arches, columns and fountains. In the same pigeon-packed square soars another tower, the minaret of Konak Mosque, a small octagonal store and brick building, surrounded by horse-shoe shaped windows and ornately painted blue porcelain tiles. This 18th-century mosque is another impressive relic of the Ottoman glory. As I left Izmir, I could sense the palpable influence of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, everywhere, and the memories of his reverential image lingered on.</div>
