The shorter version of the article was published in Spectrum, The Tribune Jan 12, 2020
Turkey often invokes in
images of Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, hot air balloons at Capadocia, or the white
travertine terraces of Pamukkale. However, the province of Izmir, often
ignored, in western part of the country is home to ancient structures and
heritage sites since it hosted numerous civilizations and communities. In in
this province, and Izmir city in particular, one can experience conflation of regal history of Byzanitne Greek era and modern shared cosmopolitan
culture with Europe.
On our first step on its
land, the city presented us with double surprises. The first one came in the
form of free Izban (local train) journey from Airport till Bayrakali. After
deboarding the train Gulbeg, our friend and host during our stay in Izmir, informed
that July 15 was Democracy and National Unity Day of Turkey and we were
fortunate to enjoy the freebie of celebration.
Imprints of ancient history were
visible in every nook and corner of the city. Hidden with buildings and
residential complexes was a 7th century BC fortification wall of the
ancient Smyrna city a few hundred meters away from Bayrakali station. Sipping the
cup Turkish tea at the tenth floor of our friend’s apartment, in a single frame
we captured the wide expanse of Agean sea, high rise buildings, mountains, and juxtaposed
within another excavation site of Agora or market frequented by students and
professors of archeology or history and sometimes public too.
The next morning, we
embarked on a 110 kms journey North of Izmir to the ancient Acropolis of
Pergamon, once the capital city during the Hellenistic and Roman era. We opted
to visit this UNESCO world Heritage site through public transport; needless to say,
this mode was way too lighter on the pocket and gave us an opportunity to sneak
peek in the life of Turkish locals. Anxiety of being on a foreign land was looming
while we entered the Izban, but our five-year-old daughter instantaneously made
friends with a Turkish child traveling with his family. As we observed the kids
at play, a feeling of connect was visible on their faces where language and
ethnicity were no more a barrier.
The picturesque
landscape with shimmering water of the Northern Agean sea and windmills dotted all
over the promontory were like a slice of serenity enroute our one-hour bus
journey from the last train station. Rejuvenated despite our hectic journey, we were ready to venture into
a great time travel in the Helenistic Era.
After the short twenty
minutes Taxi ride through the quaint town of Bergama, we were enraptured with
the panoramic view of Bergama town from the Arcolpolis. As we entered the table
top of the hill, relics of the gatehouse ‘Gate of Eumenes’ made us feel as if
we were exported to the Hellenistic era, where we were walking on the paved
mosaic road, flanked by the colossal marble buildings on both sides. Among them
the most impressive was the majestic and towering Trajaneum, the Temple of
Roman Emperor Trajan. Thanks to the restoration work undertaken in the year
1976, some of the pillar of this Greek style temple built during 1st
and 2nd century CE have been reconstructed.
From the boundary of Trajaneum
we could see the 10000-seat amphitheater on the steep slope of the hill. The
amphitheater that might have hosted countless political assemblies was intriguing
by the sheer steepness of its stairs running till the end of the hill. While
walking down the amphitheater we decided to search the second-largest ancient
Greek library which according to the legend housed 200,000 volume of manuscript
but till date the ruins have not unraveled the secret of its location. Although,
our short search did not yield any result, we hope in future
some travelers would discover its location.
Our last stop at Pergamon
was the Asclepieion, a thriving healing centres of Roman era established on the
lines of the Asclepieion at Greece. The place had few intact structures such as
the healing spring; underground passageway; open theater with a capacity of
3500 and remains temple of Asclepius and a circular treatment center. The colonnaded
street was donned by few remaining pillars standing tall as memoirs of the glorious
past. The journey in Bergama ended on a sweet note with a dessert called Lor,
which seemed like an alliance between roshogulla and gulab Jamun, suggesting of
some traditional and cultural exchange between the two nations.
The next morning, at the
break of dawn we boarded a tour bus to visit the famous Ephesus museum. During
our short stop for breakfast, serendipity was at play again. We ordered Gözleme
that turned out to be a variant of our very own aloo ka parantha, with
an addition of cheese in it. Savoring the taste of Gözleme we got ready to
witness the ancient Greco-Roman Metropolis of Ephesus.
Our tour guide, Hussein, a postgraduate student of theology, told us that despite
decades of excavation, archeologists were able to unearth only 15% of this vast
actual Byzantine city.
Our tour bus dropped us at the
south gate from where we walked down the broad boulevards of the Curetes street,
leading to the Hercules gate with its two monumental lintels. Dedicated to
Greek hero Hercules, this gate is supposed to be built in the 4th century
BCE.
Our daughter was thrilled to see the structure of Medusa
having multiple snakes on head at gate of the famous Temple of Hadrain dedicated
to Emperor Hadrain. As informed by our guide, for its excellent state of
preservation, the temple was rebuilt with original building elements in late 1950s.
Making our way down the hill, we were mesmerized with the
view of the most iconic structures at Ephesus, Library of Celsus. Constructed
in honor of Roman Senator Julius Celsus, during its heydays the library had
12,000 scrolls and was the third richest library in ancient times. Striking
Façade with statutes of women celebrating virtues of learning and wisdom, main gallery
with double walls and niches along the inner walls and intricate carvings, the
structure was designed not only meant to preserve scrolls but was also the
final resting place of Senator Celsus. Built in 117 A.D., the structure was
destroyed by fire and earthquakes several times and what we witnessed was the
result of restoration work undertaken between 1970 and 1978.
Walking up Arcadian Street, we experienced a monumental sight
of the Great Theatre. First constructed in the 3rd century BC, the amphitheater
was enlarged during the Roman Period and formed to its present style with a
seating capacity of 25,000. As we all sat to get the moments captured through
our lenses at the great theatre, our guide told us “it was here that Apostle
Paul instructed Ephesians not to worship man made gods and he wrote a letter
instructing the same, which is found in the Bible.”
Leaving Ephesus, we decided to visit Selcuk town on our own and we left the tour bus. Walking through the deserted streets of the town, we chanced
upon the remains of a Byzantine aqueduct, which had turned into a nesting place
for storks. A few yards ahead of the aqueduct was an open-air café where nearly
seventy men across age groups were playing a board game called ‘Okay’. After
refreshing ourselves with Turkish tea we boarded the train back to Bayrakli. While we were recollecting the memories of our trip to these two UNESCO World
Heritage sites, we felt that a few hours trip was not sufficient to understand
the vastness of the place and greatness of the culture that had created the
city.
