My first Turkish trip in 2018 was to Aphrodisias.I flew from Istanbul to Denizle-Chardak airport. It is small relatively new airport. Previously it was a military one but some 10 years ago it became public. Serkan - the guide for the weekend welcomed me and drove me to Karahyati where I stayed at Lycos River hotel. This is a spa hotel with the thermal water. The small swimming pool was full of Chinese. One Chinese guy smoked a cigaret in the pool. Kind of strange you get into a pool with improving your well being while smoking.
Next morning the pool was empty. I was the only visitor. Waning moon was still visible. The water temperature is just right to relax.
In the morning we drove via Akkoy,Adakoy, Buharkoy, Tosunlar to Aphrodisias. The road is dotted with unpicked cotton fields as the price of cotton does not merit picking effort. The sleeping, leafless trees have magpies, doves, buzzards and kites on them. Do not recall when i saw so many birds of prey in one day. The road is flanked by coppery, tall reeds.
Aphrodisias was rediscovered by photographer Ara Gular who in 1958 came with prime minister Demir to open a dam. He stayed in the area few days and one day wondering around got to the village Geyre. In the village he noticed that the houses are built from ancient marble. He took photos and by chain of events photos ended with Kenan Erin who studied archeology in NY. Kenyan Erin came to Aphrodisios in 1959 and stayed there until 1993 - when he died.
Erin was not the first to start excavations. Charles Texier was on site in 1835 and published some documents In 1892, the Director General of the Imperial Museums, Mr Osman Hamdi, visited the site. The French started formal excavations in 1904. In 1937 Italians continued excavations but had to stop due to WWII.
The city was founded by Ninon and initially dedicated to Assyrian goddess of love Ishtar. Allegedly over time Ishat morphed into Aphrodite. The city flourished during Roman Empire as Aeneas father Anchises was from the region around the town. As Aeneas is forefather of Rome the Julius Claudius family - Roman Emperors decided to built the temple to Aphrodite. Next to the temple they also build Sebastion - the monument to victory. I would say - victories past as the reliefs which adorned the building tell the story of gods and emperors. However as many emperors are celebrated as saviours of mankind - there were sculptures of different nationalities present in the Roman Empire. The reliefs and sculptures are housed in the Museum which is amazing. I had the luxury of being the only visitor. Sometime in the late hellenistic period sculptors from Pergamon arrived to Aphrodisias and established sculpture workshops. They quickly developed name for their art and craftsmanship so the reliefs are impressive.
The entrance to the city is through Tetraplyon which is restored but 85% is original. Most of it is done by blue marble. There is the multi purpose stadium for 30 000 spectators. The stadium was used for both sporting and political (public voting) events.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Aphrodisias
My first Turkish trip in 2018 was to Aphrodisias.I flew from Istanbul to Denizle-Chardak airport. It is small relatively new airport. Previously it was a military one but some 10 years ago it became public. Serkan - the guide for the weekend welcomed me and drove me to Karahyati where I stayed at Lycos River hotel. This is a spa hotel with the thermal water. The small swimming pool was full of Chinese. One Chinese guy smoked a cigaret in the pool. Kind of strange you get into a pool with improving your well being while smoking.
Next morning the pool was empty. I was the only visitor. Waning moon was still visible. The water temperature is just right to relax.
In the morning we drove via Akkoy,Adakoy, Buharkoy, Tosunlar to Aphrodisias. The road is dotted with unpicked cotton fields as the price of cotton does not merit picking effort. The sleeping, leafless trees have magpies, doves, buzzards and kites on them. Do not recall when i saw so many birds of prey in one day. The road is flanked by coppery, tall reeds.
Aphrodisias was rediscovered by photographer Ara Gular who in 1958 came with prime minister Demir to open a dam. He stayed in the area few days and one day wondering around got to the village Geyre. In the village he noticed that the houses are built from ancient marble. He took photos and by chain of events photos ended with Kenan Erin who studied archeology in NY. Kenyan Erin came to Aphrodisios in 1959 and stayed there until 1993 - when he died.
Erin was not the first to start excavations. Charles Texier was on site in 1835 and published some documents In 1892, the Director General of the Imperial Museums, Mr Osman Hamdi, visited the site. The French started formal excavations in 1904. In 1937 Italians continued excavations but had to stop due to WWII.
The city was founded by Ninon and initially dedicated to Assyrian goddess of love Ishtar. Allegedly over time Ishat morphed into Aphrodite. The city flourished during Roman Empire as Aeneas father Anchises was from the region around the town. As Aeneas is forefather of Rome the Julius Claudius family - Roman Emperors decided to built the temple to Aphrodite. Next to the temple they also build Sebastion - the monument to victory. I would say - victories past as the reliefs which adorned the building tell the story of gods and emperors. However as many emperors are celebrated as saviours of mankind - there were sculptures of different nationalities present in the Roman Empire. The reliefs and sculptures are housed in the Museum which is amazing. I had the luxury of being the only visitor. Sometime in the late hellenistic period sculptors from Pergamon arrived to Aphrodisias and established sculpture workshops. They quickly developed name for their art and craftsmanship so the reliefs are impressive.
The entrance to the city is through Tetraplyon which is restored but 85% is original. Most of it is done by blue marble. There is the multi purpose stadium for 30 000 spectators. The stadium was used for both sporting and political (public voting) events.
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