Sojourn in Turkey: Day 4, Selcuk and Ephesus
Today was our first day on the Ephesus site. We began our morning inside with a lecture on city planning, architecture, and ritual analysis. It was so interesting- I could write a dissertation on ritual analysis. After a tea and spanikopita snack, we headed directly to the city ruins.
Wow, what an experience to learn about a place for months and then finally go there! Although only about 15% of Ephesus is excavated, the facades that are reconstructed are just enormous! To walk through a colonnade down what you think is a street and then realize that whole space was one building is baffling. My site, the Pollio monument and fountain, was WAY easier to grasp after standing in the fountain looking at the water spouts. Then you turn the corner and see the Celsus Library, and you think it's very var off. You pass the baths and more temples, and suddenly you're right in front of the library... and it's HUGE! After another turn, you walk up to the theater, which is also enormous and very impressive. Dr. Walters told us a story of excavating it himself. Then the final leg of the walk is down a wide colonnaded market street leading to the once-harbor-now-swamp.
Overall, it was exhilarating and overwhelming. Drs. Walters and Knust helped us visualize parts of Ephesus that aren't excavated or reconstructed yet by describing, for instance, the Flavian Temple (Imperial worship building) and the Tetraganis Agora (the political buildings) while we stood next to them. For the first time, I got a spatial understanding of these important sites and a mental picture of them, even though they had no reconstructed facades (they're currently fields full of column drums). I'm allowing my imagination to fill in the gaps now, which is a significant mental leap forward. I'm overloaded with information right now, but also overflowing with enthusiasm for studying my site and having a great site presentation. Side note: I do kind of wish Ephesus wasn't so overflowing with tourists... it's annoying to seriously work on gathering information when you're surrounded by giggling Japanese girls.
After the site visit, we had a recap conversation in the library. It was a really good exchange of questions, answers, and reflections... Janet Crisler, our hostess, sat in on it and really appreciated the work we're doing. Then we all headed to dinner. We didn't want sandwiches or pizza again, so I brought our group to a copsis (shishkabob) place I saw last night. Unfortunately, we were underwhelmed, so we went on to a bakery where I got chocolate pudding- yum! Then it was homework and bed, the usual routine.
Coming soon: pictures! I just have to upload them...