Our main task for the day was to get to Selçuk, near the Graeco-Roman ruins of Ephesus, some 150 km away from Bergama. Once we had finished packing, the owner gave us a lift to the bus station where we caught a minibus to Izmir (once John had run back to the hotel to return the key!). We only had to wait for 20 minutes in Izmir's bus station before the minibus to Selçuk left. The whole journey was smooth and we quickly found our hostel in Selçuk, which was only a 5 minute walk from the bus station. It should always be that simple! After dropping off our bags and a large load of laundry, we wandered out to visit the monuments in Selçuk.
On our way to the Basilica of St John we walked past the remains of the Isa Bey Hammam and stopped for a look at the Mosque of Isa Bey of Umayyad inspiration, both dating from the 14th century. As we had just heard the muezzin's call for prayer, we decided to come back later to have a look inside.
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| Isa Bey bathhouse |
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| Isa Bey mosque, with birds circling the minaret as it issued the call to prayer |
The Basilica of St John was halfway up the Ayasuluk Hill, and from there we had a great view over the Mosque and the old town. A first church dedicated to St John was built in the 4th century AD by Emperor Constantine on the site where it is believed that St John was buried. St John came to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary after the death of Jesus. However, the ruins visible nowadays are those of the Church built by Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora in the 6th century AD.
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| View of the back of Isa Bey mosque from the Basilica |
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| View of the old town |
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| View of the Basilica and the Fort above |
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| Entrance of the Basilica |
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| View of the Basilica from above |
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| Model of the Basilica and the atrium (courtyard decorated with columns) leading to the Church |
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| Central nave of the Basilica |
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| Tomb of St John |
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| John and the frescoes (which were covered in murky and reflective plastic) |
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| The baptistery |
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| Foundations of the Basilica |
The path leading to the Ayasoluk fortress (5th c. AD), on top of the hill was unfortunately closed. To console ourselves, we climbed up the couple of stairs of a ruined tower and enjoyed the great view over the fortress.
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| View of the fort further up the hill |
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| Mosque on the way back to the guest house |
We walked to the temple of Artemis for sunset. Once one of the seven wonders of the world, there was only one big column left (which had been reconstructed from various remnants of different columns), on top of which a stork had set his nest. Although there was so little of the temple remaining, the view over the fortress, the mosque and the Basilica of St John was beautiful in the late afternoon sun. This was obviously the best spot for sunset, as confirmed by the presence of a few tour groups.
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| Light of the setting sun on the ruins of the temple of Artemis and over Selçuk (the mosque, fortress, and basilica) |
The French visitors who joined us were almost as excited as me to see what we all considered to be "une cigogne d'Alsace" (even if it is rare to spot one in the region nowadays). On the way back to the hostel, we met the owner of a nearby restaurant, who gave us very useful tips for our visit to Ephesus. He also advertised his place, of course, and we went there for dinner later. It was a touristy spot, but we could not really find a restaurant filled up with locals during our little evening excursion, and the owner was friendly.
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| Sunset from the terrace of the hostel (with the remaining column of the Temple of Artemis on the right) |
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