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| "We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan... |
Our purpose for taking a marina berth (aside from fuel,
water and long, hot showers - you know, the essentials) was to visit a trio of lesser known but
none-the-less important archaeological sites - Priene, Miletus and Didyma. Our Lonely Planet guide book reminds us; many of the most
famous Hellenistic cities are not in Greece, but in Turkey.
We are currently sailing the Ionian Coast, the ancient
Gulf of Latmos now silted beyond recognition by the winding River Menderes
(hence “meander”).
The Ionians who
settled here established a kingdom that was to give rise to a most influential
civilisation. This was where Homer,
amongst others of this ilk, came from.
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| Temple of Athena - goddess of war, seems appropriate really, on many levels |
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| Oh look, it's Hermes! |
Having already visited the impressive Ephesus, we were
pleased to find Priene in good shape (relatively speaking). It is picturesquely situated in a glade of
pines with Mt Mykale (of solid marble) looming overhead. Thankfully,
Menderes had done its worst by the time the Romans came so Priene’s value as a
city of importance had declined. As
such, we walked well planned and cobbled streets of a Hellenistic city with its
intimate theatre, city council meeting place, gymnasium, stadium and
temples. Some restoration work had been
completed on the main temple, Temple of Athena and we were suitably impressed
by the size of those huge, white marble columns. One can only imagine how breathtaking a site
this must have been to visitors arriving by boat across the turquoise waters of
the Latmos Gulf.
Nearby Miletus was the richest and most powerful of the
Ionian cities. It was the League’s
principle port, a centre of government and commerce. It was “improved” by the Romans and then
destroyed by the Persians. The River
Menderes had its own agenda and by 700 AD, the port was heavily silted and
islands, mere bumps on a flood plain.
The site remained occupied – farming replaced fishing – and it wasn’t
until the 1950’s when a severe earthquake destroyed the village that people were
encouraged to move on.
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| Great Theatre, Miletus |
The theatre in Miletus is in good condition and it is easy to see, rather like looking at layers of sediment, how individual civilizations had built it up over
time. The Great Theatre, seating 15000,
has Ionian underpinnings. On that, the
Romans added several floors and finally, a once great Byzantine castle is now a
crumbling crown. We had time to explore
the Baths of Faustina, a huge complex that attests to Miletus’ importance and
Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ influence. A
small army of slaves would have been essential to keeping the Baths at their
best. Beyond the Baths we found a beautifully
restored mosque dated to 1404 and a Seljuk caravanserai.
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| Exquisite carving, Temple of Apollo in Didyma |
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| Earthquake shattered column |
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| Have I got that pose right yet, BCK? |
After visiting sites in isolated locations, Didyma appears to have been
swallowed whole by coastal resort developments.
Strangely, this seems to fit Didyma’s function – a religious
sanctuary. For over 1400 years, people
came from far & wide to visit the largest (Ionic) temple in the world, the
Temple of Apollo. It was occupied by an
oracle whose fame was renown; the site as important as Delphi.
Earthquakes, Persians, conquerors, treasure hunters, land developers and others have all contributed to the decline of this once great complex. However, it is still incredibly awe-inspiring to walk through those great chunks of marble, touch carvings of fire-breathing monsters and be glared at by the famed Medusa.
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| Thanks, Mate..you're a real treasure! |
