A tour to the Roman city of Ephesus on a cool Mediterranean summer evening. My group was my 7 crew, all except the captain. The first stop was the Virgin Mary's House, where she spent the last years of her life. This is only a theory, it is not confirmed that she really lived here, though two popes have confirmed that it is a religious site for Catholic pilgrims. The house stands atop a hill in a farming and retirement town in the valley adjacent to the city of Kusadasi, Turkey. I entered the house, rebuilt as a temple in the 1960's, and walked through the prayer room and the historic room. An old rosary was framed on the wall, and a portrait of Mary hung on the opposing wall. The building was small, made entirely of stone, and 3 candle burning alters were outside the exit. I lit a candle and reflected on those people whom I was close to that have passed away.
Down the short ramp were the sinks from which flowed the natural spring reported to be holy water. The cool, clean water comes from the ground under the hill. Many people were drinking from the fountains, some were filling containers to take home, and one woman was splashing the water on her baby's face. A few steps farther down the ramp was the wailing wall. Prayers are written, rolled up, and placed on this wall. Thousands and thousands of these people's wishes hung next to and atop one another. Beyond the wall was the museum shop and a cafe'. Half my group stopped at the cafe' for a Turkish coffee. This was my first Turkish coffee, and I will explain it here as it is very different from any other coffee drink that I had previously had.
The grounds are Brazilian usually, coffee beans do not grow in Turkey. The grounds are extra fine, almost to a dust consistence. The coffee dust is placed in a tiny mug, similar to an espresso cup, and boiling water is poured over it. Sugar is added depending on how it was ordered black, medium, or sweet and the cup is served. One must let the coffee sit for a minute or two to allow the grounds still in the mixture to sink to the bottom of the cup. Care is taken during the small sips of this beverage as it is still extremely hot at this stage. The drink holds a consistence of warm motor oil, and it is slightly bitter even when ordered sweet. Once nearing the bottom of the cup, which is three of four sips, the drinker leaves the last big sip that is mostly grounds. The mug is then flipped over on the saucer, and the cup is pulled off the grounds. This soggy, black mess is then read by a psychic and a fortune is read back to you. Our coffees did not come with a psychic, so my group read each others fortunes as best we could. Next was the city of Ephesus.
I have a difficult time explaining in any detail or accuracy the extent or importance of the city of Ephesus. The facts as I have been informed by my tour guide is that the city was founded in first century AD and prospered for 300 years. It had a population of 250,000, was a booming port city, and the fourth largest in the Roman empire behind Rome, Alexandria, and one other that I can't remember. We walked "5th Avenue", stopping in front of the government house, the library, the hospital, drug store, and brothel. Me writing that makes them sound common place. I am lacking the details of how each are full of columns, statues, and scenes carved in marble. The streets were paved in marble. Being a port town full of foreigners, the road signs were carved into the sidewalk as images of hands and feet and other symbols. My group stopped at the public men's room for a photo on the bench toilets. We also did some group photos in front of the largest ampitheater in Europe, holding 25,000. My crew got down on the stage, and up in the bleachers and we did a proper sound check. Four years ago the site was announced as a UNESCO site, and the rock concerts there were stopped. Classical concerts are still held in the theater. My guide proudly shared that he had seen Sting, Jethro Tull, U2, and some other popular bands that I don't remember there at the theater. He also sung us Lynrd Skynrd songs in the theater, wrongly telling me that they are the best band. I give him some credit though for liking the Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones. "Harbor Ave" lead us from the theater down to the parking lot. I have informed that the city was built around a port, but the river Meander brought with it so much silt that the harbor filled in. This combined with what we think might have been a strong earthquake caused the inhabitants to abandon the city around 350 AD.
The last part of the tour was a visit to the Turkish Carpet Cooperative. I learned there about the preparation of silk and the manufacture of traditional rugs. The first room after the entrance is where the old looms are set up along with the boiling water pot used to pull the silk off the cocoons. The host explained the process, and the weavers demonstrated for us the knots used. The whole thing was very interesting, and it gave me great appreciation for the amount of labor that goes into making just one carpet. However I soon got the feeling that we were being primed to buy rugs, and my suspicions were correct. After almost an hour of carpet talk, I was ready for something else like dinner.
That night we ate at one of the marina restaurants. Food was very good, different courses of bread, olives, salad, calamari, shrimp, octopus and sea bass. The Turkish red wine was very good as well, smooth and no pucker or aftertaste. Dessert was incredible, and I still don't understand fully what it was. Some kind of filling that was sweetened with honey inside a rolled crispy deep fried outside and topped with powdered sugar. Turkish Delight!
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