I am seriously not worthy of these places that represent the collective pinnacle of our human achievement. My historical knowledge is sadly lacking and unlike my excellent tour guide, I cannot tell you the difference between a Doric column or the other kind of column that isn't Doric.
And some of the details are delicious. Men would sit together in a public washroom, and I kind of regret that I didn't get a picture of myself here while sitting down and reading a copy of the Wall Street Journal.
Two theatres, one Greek, one Roman at opposite ends of town. Never seen that before.
The library is considered to be the jewel in this crown. Who am I to argue? But I do find it interesting that there was a brothel across the street, and that the two were connected by a secret tunnel. Nearby was the market, so the game went something like this.
"Honey, you go shop, I'll go to the man only library and we'll meet back here in a couple of hours. Meanwhile Homer is slithering through the secret tunnel to the brothel. More proof that everything has changed, and nothing much has changed.
As I stroll through the ruins, I feel compelled to touch things, as if ancient experiences will be transferred to me through a tactile connection to the ruins. No such luck, but one can easily imagine what life was like here.
And the thing that strikes me the most is that life in ancient Efes was not nearly as different from our own as I thought it was. The photo below is believed to be the worlds first sex ad, indicating the brothel up the road,
We can cling to our Facebook. our IPods, discuss with the greatest vehemence the political trifles of the moment, the news clippings of the day, or whatever else it might be that we allow to define us, but the fact is that when the dust of human history is laid out before you, it puts things in a proper perspective.
(memo to self: I owe The Siren a drink)
http://www.goyestoeverything.com
