Dateline – Ephesus, Turkey
We woke up this morning to another gorgeous sunny day on the Aegean sea and the Celebrity Ascent was soon sailing into the Turkish port of Kudasai, which is a major resort town on the Southern coast of Turkiye. The name translates as ‘bird island’ but there were not a lot of birds in evidence other than the inevitable urban pigeons, perhaps due to the large population of feral, but friendly cats. There is a deep cultural bond between the Turkish population and their cats which are regarded as beloved members of the community and are therefore looked after by everyone. They’re everywhere but, unlike American strays, are all clean and well fed. I have heard that this is particularly true in Istanbul but cannot give a firsthand accounting as of yet. I’ll get back to that one in a day or two.
We were one of three cruise ships in port, all arriving at roughly the same time so the debarkation and sorting of people into proper tour groups was a bit of a free for all, but we eventually found the sign with our name on it and, following Sude, our twenty-something guide with a Gen Z blasé attitude toward life, we threaded our way through the usual tourist shops and into our van for the forty minute drive up the coast to the ruins of the ancient port of Ephesus. Ephesus, under the benevolent protection of Artemis of the Ephesians, a mother earth goddess of fertility and nature incorporated into the Graeco-Roman pantheon, has been inhabited since neolithic times but came into its own in the Classical Greek and Hellenistic periods when the Temple of Artemis, rebuilt after being destroyed by fire set by the arsonist Herostratus in 356 BC into one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and remaining relatively intact for the next five centuries when earthquakes, the silting of the harbor and retreat of the sea, and Roman Imperial politics all combined to lead to the decline and eventual abandonment of the city.
Arriving at the upper entrance to the Ephesus archeological site, we were able to spend the next couple of hours descending the ancient processional way through the remains of temples, baths, theatres, storehouses, and the great multistory façade of the library of Celsus which was third only to those at Alexandria and Pergamon in the Graeco-Roman world. I was fascinated with the geography of the city, confined between two steeply rising hills which made it into a ribbon of civilization along its valley and which also contributed to its success by making sure its water and sewer systems, with miles of terra cotta piping, kept the citizenry hygienic and healthy. Thomas, with his archeological experiences, was able to provide running commentary on the preservation and excavations.
At the bottom of the hill, we were treated to something called ‘The Ephesus Experience’ which is a sort of lesser Disney attraction with multimedia surround imagery trying to make you feel you were in ancient times and utterly failing. Fortunately, it’s included with your admission to the ruins and does not cost extra. If you ever go, feel free to skip it. Then it was back on the van to the actual site of the Temple of Artemis which is a little distance away. Nothing remains but the foundation and a single column reconstructed from pieces to give a sense of scale and, of course, more cats.
Our other stops were at a market offering samples of various traditional Turkish foods. We both did our best Edmund Pevensie impressions by over indulging in Turkish Delight, even buying more to take with us. Fortunately, there were no dwarves or White Witches in view. Then on to a rug manufacturer for a demonstration on weaving techniques and showing off of various carpets (of course available for purchase and worldwide shipping). The ones I most admired were silk on silk and far out of budget so I politely declined giving them my credit card number and shipping address. Besides, my two bad cats at home would likely make short work of it. That concluded our formal tour so we headed back to the bazaar in Kudasai for a lunch of deliciously spiced gyros, feeding of cats from the table, and a dessert of the traditional Turkish ice cream, dondurma, which has tuber flour and mastic in it which makes it much more resistant to melting, but which is sort of like trying to eat Silly Putty. We both decided that it was a ‘OK, we tried it’ type thing.
The boat sailed out of the harbor, we took a nap, and then had a relaxing dinner. We decided to skip the show (some sort of Irish singer-songwriter) in favor of turning in early and watching the original Star Wars Trilogy on the entertainment system. I fell asleep somewhere during The Empire Strikes Back. It wasn’t a big issue, I know how it ends. While Luke Skywalker and Yoda were lifting fighters out of a swamp and Han and Leia were escaping Imperial Forces through an asteroid field, I took some time to catch up on the most recent political news. I rather wish I hadn’t.
What stuck out for me? A president who announced that if you wore a MAGA hat to the polls and voted a straight Republican Ticket, he would send you thousands of dollars. And people of a certain political leaning were believing this. Last I checked, what happened in the voting booth was uniquely personal and how would anyone know how you cast your ballot? Not to mention all the various laws which are supposed to protect polling places from undo political pressure. A Secretary of Defense whose wish for personal vainglory outweighs common sense leading to the damage of a priceless historical artifact (not to mention the hiding of the actual damage to American interests the misguided Iraqi war has caused). An Attorney General who refuses to say he will not interfere in election processes despite an oath to the constitution and explicit constitutional language that elections are the province of the states. A Secretary of State who is making foreign service officials reveal their voting history and refusing to promote those who vote ‘the wrong way’. A private individual (who violated US immigration law but does not appear to have caught the interest of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE) who appears to be pursuing his own private foreign interventions contrary to the interests of the US through his control of Starlink. Things will change with the midterms. How they will change, I cannot predict. I think I will go back to playing with Turkish cats.
