Selcuk, Turkey
Late April - Early May 2002
Selcuk exists for one reason - Ephesus and it's surrounds including the
Church of St John, Isabey Mosque and the Temple of Artemis. Here's
some of the surrounds.
Check out the Selcuk website for more info on each of the sites we saw
on our flying visit.
http://www.selcuk.gov.tr/selcuk.html. I've copied a bit of the
text from the website to help put the pictures in some context (you didn't
really think it was all my words did you?)
Around Town In Selcuk
Artemis statue
in the middle of town. Artemis was goddess of the hunt and the moon.
Looks like a girl with one hundred plus breasts. I can see how that
would get more punters in the door at the temple. She could quite
possibly be the goddess for night clubbers everywhere. All good.
She is also the
symbol of the city.
Another leftover from the
Byzantine period in Selçuk is the Aqueduct.
It runs through part of the town.
Close-up of crazy house built between the
columns of the aqueduct. There's a lot to be said for Turkish
building standards. The top floor is completely wonky.
The storks that make their
home on top of the aqueduct are the precursors of the beginning and end of
summer. They come at the end of April or early May and stay until late
September or early October and live and breed as they always have.
According to the Turks, those
who see the storks on their first flight will have happiness, peace, and
good health. The locals also strongly suggest you be in Selcuk for
the storks' mating music, the joyous sounds of the offspring and the
chance to tour around in their midst.
The thought that comes to mind from
reading the above bumpf is this 'Storks
have mating music?' I
wonder what it is. Something slow and sensual? Maybe Barry
White or Marvin Gaye for storks? I can definitely imagine stork
pickup lines "Nice legs!! What's a long legged bird like you doing in a
place like this? Grab your feathers babe, you've pulled!! Who's your daddy
baby!! "
Anyway...I'm rambling again.
Yank Tank Taxi.
Temple to Artemis
The Temple to Artemis, one of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is at Selçuk. According to the
ancient writer Pliny, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt seven times
throughout history. The cult was a continuation of the cult of the Mother
goddess Kybele. The temple was built with the best marble and was the
world's premier and most magnificent structure. Lydian king Croesus
presented to the temple its bas-relief columns, completing the 125m-wide
and 60m-long structure. Artemis of the Ephesians is the only goddess
combining eastern and western cultic elements together.
Unfortunately, being one of
the Seven Ancient Wonders Of the World doesn't stop the locals stripping
you for building materials. Only one column and the foundations remain
today.
Church of St John
The church of Ephesus passed
from St. Paul to St. John, who wrote his gospel here. It is supposed the
St. John spent his last days on this hill and was buried here. In the
fourth century AD a memorial was built over the site thought to be his
grave (as religious nuts often do), over which a wood-roofed church was
built. In the next century the Emperor Justinian built a domed
basilica, the remains of which can still be seen.
It's pretty cool and the views from hill were
great.
Front gates. The church was also a
fortress against Muslim invaders - who ended up building Isabey Mosque
across the road from the Church of St John.
The basilica was in the
shape of a cross and had an outer courtyard, narthex and five naves. The
supposed grave of St. John is under the central dome area.
Columns supporting the roof
One of aisles along the side. The church must have been huge when
it was still upright.
The baptising spot. Stairs lead in
and out for the walk in and drive away blessing.
Tomb bit at the back of Church.
The mosque was designed by
Samli architect Ali and built in 1375 by Mehmet Bey. In the
construction there were numerous pieces borrowed from the Temple to
Artemis and the ruins of Ephesus. The Mosque is the oldest known and most
beautiful example of mosques that were built along an asymmetric plan
resembling both the Turkish mosque design with its open courtyard as well
as the colonnaded Anatolian model. This marvelous mosque is rich in
ornamental detail with ceramic mosaic bedecking its southern dome, and has
a high monumental entrance on its western side. This mosque is the first
in Turkish architecture to have a second congregation hall, thus gaining a
place in art history by forming a transition between Selçuk and Ottoman
styles (Really?).
Entrance.
View of the inner entrance to the mosque
from the other side of the courtyard. Old roman columns are
everywhere.
It can easily be seen from the structure
of the mosque, especially in the columns, that there was heavy borrowing
from the ruins of Ephesus. Not uncommon really. Saint Peters Basilica
in Rome was built using the remnants of Ancient Rome.
Courtyard with old roman columns.
You can also see roman inscriptions on the stones in the walls and
archways. Could really have done with a polarizer to cut down the
light here but I think you get the idea that the sun was pretty bright.
And I was using a crappy jessops film based on the grain. Anyway...I
am rambling. Onwards!!
Next:
Turkey,
1. Istanbul,
2. Gallipoli, 3.
Troy, 4.
Selcuk, 5.
Ephesus,
6. Pamukkale,
7. Cappadocia,
8. Somewhere Photos
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