Page 3

Several years ago, the area was enclosed in high-tech tenting and Plexiglas pathways were constructed so archaeologists could continue to work while tourists could visit the site.  For a few extra dollars, we were allowed to tour the site and watch the painstaking reconstruction work up close.  It was money extraordinarily well spent.

Much like Pompeii, the slope houses at Ephesus provide a snapshot of life in the city at the moment of destruction.  The paint in the wonderfully lifelike murals on the walls of dining rooms and bedrooms is just as vibrant as the day it was mixed.  The floor mosaics of gods and animals, of geometric designs and floral motifs, are just as delightful as the day they were laid down.  And these things don’t just appear here and there.  You see them in room after room, house after house, the Antonys struggling to keep up with the Claudiuses.  Business must have been good for interior designers in Ephesus back in the day. 

Sirince

After a long, fascinating day among the ruins of Roman civilization, we switched gears with a visit to the tiny village of Sirince.  Though the village gets its share of tourists, the little mountain town seemed an oasis of serenity after the busloads visiting Ephesus.  We picked a150-year-old inn, the Artemis Restaurant, for our early dinner, and ate on the terrace overlooking rolling fields of wildflowers.  The Artemis boasted excellent food, fresh bread baked in earthen ovens onsite and a choice of the homemade fruit wines for which Sirince is famous.  (I had some of the sour cherry wine with my meal, and it was so good I brought a bottle of it home.)  Our meal in Sirince put a fitting end to our time in Turkey, a last sweet memory to keep as we left the next day.