Roman Ruins in Selçuk

We were sorely disappointed with our experience at Ephesus. As grand as it was, there were few explanations of the misshapen stones & lone-standing columns. But the Ephesus Museum, which was much smaller & a quarter of the entrance fee of Ephesus itself, was a much more worthy experience. The museum is filled with all the treasures excavated from Ephesus - statues of Greek gods & emperors, personal belongings from burial grounds, the remains dug from a gladiator cemetery (including explanations of how they died), everyday household objects, and grand frescos. Seeing these items gave us a real impression of Ephesus' true grandeur. Some wealthy households erected large fountains with at least 8 3-meter statues. There was also the large head of a 7-meter stature of Emperor Domitian. As we imagined the elaborate homes & gladiator tournaments, Robby remarked, 'I really want to see a movie that takes place in this time period.'

Overall, we have been thoroughly impressed by the museums of Turkey. Unfortunately, the open-air museums lack information (I have Göreme's Open Air Museum (Byzantine cave dwellings) & Ephesus in mind), but the indoor museums, like Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilizations & Antalya's Archaelogy Museum, & Selçuk's Ephesus Museum, have been very informational & interesting.

From Selçuk, we move onto İzmir. Back to the urban jungle...the third largest city of Turkey, with a population of 2.3 million people.