Very cool. Wonder where specifically they were found. I spent time in
Turkey back in the late 70s/early 80s in the US Army. Took my wife there in 2012. I knew better than to go to
Turkey in summer, but the date of the trip couldn't be avoided. We rented a
car and drove around. We knew Selcuk and
Ephesos would be overrun with cruise ship buses (back in the late 70s, me and my buddies were the only ones there that day and could go anywhere and do anything). So, I researched hidden gems of places to go off the beaten path and far enough away from cruise ship buses. Aizanoi (in a town whose name I cannot pronounce or spell) was one of them, we stayed in a hotel there a day on the way from Istanbul to Selcuk. We were the only tourists and it was wonderful. It was a place I could spend lots of time for multiple reasons.
Long story short, we went to Selcuk and I took my wife to
Ephesos. On advice from locals, we arrived 30 minutes before it opened and were first in. When we left, the parking lot was full and it was insanely crowded. We totally rearranged our itinerary because the crowds just ruin it. Went inland to the huge lake region and then returned to Aizanoi. Skipped all the tourist areas and
had a great time. Aizanoi, they claimed,
had the first stock exchange. Remains of a Temple to
Artemis and a temple of
Cybele on a
hill. A
Roman city with Temple of
Zeus and amphitheater. Amazing. And we were the only tourists. Just like the old days.
Virgil
