Monday, May 22
The library at Ephesus
Today we’re in Kusadasi, Turkey in the afternoon, the only port outside of Greece. We were a little apprehensive about this port, so opted for a ship’s tour. We’re glad we did. We went to the ruins of the Roman city of Ephesus. Even more impressive than Pompeii (though without the dramatic destruction)! The city was abandoned as their seaport gradually filled with silt and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. We walked the streets of the city and visualized where everything was, shops, apartments, public toilets. Most impressive were the terrace houses, a complex of huge, multi-story houses with common walls and intricate frescoes. The theater and the elaborate two-story library façade still stand. Scattered capitals of fallen columns are sometimes topped with sleeping cats.
This evening we got a notice that Mount Etna (which we had been standing on just a few days ago) had erupted, spewing ash over Catania, and closing the airport (that we had recently flown out of).