We have a two year resident visa for Türkiye. We “lost” the first cruising season with salvaging our old boat (https://www.twobatsea.com/shipping-disaster/). Although Türkiye is a real nice country we do not want to stay more than two years so proper planning is needed for the second season if we want to see all that is on our list. We decided to explore by car those areas that are not reachable by boat or that are too time consuming to sail to by boat. This post is about our over land drive to Istanbul.
After an early start on Sunday morning we stopped at “Hayati Muhtarin Yeri” for lunch.
The first site to visit was the ancient Hellenistic Greek city of Aphrodisias, once the provincial capital of Caria, roughly present day Mugla province. The Hellenistic period runs from the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), until the death of Cleopatra (30 BC).
White and blue grey marble was extensively quarried from adjacent hills as building material for the city. Marble sculptures and sculptors from Aphrodisias became famous throughout Greece and later Rome.
The city had notable schools for sculpture, as well as for philosophy. It was destroyed by the devastating earthquake in the early 7th century, and never recovered, being reduced to a small settlement on the site of the ancient theatre. Part of the town is covered by modern day Geyre.
Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Pictured above her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias, not to be confused with Aphrodite, associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion and known by the Romans as Venus. She is related to the Lady of Ephesus, or Artemis of Ephesus the “great mother goddess”. Aphrodite of Aphrodisia wears a thick, form-disguising tunic, with four registers of imagery.
Up closer you see the white mineral stone called Travertine. Travertine is the sedimentary rock deposited by mineral water from the hot springs of Hierapolis. The water that emerges from the springs is channelled to the head of the travertine terraces and deposits calcium carbonate. When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide de-gasses from it, and calcium carbonate is deposited.
The Hellenistic spa town of Hierapolis was founded by the king of Pergamom at the end of the 2nd century B.C.. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in classical Phrygia, a kingdom in Anatolia. Ceded to Rome in 133 B.C., Hierapolis flourished, reaching its peak of importance in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., having been destroyed by an earthquake in 60 A.D. and fully rebuilt thereafter because of its importance.
The Romans, like previous peoples with an established presence in the area, took advantage of the thermal springs and build more then 15 bathhouses around Hierapolis. The most famous one is known as Cleopatra’s Pool. Hierapolis was a health centre during the Roman empire and was frequently visited by the Roman elites. Cleopatra may have swum there when the region was administered by Mark Anthony with whom she had a relation that produced three children.
Ancient Hierapolis attracted, like today, huge numbers of visitors, making the city prosperous and wealthy. The huge bathhouse shown below was situated just outside the North city gate.
Frontinus street, the principal street. In the centre runs the main sewage drain, covered by large stone slabs. In the far end is the Frontinus gate with to the far right the public latrines draining in the main sewer. The street was flanked by shops and warehouses.
Further down Frontinus street we find the remains of the Nymphaeum of the Tritons, one of the two monumental fountains of the city.
Temple of Apollo and the Ploutonion. The Ploutonion is a small cave, closed to the public, with stairs going down to a 3 square meter roofed chamber. Behind the chamber is a cleft in the rock, through which hot water passes, releasing carbon dioxide gas. Because the CO2 is heavier than air it displaces the oxighen in the chamber and was thus considered lethal. It was thought that the gas was sent by Pluto, god of the underworld. The priests sold birds and other animals to the visitors, so that they could try out how deadly this area was. Visitors could (for a fee) ask questions to the oracle of Pluto. The priest knew the trick, held his breath and returned from the cave alive, confirming his unearthly powers. This provided a considerable source of income for the temple.
10 Km North of Hierapolis we find ancient Laodikeia, a wealthy city during the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine period. It is said that the name Laodikeia was taken from Laodike, the wife of Antiochus II Theos, the founder of the city. Not only was Laodikeia located on major trade routes connecting it to cities like Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir) and Sardis, but also it was a centre for textile production, the main source of income. The wool of their sheep was famous for its softness. Further income came from banking, (it had a gold exchange and the wages for Roman legionnaires were routed via its banks), and trade in marble, cereals and livestock.
The city is surrounded by fertile plains and three rivers; Lykos (Cürüksu) on the northeast, Kadmos (Gökpinar) on the southeast and Asopos (Gümüsçay, or Goncali) on the southwest sides.
The existing remains attest to the splendour of the ancient city. Laodikeia had the largest stadium in Anatolia and it was the only city with two theatres. Further it had 5 agora’s, 3 commercial, 1 civil and 1 religious agora. (an agora is an open space, often surrounded by a colonnade, used for assemblies and markets). Further, the city had 4 bath complexes, 2 Nyphea and a number of churches and temples. The city had more monumental buildings than Athens.
Apostle Paul, during his third missionary journey, traveled to nearby Ephesus in 52 AD and lived there for more then two years. Epaphras, one of Paul’s disciples most likely founded “the church” in Laodicea. The church of Laodicea is noted as being wealthy in the Bible. The Roman historian, Tacitus recounts the great earthquake around 60 AD that destroyed the city of Laodicea. The proud, wealthy citizens took upon themselves the task to rebuild the city from their own means, refusing any financial aid offered from Rome.
John of Patmos, widely accepted as the Apostle John and author of the fourth gospel; “The book of Revelation” wrote about Laodicea; “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked”. Gods’ rebuke of the church at Laodicea revolves around the idolatry of wealth and the desolate spiritual state of the church.
The city did not have its own water source and was reliant on aqueducts that were vulnerable to attack making the city increasingly difficult to defend. The city (again) got completely destroyed during the 7th century earthquakes and was abandoned thereafter.
Our next stop is the city of Bursa, the 4th most populous city in Türkiye. The last King of Bithynia (a Roman province in North Türkiye), bequeathed his entire kingdom to the Roman Empire in 74 BC. Under Byzantine rule, the town became a garrison city in 562 AD, and imperial guards were stationed there. Already by the mid-6th century, Bursa was known as a famous silk textile manufacturing centre.
The siege of Prusa (modern day Bursa) by the Ottomans occurred from 1317 until its capture on 6 April 1326. The Ottomans had not captured a city before; the lack of expertise and adequate siege equipment meant that the city fell only after nine years.
Bursa became the first major capital city of the early Ottoman Empire following its capture from the Byzantines. The mausoleums of the early Ottoman sultans; Osman Gazi and his son Orhan Gazi, are located in Bursa, and the city’s main landmarks include monuments throughout the Ottoman period.
Change of Guard at Osman Gazi Mausoleum.
After the Ottoman conquest, the city witnessed considerable urban growth with the building of hospitals, caravanserais (a roadside inn for travellers or caravaners) and madrasas (schools) throughout the 14th century. The first Ottoman mint was established here.
During the Ottoman period, Bursa became the source of most royal silk products. Aside from the local silk production, the city imported raw silk from Iran, and occasionally from China, and was the main production centre for the kaftans, pillows, embroidery and other silk products for the Ottoman palaces until the 17th century.
Modern day Bursa is one of the industrial centers of Türkiye. Most of Türkish automotive production takes place here amongst other type of industries.
Our last stop before Istanbul is Iznik, the site of the ancient Greek city of Nicaea. Nicaea, also known as Nikaia, was a Greek city that is primarily known as the site of the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Christian Church. The Nicene Creed comes from the First Council. Nicaea was also the capital of the Ottomans from 1331 to 1335.
Emperor Constantine I, the founder of Constantinople (present day Istanbul), was the first emperor to stop the persecution of Christians and to legalise Christianity in 313 AD, along with all other religions/cults in the Roman Empire.
Nicea was located at the East shore of Lake Iznik. The water level was lower at the time before the great earthquakes of early 600AD. A Byzantine tradition claims that St. Neophytos was martyred in Nicea during the reign of Diocletian (284–305), Constantine’s predecessor who still persecuted Christians. A church was built over Neophytos burial site which was outside the city walls.
Constantin called the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD, where he had his summer palace at the time, to resolve the dispute in the church which resulted from the widespread adoption of Arius’ teachings, which threatened to destabilise the entire Byzantine empire. The dispute centred around the question whether Jesus was a created being or divine. More then 300 Bishops gathered in St. Neophytos Church to decide the future of the Christian faith. It was this church where the Christian doctrines were decided and that are now being followed by Christians worldwide.
The Council relocated to the summer palace and concluded there. 60 Canons (church laws) where drafted and agreed during this council, known as the Nicene Creed and referred to as “Credo” in the latin church texts.
The seventh Ecumenical counsel was also held in Nicaea, more than 4 centuries later, and that site still exists.
A lot of research went into this post but it was very satisfying to write. We hope you find it as interesting as we did.
Our next stop will be Istanbul and we will write a dedicated post about that fascinating city.
Warm regards. Liza and Frits.