February 14

As usual, we left the hotel at 8:30 in the morning, after a nice breakfast and a few cups of coffee. (I like it when they leave the thermos at the table.) We spent a little over an hour on the bus travelling to Miletus. Because of the rain, all we got to see was the amphitheatre. It is an impressive structure, having been reconstructed during the Roman rule, but we didn’t get a good sense of the ancient town. Once it began to hail, we ran for the bus. It thundered and rained on and off while we were checking out the theater. I’m pretty sure that unless lightning is physically hitting the ground, we will not be deterred.
Next we drove to Didyma, which in ancient times, was connected to Miletus by an 11 mile road called the Sacred Way. This road has been uncovered, but only a fraction of it remains and this part lies on the Didyma side. So we took the modern roads to Didyma. The thing to see here is the temple. It was possibly dedicated to Apollo (didimos means “twin” in Greek and Apollo is a twin god), or Didyma/didima may just have been a local word. The remains of an archaic temple, dating from the 6th century BCE, lie beneath the new Hellenistic one. This new temple was massive, containing 108 columns, and reaching 20 meters in height. There was also an oracle here, which Alexander reinstated, in addition to rebuilding the temple after it had been destroyed sometime before. This oracle predicted Alexander’s final victory over the Persian king. My guess is he liked this prediction. This temple has been fairly well preserved and archaeologists have been able to garner more information about the original layout and function of this temple than other ones we have visited, so we did less detective work here and more picture-taking and roaming.
This must have been an impressive building to the ancient believer. It is easy to imagine this gleaming building with its winding entrances and mysterious, hidden oracle. You had to walk up 7 very large steps to reach the temple, and then, upon entering, you were blocked by a raised room with the front and back walls open. Archaeologists hypothesize that people presented their questions to the priests here, and then waited for the oracle’s response, which had been interpreted and then turned into metrical verse by the priests. To the sides of this raised room were the two entrances into the interior open courtyard, where the previous archaic temple (and possibly the oracle) stood. All that remains of the previous temple are some foundation stones.
We found a place to eat right next to the site, which advertized an open buffet for 6 Lira (about 4 dollars). This was an all-you-can-eat place. The boys were in heaven. Jensen, who sitting across from me, got three full plates worth of food. Everyone was trying to load up so they could have a lighter (and cheaper) dinner. The food wasn’t all that great. The hot dishes were the best, but mostly because it was chilly and wet outside and I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed warmed up cardboard at this point. My pants hadn’t completely dried from the morning’s rain and hail yet either.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a cave which has some association with 7 men called the “Seven Sleepers.” Apparently, according to the legend, these men fled during the persecution of the Christians and took refuge in this cave. When the awoke in the morning, they went out to buy food. They got strange looks from the vendors when they paid with their coins, and upon further questioning, they find out that it was now a Christian empire and that they had been asleep for 112 years. This was supposed to be that cave. Though there were no graves or any physical evidence found, there is graffiti on the walls of the cave that references the story. It had stopped raining so we all decided that this optional outing was worth doing. I didn’t trust the weather, however, and took my rain jacket just in case. It was a wise decision. As soon as we reached the cave, the rain started to pour. Turkey just seems to have it out for us.
We got back to the hotel in the afternoon. The rain had stopped, so Allie, Emily, Bryce and I decided to find the market that Gullin had suggested we visit. I am so glad we did. The entire market area, which was between the shops downtown, was covered in umbrellas and tents. It was like walking into a circus. There were clothing vendors, fruit stands, vegetable stands, spice tables, and dried fruit and nut bags everywhere. I was neat to see the local people haggling for merchandise and shopping for their groceries. I bought some apples, oranges, walnuts, and dried apricots. When I went to buy my oranges, I handed the woman behind the table my two oranges so she could weigh them, and a 5 lira bill. As she was calculating the cost, a man with an English accent advised me to get the price first and then hand her the money. I had actually considered that very idea, but thought that if she were going to swindle me out of a few cents, then I would let her have it. So I just smiled and thanked the man for his advice. She gave me my change and after counting it, I suspected no dishonesty. The oranges were delicious as well.
After the market trip, I spent the rest of the afternoon typing up my journals to turn in to Krentz. We went to dinner at a great little restaurant that served delicious lentil soup and a nice fresh salad. I was very pleased with my meal. After dinner I came back to the hotel for some reading and homework. Tomorrow is a free day. Apparently, the weather is supposed to be poor again tomorrow, but clear up the following day. Therefore, Krentz swapped the schedule for the next two, moving the free day to tomorrow and the visit to Priene and Magnesia to the following day. We’ll see if that was a wise choice.