Wonders of the world

We woke up in Kuşadası and the weather was, again, stunning.

Kuşadası, fondly known as Ada by its inhabitants, is named for the island we could see from our hotel, which I noticed immediately because of its badass castle. The hotel also offered a view out across the Aegean and the constant in and out of cruise ships.

The island and, through the haze, Samos

Our first stop was to be the House of the Virgin Mary.

"Today is the feast of the assumption of the Virgin Mary," Serina said, when we were on the bus.

"What's that?"

"In the Catholic church, it's the day that Mary was taken up into heaven."

"Does Ahmet know that?"

Ahmet was our tour guide, and he did not. We stopped to get some water and other supplies and he called ahead to a colleague and found out that the road to the House was full of pilgrims, completely cut off.  "So we will go to Ephesus first."

"What do you know about Ephesus?" Serina asked on the bus. "Teach me."

I had, through the visits to Troy and Pergamon, acquired something of a reputation as an insufferable know-it-all. But it was nice that someone would embrace this and ask what I knew.

"Literally nothing," I said. "Except that the Temple of Artemis used to be there."

"What's that?"

"A temple? Dedicated to Artemis."

"What happened to it?"

"Earthquakes. And the Romans."

Always the Romans

Ephesus, as it turned out, was also a little busy. Every tour group which had planned to go to the House had rerouted and converged on the ancient city. Ahmet did his best to stay calm, but he was stunned.

The heat and the crowds made the site uncomfortable, and we pushed through our tour. After a brief wander through the city's prestigious Hercules Gates and along the market street of the agora, we saw the public latrines.

Because everyone loves latrines

"They did not flush, the water was always running," Ahmet said.

"Where are the women's toilets?" somebody asked.

"We don't know. Let's move on to see the library and the brothel."

The library of Celsus

The library reminded me of the Market Gate of Miletus from the Pergamon Museum, but more impressive; the statues and many of the inscriptions could be seen. Ahmet told us that there was a time when this contained 12,000 scrolls. It also served as the tomb of Celsus, the governor who paid for it to be built.

Statues on the library

After the difficulty in getting into and around Ephesus, we were due for a break. We did not get one.

"This is the brothel, or the love house," Ahmet said with a grin. "We are standing above the second agora, the harbour market," there was no water in sight. The brothel, he told us, was advertised by a sign in the agora; a broken heart and a foot with a long middle toe would point potential customers in the right direction.

"I wanted to take you down the Marble Road but I have just noticed that it has been closed so... we might just have to carry on to the amphitheater."

Tough crowd

The amphitheater was... it was huge.

Really very big.

"Will we get to see the Temple of Artemis?" I asked as we passed the baths.

"It is stones in a field and a statue," Ahmet said. "We saw most of it in the Hagia Sophia."

Ah the Romans. Never let anything go to waste.

More things taken by Germans

In Berlin I visited the Pergamon Museum. The primary attraction of the museum are a pile of statues taken from the Temple of Zeus (and the stairs, pillars and altar) from Pergamon in Asia Minor. I never gave much consideration as to whether I would see the place from whence they came.

The view from Pergamon

The same day we went to Troy we took the long, winding road up to Pergamon, high above the countryside. Pergamon was built as a center of religion and culture, rather than commerce. It's position made it difficult to get to, but it had rich patrons and attracted the elite of Asia Minor.

The view of no river

Like the other ancient cities we visited, Pergamon suffered a number of earthquakes. These, combined with the silting of the Caicus and the growth of Ephesus, led to its demise.

Pergamon was the first place I have seen a proper Acropolis. Though the altar was taken by the Germans, the layout of the Acropolis is still clear today. I was interested in the way the marble structures were built; the foundations of the building were of heavy stone, with a marble facade, and not of solid marble slabs.

Once I saw this, it seemed obvious. Who would build foundations out of marble?

Acropolis: Note the change in colour of the stones

But the decorative sections, the pillars and carvings, were all done in marble.

It took us, in our bus, a long time to wind back and forth across the mountain to reach the city; I can only imagine what a hassle it would have been in ancient times. Nevertheless, the view from the top was stunning. If the day had been less hazy, we might have seen to the sea.

Pillars and the marble facade

It was an eight hour day, with a lot of time spent in the sun and the heat, and we were all exhausted when we reached Kuşadası. The most impressive ancient city, Ephesus, had to wait for the morning.

Horses for courses

There are about nine layers of Troy buried where Troy used to be. The one Homer wrote about is the seventh Troy (that's seven up, not seven down). There were a couple more built on top, Roman cities which decreased in importance as Constantinople became a power.

Walls at Troy, made of stone

The seventh layer was also the largest, and showed evidence of slaughter and fire. Other cities were destroyed by earthquakes and cultural change as people migrated from the east. Each layer shows different building materials and technology as the people living there progressed.

The view from the site of Athena's Temple. There used to be water visible from here.

The surrounding country side has also changed, primarily due to the silting of ancient waterways. Troy once sat overlooking the Hellespont, and it was this position which gave it power over trade in ancient times.

I took a lot of photos of wells

The size of the walls, at all levels of the site, is emphasised by the support structures - the huge foundations, gates and ramps which allowed daily life to go in in and around the walled city. It was again testament to what mankind can achieve with nothing more than math, determination and limitless free labour.

Slavery!

All the ancient cities we visited were places of trade and culture. The culture was demonstrated by the amphitheaters, where people could meet to discuss politics or matters of importance and so on.

People, not slaves.

And of course, no visit to Troy would be complete without viewing the Schliemann Pit, the spot where German 'archaeologist' and treasure-hunter, Heinrich Schliemann, dug through layer after layer of Troy until he found the treasure he was certain was left in the stories of Homer's stories. These jewels were, as it happens, from the second Troy, and therefore predated Homer's Troy by several thousand years.

Really it's just a huge hole.

But that's okay, because he found items of vital historical importance. Which he took back to Germany. And his wife took to Russia.

Our guide told us that Turkey has asked Russia if they could have the treasure from Troy back.

Russia said, "No."

The Hellespont

Troy was able to control trade between the ancient nations through its position on the Hellespont. Even in its decline the Byzantine Empire remained rich by controlling the strait. Russia and the Ottoman Empire fought over trade in the channel (by then called the Dardanelles) and the passage of German ships from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Mamara prompted England's campaign against the Ottomans in the First World War.

I wanted to have a look.

Obligatory photo of the Sphinx

The tour bus took us to a number of sites relevant to the ANZAC Gallipoli campaign. There were three or four busloads of people there that day so it was not as contemplative as it could have been. Nevertheless I was interested in seeing the places I've heard about since I was in primary school.

ANZAC cove mid summer. Thirty eight degrees in the sun.

It was immediately obvious how terrible a landing at ANZAC cove would have been. The hills sit hard against the water, the rise is almost verticle, and Turkish troops already in place had a commanding view of the landing site.

We walked along the beach and took in a couple of the cemeteries and monuments. The most powerful of these was the Atatürk quote/monument on the beach.

The view from Walker's Ridge

After we we had toured the sites we drove down to the ferry which would take us across the strait. The ferries cross near Channakale. This part of the Dardanelles has been of crucial strategic importance for thousands of years (since Troy! Troy!) and the area is littered with ruins and castles.

Castles!

The crossing takes about 20-30 minutes by ferry - straight across from Europe to Asia. The town itself looked like a lot of fun as we came in from the water, but we didn't have time to wait there. There was just enough time for one cheesy stop.

After making the film Troy, Warner Brothers gave the horse they used in the film. I was impressed by the scale of this regifting.

Still hot

Given what happened the last time someone accepted this horse as a gift, I'm surprised they took it. Maybe they didn't see the movie?

History served up like cake

Hm. Istanbul. Where to start.

As we left the airport it was different from other places I had been in Europe. The press of cars, sound of horns, the power of the sun. We rounded a corner on the highway and came in view of the old Byzantine sea wall and I had my Toto moment (we're not in Kansas, not the rains in Africa).

Two days of travel had left me pretty wiped. I explored the streets around the hotel (small, unevenly paved, confusing) but it was too hot to venture too far in a new city.

The organised tour I was on started the next day with a walk through the prominent sites in Istanbul's Old City. Our first stop was the Hippodrome.

*Insert your own overcompensating joke*

Ahmet, our guide, explained that this was where they used to race chariots in Byzantine Constantinople.

"Rad," I thought, "I can put the hippodrome in my novel."

Then he told us about the unfortunate outcome of the Nika riots.

"Great," I thought. "I can use the ruined hippodrome in my novel."

Where the hippodrome once stood is now Sultan Ahmet square, and it's still home to three Byzantine columns; the oldest of them, the Egyptian column, looks like it could have been put up last year. All three are dug into the ground, their bases around two meters below street level, because the city was much lower fifteen hundred years ago. Most of what Istanbul is built on is Constantinople, layer upon layer.

Also in the square is the Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain.

Looks German

The fountain was a gift from the Kaiser to the Ottoman Emperor. We were in the city for Ramadan, the one month of the year that the water in the fountain is operational.

Next stop: the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque.

Doesn't look blue. Is this a language thing?

Named for the tiles which adorn the walls and ceiling, the Blue Mosque does have a funny language story behind it. Sultan Ahmet, who wanted it built, specified to the architect that he wanted a mosque with gold minarets. But the word for 'gold' and 'six' are very similar and the architect started work soon afterwards on a mosque with six minarets.

Oh yeah. That's pretty blue.

Lucky for him, the Sultan was quite taken with the idea.

We crossed back over to Topkapi Palace, the seat of power for the Ottoman Emperors for over 400 years.

Looks like a palace. But does it smell like a palace?

All of the things I wanted to photograph in the palace, like the armoury and the treasury, did not allow photography. But there were some great views outside.

Also, it rained.

Just outside Topkapi some ruins were being excavated; the remains of the Great Palace of Constantinople, the Byzantine palace.

Now the site of a luxury hotel.

We had some lunch and made our way to the Hagia Sophia, just as the sky blackened again. We just made it inside as raindrops the size of golf balls started pelting the city.

Ahmet took a moment to tell us a bit about the history of the church; about how it was rebuilt twice and has been standing in its current form since 537. About the columns inside, taken from the Temple of Artemis. How it was a church, then a mosque, and now a museum.

How it represents the development of Turkey.

It is... impressive

The conversion from cathedral to mosque has left some of the most amazing and beautiful sights. Because the Ottomans plastered over the original mosaics, they were largely preserved and can be seen today, though in many places the plaster remains, making both parts of the building's history are visible.

Each one had six wings...

This was another one of the "I am so glad I went on this trip," moments. How could I have sent Ragnar to Constantinople for almost eight years and not mention the Haiga Sophia once? Not even once? After seeing the stave churches where Christianity was practiced in Norway, this would have blown his tiny viking mind. And I haven't even mentioned it once.

Our last stop wasn't on the 'official' tour route, but Ahmet thought it was important for us to see; the Basilica Cistern.

Coooooooool

Another Byzantine structure, the cisterns all around the city provided Constantinople's water. Without a nearby mountain range to supply fresh water, the Romans built aqueducts (some still standing) to bring water and fill the cisterns (I haven't been able to find out where from - anyone know this?).

Where once it held 100,000 tons of water, it now has a fish pond.

All that took about eight hours and I was exhausted. We had an early start the next morning, heading for Gallipoli.

On the road again

Swinoujscie to Berlin to Istanbul. Oh my.

Pomeranians

I had two nights in Swinoujscie, but not the same pressure for time I'd had in other parts of the trip.

First up; no matter how you think Swinoujscie is pronounced by reading it, it isn't. You're wrong.

WRONG

I didn't spend much of my first day in Swinoujscie in Swinoujscie, I took my time with the train across Wolin, getting a feel for the island (sand, farms, reeds). I asked the hotel staff the enst morning if there was a recommended way to see the town and they produced another handy map and I was on my way.

It took me right past the Monument With An Anchor

They were especially keen that I stop off and see the forts. There are three nearby (one just a short ferry ride away) and I was a bit underwhelmed. They were built in the 19th century by the Austro-Hungarian Empire a long way from the coast. There was no information on them inside or nearby, so I've no idea what they were supposed to defend.

Good view of the gate in the Angel Fort

I figured that by climbing to the top I could at least get a good view over Swinoujscie's many forests, but the forts were not even as tall as the nearby trees. They weren't built on high ground, they didn't look built to last... very odd forts.

Otherwise, Swinoujscie was a nice coastal town to visit. The esplanade was filled to bursting with German tourists and locals out walking their dogs (all one breed).  I got some lunch and spent the afternoon exploring the parks, forests and coast.

Sand. Pines. I've got this.

I had dinner in an Italian restaurant barely large enough for ten guests, the Italian cook and her Polish husband, the most irritable waiter this trip. But you can afford to be irritable when your food is this good. The pasta they made was outstanding, and they had the best Tiramisu I've had in my life.

Just great.

I had an early night, knowing that my next two days would be busy with travel.

The internet ate my homework

I lost the Pomeranian post. I promise it's coming.

Szczecin in

The first stop in Poland was Szczecin, a town in the north west.

My first view of scenic Szczecin

This was my first trip to Poland and while I had been told what I could expect I was still taken a little by surprise.

There's a lot of strange juxtaposition; historical sites next to industrial buildings, a group of restaurants surrounded by abandoned buildings falling in on themselves. In Copenhagen I had experienced what I called 'European City Fatigue,' checking the boxes of what to see; the palace, the cathedral, the old town, etc.

Outside the old barracks

Szczecin had all that... kind of. It was fun to walk around and have a look. Oh, and I forgot my camera, so all my photos were taken with my phone. At the hotel they gave me a tourist map which had all sorts of helpful descriptions of things I could see around town. I could just google the items and look them up, but I think it's more fun to use the Polish version.

The monument of Duke Boguslaw and Anna Jagiellonka

The map also provided me with two recommended paths; the City Tourist Trail and the 'Zloty Szlak' or Golden Route. I took the tourist trail because, really, the golden route was just straight up the main street.

The mast from the steamer s/s Kapitan Maciejewicz from 1929

The weather was fantastic, bright skies and warm without being hot. I had heard so much about the terrible Polish weather I was a little surprised. Though the people at the hotel told me it is usually much hotter, 30 degrees or more. I'm going to miss that.

The Royal Gate

It was also not as flat as I was expecting. Obviously it's no Norway, there are no towering mountains. The highest points are all man made. But it wasn't as flat as Sweden, either.

The Fountain with the Eagle Sculpture with the Architectural Basilica under Invocation of St. James

I wandered the old town in the evening, looking for dinner. The place I chose was based on the smell of the meals being eaten out on the front porch.  I got a goulash and a beer. The goulash was incredible, a huge serving of stew on an enormous potato cake.

$12

Way to go, Poland.

Travel days; overnight in Berlin

It was eight hours by train from Copenhagen to Berlin. I was lucky to be seated in a cabin with a family from Melbourne, and passed most of the trip talking with them.

We saw a number of engineering marvels (wind farm in the ocean, intercontinental bridges) but the best of these was a ferry which took our train from Denmark to Germany. Quite astounding.

I took no photos of anything. I was in Berlin only long enough to walk around for some air and get irresponsibly drunk with Germans.

Travel days: things I saw while running in Copenhagen

The little mermaid

Frederik V outside Amalienborg Palace

The moat around the citadel

I think these were barracks? Inside.

Up on the wall of the citadel

Travel days: Gothenburg

I only got about six hours to explore Gothenburg and I wasted many of these eating.

I say wasted. I regret nothing.

A local porter

The food was fantastic; a salad sandwich and coffee for lunch, a vegetable stew and local beer for dinner. And after paying Norwegian prices for a couple of weeks, the cost was very low.

Also, all you can eat

Gothenburg itself was very nice, a lot of brick buildings, cobbled streets, canals and bicycle lanes. I forgot my camera on my first outing, so all my photos come from the evening and are of the old town, where I went for dinner. It's also why I don't have a photo of the enormous cookie I had after lunch. Thank goodness.

Stone!

And of course, all of this in the shadow of a castle.