Turkish Military Museum

I have been home for 9 days -- during which time, of course, I have made extraordinary professional accomplishments, too numerous to be listed here -- but I continue to blog. On June 4th, the day before our departure, Tinker, Kathy, John the Elder and I visited the Turkish Military Museum. It was quite interesting, if somewhat...militaristic.

Most of the museum displays were of small pieces of military hardware and materiel: guns, swords (lots of swords), helmets, uniforms, a bit of armor. This was informative, though not fascinating to the non-expert. There were, however, some very noteworthy items.

Siege Guns of 1453















Mehmet the Conqueror was the first to use siege guns against the walls of Constantinople. You see me leaning against one of them, above, in the courtyard of the museum. This is a comparatively small one which nevertheless weighs several tons. These guns were, needless to say, extremely unweildly. But to me, the most remarkable thing is that the cannon balls were made out of STONE (as shown below). How long must it have taken to make each projectile? And then... what if it MISSED?















Of course, the guns did the job. The Theodosian City Walls, built by Theodosius II in the early 5th century, were eventually breached. (See John Wei's post below on the Theodosian Walls). Naturally, the most impressive exhibit in the museum is the mock up of the 1453 siege, shown below.


The Conquest of Constantinople














The siege display, however, was huge, about 40 yards wide, quite colorful, and mixed paintings with life size figures. (Incidentally, the figure above, though obviously quite old, is not part of the display.)















Among the displays is a section of the chain that blocked the Ottoman ships from entering the Golden Horn. The picture below includes my shoe (bottom center) to give some idea of the thickness of the links. Each is less thick than a man's wrist -- today an acetylene torch could burn through one in minutes. Yet such was the technology of the day that Mehmet's forces found it easier to pull boats overland, uphill, to enter the Golden Horn, than to cut the chain.

The Waters of Pamukkale (Hierapolis)

Pamukkale is a small town in southwest Turkey, located near the site of the ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis. Its name in Turkish means "cotton castle," so-called after the calcium-rich springs which coat the mountain with white layers of calcium carbonate known as travertines. From a distance, the travertines look like snow.



Both tourists and locals like to soak in Hierapolis' waters, and, in fact, when approaching from the southern gate, one does not have any choice but to take off one's shoes and wade or step gingerly through its flowing pools.




At the top of the mountain lie the ruins of Hierapolis (yet more Greco-Roman ruins in Turkey) and a popular thermal bath, in which, it is rumored, Cleopatra once bathed and in which tourists can swim among ancient ruins.



Although lovely, the thermal bath is also a tourist trap. Tourists have to pay 20 Turkish Lira (approx. $13) to walk on the travertines and get up to the ruins/bath area. They then have to pay an additional 23 TL (approx. $15) to enter the thermal bath, and another 2 TL to rent a locker. Our guidebooks mention having to pay a "modest fee" to use the pool, but not an admission fee exceeding the original entrance fee. So when we finally got to the top and discovered that we had to pay 23 TL to use the pool, Funda became really upset. She went around looking for the manager and complained to him about the way that Hierapolis was being run. Several years ago, the Turkish government got rid of the motels at the top of the mountain and nationalized the thermal baths. Because the thermal baths were now public property, Funda argued that it should not be run like a for-profit institution and that it was absurd to slap all these additional charges on foreigners and Turks who wanted to swim there. The manager refused to listen at first, but - through Funda's magic - eventually gave in and agreed to let us swim in the baths and have lockers for free. My overall assessment: swimming was very nice, and it seems reasonable to charge a modest fee, but 23 TL for entering the thermal bath is really excessive, particularly given the general cost of living in Pamukkale (cheaper than most other tourist towns).

Ephesus

Most Americans don't realize that the land now known as Turkey contains both much of the heartland of Greco-Roman civilization and many early centers of Christianity. Although no one (except maybe a few tour guides) lives there these days, nevertheless Ephesus was once a large urban center and the capital of the Roman Province of Asia (Minor). St. Paul wrote a letter, now considered part of the biblical canon, to the community at Ephesus, and according to some sources St. John was also connected to the Christians there.

The classical ruins at Ephesus are by far the most extensive and best preserved ones that I have come across thus far in Turkey. They are truly a magnificent sight to see.

ruins


The Odeon


The library of Celsus


The harbor street


Particularly impressive and interesting are the terrace houses - large residences inhabited by rich Ephesians, decorated with beautiful frescoes and mosaics and equipped with kitchens, baths, and latrines. These houses seem to have been abandoned after an earthquake in the seventh century AD and were only rediscovered in the 1960s. Although it costs an extra 15 Turkish Lira to see the terrace houses, they are well worth the price.

Here are some photos of workmen reconstructing the walls and decorations:



Here's a picture of a room with a table (or altar?) in the center:


Here are some pictures of the frescoes:

Travels with Ellen

Although the faculty development seminar has ended, my trip to Turkey has not. Since last Friday (June 5), Ellen and I have been traveling along the Sea of Marmara and down the Aegean Coast. Our days have been spent walking around WWI battlefields (Galipoli), visiting ancient ruins (Troy, Pergamum), and enjoying Mediterranean beaches (Assos, Cunda). We've also spent a considerable amount of time eating fresh seafood and visiting museums.

The Touristy Trojan Horse Model at Troy


Ruins at the Asklepion in Pergamum


Along the way, we've met many kind and wonderful people, both Turks and foreigners. In both Çannakale and Cunda, kind passerbies got into the car and helped direct us to our hotel, while in Pergamum a young Turkish lad helped us find the Archeological Museum. In Assos we met a retired Swiss gentleman named Yves (pictured below).



In a restaurant in Selçuk (right by Ephesus) we met Emile and Dan (pictured below), both professors at UVA's medical school. Although we had only just met, they invited us to join their table and - much to our embarassment - ended up picking up the entire bill. You don't find friends like that too often.



Feline friends have also ever present. In Istanbul, Ellen showed her big heart and animal-loving zeal by feeding the local cats rotisserie chicken every night. Away from Istanbul her acts of animal welfare have continued and even expanded to include other critters. At the Asklepion in Pergamum she fed two local turtles mulberries from nearby mulberry trees. (According to Ellen, the turtles ate her offerings with great relish.) She expressed great concern, however, at the griminess of the water in which they were living and would not leave until the guard had assured her that the turtles were water turtles and that they had always lived in that particular recess.

Prayer at Rustem Pasha mosque