Hi everyone!
Today, we traveled to Pergamon, Turkey. It is one of the oldest cities in Turkey and about an hour from where we were last night in Ivalake. However, this city is best known for the Acropolis, which sits above the hills. This is an ancient Roman city dating back to the days of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. First established around 281 BC, the Acropolis was originally a Hellenistic type of town that reflected the culture of Alexander the Great. Eventually, the Acropolis was left to the Romans who then proceeded to change the city. Some of the features are still Hellenistic, but the Romans definitely left their touch. Any of the pictures were you see very high arches are Roman. That is one of their most distinctive architecture styles.
The library of the Acropolis is famous for producing papyrus paper by Egyptian paper-makers. The name was eventually changed to Perganese paper and the modern term for this paper is parchment. Cool right? The city of Pergamon as well as the ancient city of Ephesus were eventually given by Marc Antony to Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen. During later principates, Trajan and Hadrian were worshipped here as Gods after achieving divine status after their deaths. The remains of those temples are still somewhat intact. Naturally, this visit to the Acropolis was fascinating and exciting for someone like me who has a healthy interest in history and classics. Professor Osgood would be proud.
After visiting the Acropolis, we learned about how Turkish rugs are made at a small factory. There is so much detail that goes into the making of rugs that it is almost unbelievable. To make a very small rug, it can take months. Naturally, the large rugs were expensive so I purchased a very small one that will likely serve as a wall decoration as opposed to an actual rug. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with my purchase.
After both of these visits, we continued on to the resort town of Kusadasi, which is also on the Aegean Sea. This town is a lot bigger than Ivalake, but the beaches are not as nice. Nonetheless, the Turkish people are very friendly here and the town is gorgeous from above. On a side note, I have really been enjoying the Turkish food. It is very simple, mostly bread, rice, vegetables, and meat, but delicious. I hope the food in Greece is just as good since I know it is similar.
Turkey has definitely surprised me. I was not sure what to expect after Istanbul, but I have found it to be quite charming. Tomorrow is unfortunately our last day in Turkey and we are spending it in Ephesus. Looking forward to another day of learning and exploring! On Saturday, we set sail to Greece on our cruise!
That is all for now! There are pictures below!
AL
Pergamon from the Acropolis
Kusadasi
No comments:
Post a Comment