Turkey - Cappadocia (kapadokya) Goreme, Urgup

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Cappadocia which is unique in the world and is a miraculous nature wonder is the common name of the field covered by the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir in the Middle Anatolian region.

In the upper Myosen period in the Cappadocia region as a result of the vulcanic eruptions occurred in Erciyes, Hasandag and Gulludag, in the region was formed a large tableland from the vulcanic tufas and together with the erosion of the Kizilirmak river and wind over ten thausands of years there appeared the chimney rocks which are a wonder of the nature. In the old Bronze Age the Cappadocia which was the population zone of the Assyrian civilization later has hosted the Hittite, Frig, Pers, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations. The first Christians escaped from the persecution of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century B.C. came to the Cappadocia over the Antakya and Kayseri and they have settled here. The first Christians finding the underground cities from Cappadocia have been hidden in these underground cities which gates were made in such way in which they couldn't be easily observed and they have escaped from the persecution of the Roman soldiers. Due that they had live in the underground cities for long duration without being able to go out they have developed these underground cities by making provisions rooms, ventilation chimneys, wine production places, churches, abbeys, water wells, toilets and meeting rooms.

In the prehistoric periods the first human settlements have begun and the humans have constructed the underground cities in the volcanic rocks in form of tufa due to protect themselves from the wild animals and they lived for long times in these underground cities.

In these cities made in form of rooms connected to each others some of the rooms were connected to each other only with the tunnels tight and permitting passing of just a person. At the access gates of these tunnels there were huge stone rollers used for closing the tunnels for security reasons.

The first populations of the region of Cappadocia were Hatties, Luvies and Hittites. In the 3000-2000 years B.C. the Assyrians have established trade colonies in this region. The Cappaddocian tables with cuneiform in Assyrian language founded at Kaneþ which are lighting the social and politic life of the period and were in the same time the trade and economical agreements are the firs written tablets of Anatolia. According to these documents in that period in Anatolia were founded small local kingdoms non-depending from a central authority. These had in generally in their hands a little area and were living in peace. The region creating the core of the Hittite Empire later has go under the domination of Phrigia and Pers. The Pers civilization has called this region Katpatuka and its center was Mazaka. When Datames the Satrab (Starab: little district administrator at Pers) of Cappadocia has bear arms against the biggest king of Pers, the other Anatolian Satrabs have been supported him but the revolt has been raided. In 33 b.c. the Big Alexander has captured a big part of Cappadocia. In 188 B.C. The Cappadocia which entered under the Roman domination has been captured in 100 B.C. by the Mithridatesd the king of Pontus but in 63 B.C. Pompeius has defeated Mithridates and took again the Cappadocia under the domination of Rome. In the period of Tiberius the Cappadocia gainded the status of Roman district.

Cappadocia was one of the most important places in the spreading periods of the Christian religion. The first christians trying to escape from the Roman soldiers who wanted to avoid the spreading of the Christian religion have settled in the region of Cappadocia which was so suitable for hiding and so they were able to continue their natures and to spread their religions. Saint Basileious from Kaisera and Saint Gregorios from Nyssa had settled in Cappadocia. In 647 A.C. together with occupation of Kayseri by Muaviye Cappadocia has met with the Arabian invasions. Cappadocia which went under the domination of the Seljuks in 1072 has been added to the lands of Ottoman Empire in 1399 by the Ottoman Sultan Yildirim Beyazit.

Cappadocia which is in our days one of the most important tourism centers of Turkey is visited every year by hundred thousands of tourists coming from every part of the world.

Turkei - Ephesos Antique City Video Guide

Ephesos Antique City

Ephesos, which lies on the west coast of Turkey, former capital city of the Roman province of Asia and site of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, has been since 1895 a site of research for Austrian archaeological science. For its part providingthe direct motivation for the founding of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI) according to international models, Ephesos today still forms the focal point of archaeological research carried out abroad by the institute.
The history of research at Ephesos
In 1863, the English architect John Turtle Wood began to look for the Artemision, one of the Seven Wonders of the world, at Ephesos. Afer seven years of this quest, on New Year’s Day 1869, he encountered the marble pavement of the temple at a depth of almost 7 m. As the awaited finds, however, did not come to light, the excavations were discontinued in 1874.
It was the concern of Otto Benndorf, the first Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, to turn Ephesos into an Austrian research site; his initiative was supported on the Turkish as well as the German side. The beginning of work, however, was first made possible by a private citizen, Karl Mautner Ritter von Markhof, who donated 10,000 guilders in April 1895. As was the case with the beginning of research at Ephesos, the entire history of Austrian work at this site remains supported by private patronage.İn spite of a break after the First World War, which had an impact also on the realm of archaeological research, Ephesos remained an Austrian research site, due to a great extent to the wishes of the Turks. In 1926, the resumption of work was once again only possible due to a combined effort of Austrian state authority and private sponsors - John Rockefeller, Jr., and the Emergency Association of German Science. The work was carried forward without public financial support; the investigations undertaken at this time of the Christian sites of the Coemeterium of the Seven Sleepers and the Basilica of St. John provided impetus for financial support.
Similarly difficult was the situation after the Second World War: only eight years after the conclusion of the war did the Austrian researchers return to Ephesos. The Austrian Academy of Sciences, which in 1995 renewed its patronage of work at Ephesos, laid the financial foundations, while the continuation of research was enabled not only by the responsible government ministeries, but also again by sponsors, amongst them the Austrian National Bank, Mautner Markhof, the Basel Foundation “Pro Epheso”, as well as donations in the form of equipment.
Work has taken place at Ephesos since 1954 without interruption, and the excavation permission is granted annually by the Turkish authorities. In accordance with the altered profile of archaeological science, today the focal point of activities is not only the extensive uncovering of the ancient ruins, but also the systematic exploration of the differing epochs of the more than one-thousand-year history of the former Metropolis of Asia. As with all research activity of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, interdisciplinary cooperation between archaeology and the neighbouring disciplines of the natural sciences is also necessary in Ephesos: international scientists from the professional departments for historical anthropology, archaeozoology, paleobotany, geology, geophysics and geodesy all appear at Ephesos every year. Conservation and restoration of the find objects and monuments can be added to these cooperative efforts, as the scientific accompaniment of the care of the monuments is particularly important at such a heavily touristed site as Ephesos, which receives ca. 2 million visitors a year.
The excavation budget of ca. 9 million Austrian shillings is collected together from government funds, funds for the promotion of scientific research , and from donations by private sponsors. Since 1970, the Society of the Friends of Ephesos can be counted amongst the largest patrons of the Austrian excavations. Internationally prominent projects such as the reconstruction of the Library of Celsus were able to be realised through the support of the firm Kallingerbau. Also, recent major projects such as the roofing and conservation of the “Hanghäuser” or the restoration of the Great Theatre were only possible through the active support of sponsors.





History and Monuments

The history of the city of Ephesos, which today lies at the silted-up harbour at the mouth of the Kaystros (Küçük Menderes), stretches back to the Neolithic period, achieved its heyday in Greco-Roman antiquity, and experienced a final flowering during the Selçuk dynasty of Aydinogullari in the 15th century A.D.
The steep hill which is today named Ayasoluk (derived from “Hagios Theologos”) was already the central settlement area in the 3rd millennium B.C.; from this location, the modern town of Selçuk stretches away to the south. The Venetian-Ottoman citadel on the highest point, clearly visible from afar, is the most recent of a series of fortifications, of which the oldest was erected during the Bronze Age. This was probably the site of Apasa, mentioned in the Hittite war reports dating to the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. Of the Mycenaean trading site and the Greek settlement which were founded here, only a few individual graves are known to date.
The first stone-built constructions appeared at the latest in the 8th century B.C. in an apparently earlier sanctuary, on a western spur of Ayasoluk, which at that time bordered the coast. The Lydian king Croesus, who became legendary on account of his wealth, helped with the financing of the largest temple construction of antiquity, the Artemision, which was erected in the 6th century B.C.; this temple remained the most important economic element of the city up until late antiquity on account of its function, its wealth in landed property, and the fact that it possessed right of asylum.
Shortly after 400 A.D. this huge temple, extolled as a “Wonder of the World”, was destroyed, and a Christian church appeared in its place. Around the middle of the 6th century A.D., the Byzantine Imperial couple Justinian and Theodora erected a seven-domed basilica on Ayasoluk, dedicated to Hagios Theologos John, above an older church building and the tomb of this saint, considered to be the author of the biblical apocalypse. From the 9th century on, the Bishop of Ephesos also resided here, inside the now-fortified settlement; after this, the vast city in the plain was abandoned.
After an interlude of Arabic and Mongol rulers, the Selcuks of the House of Aydin established themselves in Ephesos around 1400; in their honour, the town Ayasoluk was renamed Selcuk under Kemal AtatŸrk. The last sovereign of the dynasty, Isabey, was responsible for the erection, not far from the Artemision, of a mosque which is remarkably important from an art-historical viewpoint. At this occasion, a bath complex (Hamam) was even erected for the building-workers.
The main attraction for archaeologists and tourists alike are the ruins of the Hellenistic-Roman city, which lie ca. 3 km. distant from Selcuk. At the beginning of the 3rd c. B.C., King Lysimachos, one of the generals and successors of Alexander the Great, transferred the city from the Artemision to the side inlet between the hills Preon (today, Bülbüldag) and Pion (Panayirdag), as the alluvial deposits of the river Kaystros and the constantly rising sea level had submerged the old settlement and made the harbour impassable. As the most notable monuments from the time of the new foundation, parts of the city wall- which was originally 8 to 10 kilometres in length - stretching along the ridge of Bülbüldag, and the commando tower, incorrectly known as “Paul’s Prison”, above the harbour still dominate the silhouette of Ephesos today. For a long time, the elaborate tomb near Belevi, about 13 km. upriver from Ephesos, was believed to be the monumental tomb of the royal founder of the city.
In addition to a number of stretches of streets, the following public buildings have been excavated up until now: the city market with the bouleuterion (meeting place of the municipal council), the prytaneion (meeting quarters of the highest religious authorities), various sanctuaries of the Roman imperial cult, as well as the Tetragonos Agora (trade market) and the theatre, which was constructed for 24,000 spectators. The massive ruins of the five inner-city bath-gymnasium complexes, which were erected and attained their final form between the late 1st and the mid-3rd century A.D., still require further investigation, as do the aqueduct systems which belong to them, and the temple area west of the agora (the so-called Serapeion). The most important building of late antiquity is the (cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary)(”Marienkirche”). This stands on the site of the Olympieon, a temple erected in honour of the Emperor Hadrian, which was levelled down to its foundations in ca. 400 A.D.
The elaborate façade of the city’s public library, adjacent to the South Gate of the Agora, was built in ca. 110 A.D. according to the testamentary wishes of Celsus Polemeanus, former governor of the province and friend of the Empeor Trajan; the library has been reconstructed with the aid of private funds, and, since the completion of restoration in 1978, has become the symbol of the city. The library, which also served as the tomb of its patron, was built across the main road (in antiquity known as the Embolos, today the Kuretenstra§e) which was widened in front of the structure in the form of a small piazza. This main road runs in the furrow between the city hills, and links the civic market-place with the commercial agora. The Kuretenstraße was accompanied by colonnades, and furthermore numerous honorific and funerary monuments for outstanding citizens and international personages are interspersed along its length with public fountains and gateways leading to adjoining side-streets. Directly behind, the luxury homes of the highest echelons of Ephesian society were developed, beginning in the early imperial period.
Two of these civic domestic complexes, known as “Hanghäuser” 1 and 2, have been systematically and completely excavated since 1960. While the greatest part of Hanghaus 1 , with a total area of 2800 m2, was taken up by a single residence, Terrace Houses in contrast was composed of seven multi-storeyed houses, divided over three terraces, each with its own inner courtyard. Due to the exquisite preservation of the building furnishings, including columns, wall paintings, stucco work, marble veneer, and mosaic floors, a protective structure was set up over the entire complex, 4000 m2 in area, a structure which was able to be completed in June 2000.
Collections in Istanbul (Archaeological Museum), London (British Museum) and Vienna (Ephesos Museum of the Art History Museum) display finds discovered up to the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1906, all finds have remained in Turkey, the land of origin, and are primarily to be seen in the Ephesos Museum in Selçuk, which displays the rich finds of sculpture, architectural elements, inscriptions and small finds from the excavations of the past decades.