Ancient Wonders of Turkey: October 2019

1. The Ancient Wonders of Turkey
Pilgrimmage Tours: Ds Marius Greeff
Tempel Tours: Daghan Erdogdu & Okan Agacayak
James AH Campbell
October 2019

2. Journey
• Istanbul
• Cappadocia
• Konya
• Antalya
• Pamukkale
• Kusadasi
• Pergamon
• Troy
• Gallipoli
2
Istanbul
Kusadasi
Konya
Cappadocia
Antalya
Gallipoli
Troy
Pergamon
Pamukkale
Photos: James AH Campbell; Text: Wikipedia & others.

3. Hagi Sophia
Hagia Sophia is the former Greek
Orthodox Christian patriarchal
cathedral, later an Ottoman
imperial mosque and now a
museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
Built in AD 537 at the beginning of
the Middle Ages, it was famous in
particular for its massive dome.
3

4. Blue Mosque
Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historic
mosque. It remains a functioning
mosque, while also attracting large
numbers of tourist visitors.
It was constructed between 1609
and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed
I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb,
a madrasah and a hospice.
4

5. Grand Bazaar
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one
of the largest and oldest covered
markets in the world, with 61
covered streets and over 4,000
shops on a total area of 30,700 m²,
attracting between 250,000 and
400,000 visitors daily.
5

6. River Bosphorus
The Bosphorus; also known as the
Strait of Istanbul is a narrow, natural
strait and an internationally
significant waterway located in
northwestern Turkey. It forms part
of the continental boundary
between Europe and Asia, and
divides Turkey by separating
Anatolia from Thrace.
It is the world's narrowest strait
used for international navigation,
the Bosporus connects the Black
Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and,
by extension via the Dardanelles,
the Aegean and Mediterranean
seas.
6

7. Uchisar
Uçhisar is first mentioned in a 14th
century chronicle by Aziz ibn Ardasir.
The general area had been occupied
much earlier, however. The Hittites,
who may have used the natural
structures of the cliffs as refuges and
strongholds against possible attacks.
In the seventh century AD, the
Byzantines created a 'buffer zone' in
the area against Islamic expansion.
The nature of the terrain was
conducive to defence, while the
camouflage of the buildings provided
an improved defence against
attackers.
7

8. Cappadocia Ballooning
The peaks of three volcanoes –
Erciyes, Hasan and Melendiz Dağları
dominate Cappadocia. It was their
eruptions, which covered the
former plateau of Ürgüp in ash and
mud some thirty million years ago,
that provided the region’s raw
material: tuff, formed by
compressed volcanic ash.
Erosion has worked on this soft
stone ever since, to form the valleys
and curious fairy chimney rock
formations for which the region is
so famous.
8

9. Goreme - 1
The park area consists of plateaus and
high hills, dissected by streams and river
valleys carved out by water, the valleys
having steeply sloping sides. Part of this
rugged area consists of basalt and thick
beds of tuff.
The tuff is the result of ash emitted
from volcanoes millions of years ago,
which solidified into a soft rock, and has
since been overlain by solidified lava
which forms a protective capping. This
has been eroded over the millennia to
form the multi-coloured cliffs, rock
towers, pillars, tent rocks and fairy
chimney rock formations present in the
park.
9

10. Goreme - 2
The earliest signs of monastic
activity in Cappadocia can be traced
back to the 4th century when small
anchorite communities, following
the teachings of Basileios the Great,
Bishop of Kayseri, started to inhabit
the cells hewn in the rock.
Later, the communities took refuge
together in underground villages in
order to avoid attacks by marauding
Arabs.
10

11. Monks Valley
The valley got its name because monks
used to take refuge here. Cappadocia
had become a thriving monastic
community by the 4th century and St
Simeon was one of the many monks
who came to Cappadocia. It seemed
that rumours had got around that he
could perform miracles and he came to
Cappadocia to escape the attention. He
lived as a hermit in the upper reaches
inside one of the 15-metre high fairy
chimneys with his disciples and only
descended occasionally to get food and
drink brought by his disciples.
A hermit’s shelter and a chapel
dedicated to St. Simeon has been built
into one of the fairy chimneys and you
can visit the inside of this fairy chimney
and climb to the top.
11

12. Mushroom Valley
Although they may seem to appear
as a work of some crazy artist, in
reality they were created by simple
natural processes.
During volcanic activity occurring
millions years ago, volcanic ash set
along the plains of Cappadocia
forming "tuff" - a solid, but soft rock
(this is why people in Cappadocia
have been able to carve their
homes out of it for centuries). Then,
after subsequent eruptions, magma
consisting of pure liquid rock
covered the tuff creating a hard
shell or "crust" on top of the softer
tuff layer.
12

13. Pigeon Valley
The valley is named for the many
pigeon houses or dovecotes carved
into the rocks and cliffs. Years ago
the pigeons were used as message
carriers, and their droppings were
used as fertilizer and maybe even
for use in making explosives.
Today, very few, if any, pigeons are
kept in the valley, although many
locals keep them as pets in their
own columbariums.
13

14. Caravanserai
One of the largest caravanserais in
the worldwide, Sultan Hani
Caravanserai was made in Seljuk
Time in order to be used as an
accommodation for the people,
especially merchants travelling the
Silk Road and as a defence for trade
ways which was the first insurance
system those times.
This glorious structure was built by
grand architect Muhammad bin
Havlan el-Dimiski by the order of
Anatolia Seljuk Sultan Aladdin
Keykubat I between 1228 and 1229.
14

15. Konya
Konya is one of Turkey's oldest
continuously inhabited cities and was
known as Iconium in Roman times. As
the capital of the Seljuk Turks from the
12-13th centuries, it ranks as one of the
great cultural centres of Turkey. During
that period of cultural, political and
religious growth, the mystic Mevlana
Celaleddin-i Rumi founded a Sufi order
known in the West as the Whirling
Dervishes.
The striking green-tiled mausoleum of
Mevlana is Konya’s most famous
building. Attached to the mausoleum,
the former dervish seminary now serves
as a museum housing manuscripts of
Mevlana's works and various artefacts
related to the mysticism of the sect.
15

16. Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains, are a
mountain complex in southern
Turkey, separating the
Mediterranean coastal region of
southern Turkey from the central
Anatolian Plateau.
The system extends along a curve
from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the
upper reaches of the Euphrates and
Tigris rivers in the east.
16

17. Aspendos
Aspendos is located to the east of
Antalya and is famous for its best-
preserved ancient amphitheater built
in the 2nd century AD during the
reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
The theatre has a capacity of 15,000
people and is still used today for
performances and festivals. Its
galleries, stage decorations and
acoustics all testify to its architect
Xeno's success.
Just above the theatre there is the
acropolis with a great view of the
river from the top, where you can see
a basilica, an agora, a nymphaeum
and bouleuterion (council), all of
them in ruins.
17

18. Antalya
Antalya is a Turkish resort city with
a yacht-filled Old Harbour and
beaches flanked by large hotels. It's
a gateway to Turkey's southern
Mediterranean region, known as
the Turquoise Coast for its blue
waters.
Remnants remain from Antalya's
time as a major Roman port. These
include Hadrian’s Gate, built to
honour the Roman emperor’s visit
in 130 A.D and 2nd-century Hidirlik
Tower, with harbour views.
18

19. Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea
connected to the Atlantic Ocean,
surrounded by the Mediterranean
Basin and almost completely
enclosed by land: on the north by
Southern Europe and Anatolia, on
the south by North Africa and on
the east by the Levant.
19

20. Hierapolis
Hierapolis was an ancient city
located on hot springs in classical
Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia.
Its ruins are adjacent to modern
Pamukkale in Turkey and currently
comprise an archaeological
museum designated as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
20

21. Pamukkale
Known as Pamukkale (Cotton Castle)
or ancient Hierapolis (Holy City), this
area has been drawing the weary to
its thermal springs since the time of
Classical antiquity. The Turkish name
refers to the surface of the
shimmering, snow-white limestone,
shaped over millennia by calcium-rich
springs.
Dripping slowly down the vast
mountainside, mineral-rich waters
foam and collect in terraces, spilling
over cascades of stalactites into milky
pools below. Legend has it that the
formations are solidified cotton (the
area's principal crop) that giants left
out to dry
21

22. Laodocia
The Laodicean Church was a
Christian community established in
the ancient city of Laodicea (on the
river Lycus, in the Roman province
of Asia, and one of the early centres
of Christianity).
The church was established in the
Apostolic Age, the earliest period of
Christianity, and is probably best
known for being one of the Seven
churches of Asia addressed by name
in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 3.14-
22).
22

23. Artemis
The Temple of Artemis or Artemision
also known less precisely as the Temple
of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated
to an ancient, local form of the goddess
Artemis (associated with Diana, a
Roman goddess).
It was completely rebuilt twice, once
after a devastating flood and three
hundred years later after an act of
arson, and in its final form was one of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World.
By 401 AD it had been ruined or
destroyed. Only foundations and
fragments of the last temple remain at
the site.
23

24. Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of
Ionia. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site
of the former Arzawan capital by Attic and Ionian
Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era it
was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League.
The city flourished after it came under the control
of the Roman Republic in 129 BC.
The city was famed for the nearby Temple of
Artemis and among many other monumental
buildings are the Library of Celsus, and a theatre
capable of holding 25,000 spectators.
Ephesos was one of the seven churches of Asia that
are cited in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of
John may have been written here. The city was the
site of several 5th-century Christian Councils (see
Council of Ephesus).
The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263, and
although rebuilt, the city's importance as a
commercial centre declined as the harbour was
slowly silted. It was partially destroyed by an
earthquake in AD 614.
24

25. St.John - Ephesus
The Basilica of St. John was a
basilica in Ephesus. It was
constructed by Justinian I in the 6th
century.
It stands over the believed burial
site of John the Apostle. It was
modelled after the now lost Church
of the Holy Apostles in
Constantinople.
25

26. Kusadasi – Aegean Sea
Kuşadası is a beach resort town on
Turkey’s western Aegean coast. A
jumping-off point for visiting the
classical ruins at nearby Ephesus.
Its seafront promenade, marina,
and harbour are lined with hotels
and restaurants. Just offshore on
Pigeon Island is a walled Byzantine
castle that once guarded the town,
connected to the mainland via
causeway.
26

27. Sirence
Şirince was settled when Ephesus
was abandoned in the 15th century
but most of what one sees today
dates from the 19th century.
There is a story that the village was
settled by freed Greek slaves who
named the village Çirkince
(meaning "Ugly" in Turkish) to deter
others from following them.
The village's name was changed to
Şirince (meaning "Pleasant") in
1926 by the governor of Izmir
Province.
27

28. Pergamon
During the Hellenistic period, it
became the capital of the Kingdom
of Pergamon under the Attalid
dynasty in 281–133 BC, who
transformed it into one of the major
cultural centres of the Greek world.
Many remains of its impressive
monuments can still be seen and
especially the outstanding
masterpiece of the Pergamon Altar.
Pergamon was the northernmost of
the seven churches of Asia cited in
the New Testament Book of
Revelation.
28

29. Troy
Based on Homer's "Iliad," this epic
portrays the battle between the
ancient kingdoms of Troy and
Sparta.
While visiting Spartan King
Menelaus , Trojan prince Paris falls
for Menelaus' wife, Helen, and
takes her back to Troy. Menelaus'
brother, King Agamemnon, having
already defeated every army in
Greece, uses his brother's fury as a
pretext to declare war against Troy,
the last kingdom preventing his
control over the Aegean Sea.
29

30. Gallipoli
The Gallipoli campaign took place from 17 February 1915 to
9 January 1916. The Entente powers sought to weaken the
Ottoman Empire by taking control of the straits that
provided a supply route to Russia. The Allies' attack on
Ottoman forts at the entrance of the Dardanelles in
February 1915 failed and was followed by an amphibious
landing on the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915 to capture
the Ottoman capital of Constantinople.
In January 1916, after 8 months' fighting, with c.250,000
casualties on each side, the land campaign was abandoned
and the invasion force withdrawn. It was a costly defeat for
the Allies and for the sponsors, especially Winston Churchill.
The campaign was considered a great Ottoman victory.
In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the history
of the state being the struggle forming the basis for the
Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the
Republic of Turkey 8 years later, with Kemal Atatürk, who
rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli, as founder
and president.
The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of
Australian and New Zealand national consciousness; 25
April, the anniversary of the landings, is known as ANZAC
Day, the most significant commemoration of military
casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing
Remembrance Day (Armistice Day).
30

31. Accommodation
One of my favourites: the Splendid
Cave Hotel in Ortahisar.
31

32. Eating
Turkish cuisine is largely the
heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which
can be described as a fusion and
refinement of Central Asian, Middle
Eastern, Eastern European and
Balkan cuisines.
The Ottomans fused various
culinary traditions of their realm
with influences from Levantine
cuisines, along with traditional
Turkic elements from Central Asia
(such as yogurt and mantı), creating
a vast array of specialities.
32

33. The Whirling
Dervishes
Sufi whirling is a form of physically active
meditation which originated among Sufis,
and which is still practiced by the Sufi
Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other
orders.
It is a customary meditation practice
performed within the Sema, or worship
ceremony, through which dervishes reach
the source of all perfection, or kamal. This
is sought through abandoning one's ego or
personal desires, by listening to the music,
focusing on God, and spinning one's body
in repetitive circles, which has been seen
as a symbolic imitation of planets in the
Solar System orbiting the sun
33

34. Belly Dancing
Belly dance is primarily a torso-
driven dance, with an emphasis on
articulations of the hips. Unlike
many Western dance forms, the
focus of the dance is on isolations of
the torso muscles, rather than on
movements of the limbs through
space.
Although some of these isolations
appear similar to the isolations used
in jazz ballet, they are sometimes
driven differently and have a
different feeling or emphasis.
34

35. The End