Study Tour 2013: Hierapolis to Ephesus

Saturday night we went out to the local town to visit their markets. I also tried Dr Fish... where one puts his feet in a tank and fish come up and nibble your feet. I also put my hands in. On one of the hands I had a small sore. The fish nibble all around and in the sore. The next morning there was not sore. Pretty good little Dr Fish. (My feet are very smooth too.)

After an enjoyable and relaxing Sabbath at Pamukkale we left early in the morning for Hierapolis (Holy City) located on hot springs in classical Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia. Its ruins are adjacent to modern Pamukkale (where we stayed two nights).

We entered the city from the North side the Frontinus Gate. This is the monumental entrance to the Roman city and leads onto the large plateia, 14 m wide, which crosses the whole settlement, exiting a gate at the opposite side, to connect with the road that goes to Laodicea on the Lykos and then Colossae. It is worth admiring the well preserved structure with three openings, in carefully squared travertine blocks, with elegant arches decorated with a simple cornice moulding, flanked by two round towers that recall Hellenistic city Gates such as that of the Pamphilian city of Perge, near Antalya.

To enter the city you need to go past many ancient graves (Sarcophagi). Walking up the main through fare past the sarcophagi there is huge Roman baths. The Roman baths have distinctive high arches with the head stones still in place.The baths were converted to a church in the early Christian era (c. 5th century) It is apparent that the building had stuccoed, vaulted ceiling and that the halls were decorated with marble slabs. Incredible to thing that these remains have been there around 2000 years. Continuing on we headed for Pluto's Gate, a shrine to Pluto. The plutonium was a small cave just large enough for one person to enter through a fenced entrance (Gate of Hell), beyond which stairs go down and from which emerged suffocating carbon dioxide gases caused by subterranean geologic activity.

During the early years of the town, castrated priests of Cybele descended into the plutonium, crawling over the floor to pockets of oxygen or holding their breath. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and so tends to settle in hollows. The priests would then come up to show that they were miraculously immune to the gas and infused with divine protection.

The priests sold birds and other animals to the visitors, so that they could try out how deadly this enclosed area was. Visitors could (for a fee) ask questions of Pluto's oracle. This provided a considerable source of income for the temple. The entrance to the plutonium was walled off during the Christian times.

From the plutonium we followed the path up to a large theatre. The first theatre was constructed to the northeast above the northern gate when the ancient city was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17. After the earthquake of AD 60, a new theatre was constructed during the reign of the emperor Vespasian. This second theatre was hollowed out of the slope of the hill further to the east using the remains and the seats of the first. There were alterations during the reigns of Hadrian and Septimius Severus. There is an inscription in the theatre that relates to the emperor Hadrian. Septimius Severus is portrayed in a relief together with his wife Julia Domna, his two sons Caracalla and Geta, and the god Jupiter. In 352, the theatre underwent a thorough restoration and was adapted for water shows.

There were four entrances to the theatre, each with six statues in niches flanked by marble columns. The auditorium consisted of stacked seating with a capacity of 15,000 and was bisected by a horizontal corridor. It featured an imperial box. The lower part originally had twenty rows and the upper part twenty five, but only thirty rows altogether have survived. The auditorium is segmented into nine aisles by means of eight vertical passageways with steps. The proscenium consisted of two stories with ornately decorated niches to the sides. Several statues, reliefs (including depictions of Apollo, Dionysus, and Diana), and decorative elements have been excavated by the Italian archaeological team and can be seen in the local museum.
The theatre is now under restoration. Many reliefs and statues depicting mythological figures have been excavated from the site.

From the theatre, we headed up the hill to the St. Philippe Martyrion.
The Martyrion was built at the end of the 4th or at beginning of the 5th century on an area measuring 20 by 20 metres (66 by 66 ft). It was erected in honour of Saint Philip who was killed in Hierapolis. It became an important sanctuary when Christianity was adopted as an official religion. The surviving remains demonstrate that it was flanked by rooms on four sides and by porticos on two sides. There were eight chapels separated from each other by polygonal rooms. A central chapel and octagonal cloister are entered through the surrounding rooms. Accordingly the construction resembles two crosses. The roof of the cloister which is about 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter is formed by a dome constructed from lead tiles supported on a wooden frame. The sides are formed by a mixture of brick arches and wooden roofs. The presence of the Martyrion and the many churches indicate the importance of the city in Christian history.

From the Hierapolis we headed towards the Pools of Cleopatra for little rest in the pools and restaurant. Had a lovely ice cream to cool down after a very hot dry sunny morning...

Leaving the Pools of Cleopatra we headed for the ancient city of Laodicea. The Laodicean Church was a Christian community established in the ancient city of Laodicea (on the river Lycus). The church was established in the earliest period of Christianity, and is probably best known for being one of the seven churches addressed by name in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 3.14-22).

From Laodicea we headed for Colossae. It is now a tell. A tell or tel, (from Hebrew: תֵּל,[1] Arabic: تلّ‎, tall)[2] is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides. Colossae was located 120 miles east of Ephesus in the Lycus River Valley in ancient Phrygia, part of the Roman territory of Asia Minor. It was one of a triad of cities in the area (the other two being Laodicea and Hierapolis), resting at the foot of Mount Cadmus. It’s biblical significance lies in the fact that the book of Colossians was addressed to the church here (Col 1:2) and that Philemon lived in this city.

From Colossae we headed for Ephesus Tatlises Hotel.

After another scrumptious evening meal I just had to go and try out the hotel pool. Unfortunately we got kicked out at 10.00pm. An hour in the cool pool wasn't really long enough, but better an hour than nothing. Another great day of Biblical Archeology!