The site will open to the public at some time in 2017.
Monday, November 28, 2016
The tempting site of Kibyra
The site will open to the public at some time in 2017.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Olympie, the daughter of Alexander
Monday, November 21, 2016
Cyrus the Great, venerated by the Iranians today
Poor Cyrus, who respected the customs and beliefs of all nations, and truly deserved to be called “Great”. Translated in today’s vocabulary, we should say that he was famous for his achievements in human rights, politics and military strategy. After all, he laid the foundations for a central administration and a government that worked to the benefit of his subjects. It is sad to see how his great principles have been turned into a political and religious discussion, something he definitely did not want.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
The siege of Sangala (in modern Pakistan)
[Picture of the Hydraotes River from Wikipedia By Vjdchauhan - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0]
[Map from Travel, Tourism, Transport and Maps of Pakistan]
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Euromos, just a bowshot away
Several years ago, while driving down from Kusadasi to Milas, I was intrigued by a signpost pointing towards Euromos. I had never heard of this city that showed on my map with three dots, typically telling me these were ruins of some kind.
As it turned
out, these columns belonged to a temple dedicated to Zeus, which with its 17
columns still standing, is one of the best-preserved temples in
Wind and weather have definitely left their marks on this building dating from the 2nd century BC. As so often, I was the only visitor, but I had a ball stepping onto the crepidoma of the temple, trying to figure out its layout and the sacred cella. I even found a strange relief of a double ax, which I learned, later on, belonged to the Carian Zeus.
Since 2011, excavations have started again at Euromos. These will involve cleaning the blackened columns but also a more extensive analysis of the site. There are still many blocks of this temple lying around, and they hope to use them to understand this wonderful place better.
When I walked away from the temple, I thought there was very little else to see. However, I soon discovered a few tiers of what must have been the theater and a flat that could have been the agora. More excavation work has been carried out in recent years, exposing more of the theater and the agora and a bath and some city walls.
As usual, the purpose of these restorations is to draw more tourists to the area, but for me, nothing can replace that very first approach frozen in time!
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Latest excavations at Cnidos
Cnidos was primarily known for the famous Aphrodite statue, which was worshiped as Aphrodite Euploia, de goddess of Good Sailing. Praxiteles dared display his first nude woman here – a favorite and much-loved tourist attraction in antiquity!
Sunday, November 6, 2016
A debate about Alexander – just for the fun of it
So, why or to what purpose this mosaic at Huqoq was made remains a mystery and so far, there is no watertight explanation that could fit all the details of the mosaic.