Zeus, Apollo and Virgin Mary

We started our first complete day in Turkey with an excursion to two temples. The ancient city of Euromos was one of the most important areas in its day, and nothing much is left except this temple of Zeus, dating from about 200 AD. Although little is left, it is actually among the six best preserved monuments in Asia. Another view of the temple. Greek writing on one of the columns.
Above this hillside of olive trees are the demolished remains of a theatre and marketplace. Between visits to the temples, we had lunch at this charming little restaurant in Didyma. Adjoining the restaurant was a souvenir/antique shop where I bought a necklace.
The ruins of the temple of Apollo were adjacent to the restaurant. It was one of the largest temples of the ancient world, (constructed about the 6th century BC) and was actually never finished. In the center of the sanctuary was an oracle spring. Many of the bases of the columns were beautifully carved, many with faces and animals. At the entrance to the inner sanctuary, guards with time on their hands carved games in the stone floor. The last stop of a busy day was a visit to the alleged location in the hills above Ephesus where the Virgin Mary spent her last days, taken there by Saint John the Apostle, who had been entrusted with her care. A priest was saying Mass near this small stone shrine. People attached their prayers and requests on papers pinned to this wall. There were thousands of small notes.