Ephesus - The Aegean Coast - Cities and Towns in Turkey - Turkey - Home
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| Erected in the
2nd century, it has undergone partial repair, which is pretty easy to
see when you look at the fountain. On the front facade there was a
life-size statue of Trajan of which only the right foot and a portion of
the torso has survived. A sculpture depicting two reclining satyrs and a
statue of Aphrodite discovered here are now exhibited in the local
museum. It is a two-storey structure 12 m in height surrounding the pool
in front on three sides. Only a small portion on Ancient Ephesus has been excavated to date. (3%-4%) so all the identifiable structures are very important. If there ever was a good argument for time travel, Ephesus is one of those places you would really like to be able to visit 500 to 1,000 years from now when much of the ancient area might be visible.
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Along the Curetes Street, the Fountain of Trajan
is just one in a wonderful succession of ancient ruins, sculpted
pillars decorated with sculptural figurations, and
reconstructions. The reconstruction of the fountain is actually
on a reduced scale ( the original reached a height of 12
meters). Still, it is of one of the most remarkable of the
Ephesian monuments. The fountain was erected between 102 and 104
A.D. and as the attached inscription reads, was consecrated to
the Emperor Trajan. The tympanum which dominates the upper line
is supported by Corinthian columns, in the central niche was one
located an enormous statue of Trajan, of which only the base
with the feet and the globe remain. The many sculptured
figurations which once populated this fountain (members of the
Imperial Family, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Satry) have been carried
to the
Ephesus Museum. (www.ephesus.us/ephesus/ephesusmuseum.htm)
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| The fountain is located on
Curetes
Street. This picture is looking up Curetes street. The
library would be
behind you. You can also see in this picture the location of where the
pool was located at the front of the fountain. As with the other
fountains of the city, the water was supplied via the aqueduct.
You can also see if you look closely, the small hole where the water could be drained from the pool into the gutter that ran alongside Curetes. This gutter was covered with marble flagstones, some of which had either holes or slots in them to help with the drainage from off of the side of the hill. As you walk from the top of the hill down to the library, you can look both to the left and to the right to take in the wonderful sights that are still here today. One cannot help but wonder what it must have been like when the city was at it's prime for visitors to walk these same streets. |
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CLICK HERE for
additional photos of Ephesus
and
HERE for photos of some of the intricate
detail work to be found in Ephesus.
| It is best to visit Ephesus with a good
guide - especially if it is your first visit. Although there are many licensed,
official tour guides, I believe that Can (John) Yigit is one of the best. One of
the main reasons is, not only does he love this place, but he worked here beside
the archeologists when he was in college. And, is very personable. His English
is excellent and he makes the place come alive with his narrative. Contact
information is as follows: Can Yigit Gsm +90 532. 426 63 35 Tel +90 256. 612 83 30 email: guidecan68@yahoo.com P.O. Box 152 09400 Kusadasi / Aydin / Turkey Here
are a couple of comments about John. |
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