If you were asked to go back 2,000 years in time, what would you do? You could throw your hands up in despair or book a flight to Izmir, Turkey, to see the ruins at Ephesus.

This ancient city dates back to around 2,000 BC and, according to historical accounts, was founded by Androklos, an Ionian Greek. The Cimmerians, Lydians and Persians all fought to control it. Alexander the Great pushed back the Persians. Later, Ephesus fell to the kings of Pergamon who subsequently lost it to the Romans and so Ephesus became a part of the Roman empire. Then came the Arabs and Seljuk Turks, followed by the Byzantines and Turks all over again.

What is left of Ephesus even after thousands of years is arresting: There is the Library of Celsus originally built around 125 AD in memory of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, governor of Roman Asia in the Roman empire and the Temple of Hadrian, dating back to the second century.

As for the amphitheatre, it is jaw-dropping. Even today, tourists singing there can test for themselves its excellent acoustics.

Ephesus is a narrative in stone. It is a moment of wonder to stand in a place visited by Alexander the Great — he set foot here after defeating the Persian forces in the Battle of Granicus in 334 BC. Despite the hordes of tourists moving about, clicking away, the ruins retain their mystic air. Every statue has a story, every arch is a commemorative event.

Protected treasures

Turkey protects its treasures well — the government has done restoration work where possible and moved many works of art to museums for safekeeping.

Not very far from the Ephesus ruins is the site of one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World — the Temple of Artemis. History tells us that Alexander proposed to finance the temple’s reconstruction on his triumphant entry into Ephesus but that didn’t happen. Today, a column marks the place where the temple stood.

Another site of hoary history is the House of the Virgin Mary, located on a mount in the vicinity of Ephesus. Pilgrims visit it in the belief that Mary, mother of Jesus, lived near Ephesus in the last days of her life. Ephesus is seen to be one of the most important cities in early Christianity.

Dishing out delights

Reluctantly we leave Ephesus and travel to a farm in the Izmir countryside. It’s a little like changing time zones. From an action-filled past, we land in a restful present. The farm is sunny, with tables laid out. A rosy-cheeked matron deftly rolls out a big ‘roti’, another whisks it to the waiting tava. Stuffed with greens and cheese, the roti, once done, is neatly folded and served. It is delicious.

This is but a small sample of Turkish cuisine. There’s much more to bite into. Platters of colourful fresh salad, delicious curd spiced with garlic and mint, thick lentil soup, baingan bharta, pilav, an assortment of bread, slices of cheese — vegetarians have a wide spread. There’s also the sinfully rich cheese samosa.

For non-vegetarians, there are many meat dishes, not to mention fresh seafood.

Much the way we reach out for chilli powder and gingelly oil to spread lavishly on idlis, locals in Turkey grab olive oil and red chilli powder.

Kemal Pasha for you

Turks have a sweet tooth. Baklava takes the cake — this layered sweet melts in the mouth. Turkish delights (jelly squares of many colours/flavours) are everywhere. A gulab-jamun lookalike is served. “That’s kemal pasha,” cries our host, Duygu Kuskulu — Director, Incoming at VIP Tourism. For a moment you wonder if a handsome Turk comes with the dish.

Generally, western Turkey goes easy on spice. In the eastern side, more women are housewives and this possibly accounts for a more spicy cuisine there, Kuskulu explains. The kumru is like our vada pav. A bun sandwich of sorts, it is made of soft bread, cheese and tomato, with other variants thrown in. Wine is served at almost every meal. The local spirit ‘raki’ (sounds like ‘rakha’ to the ears) is potent and warms up the system instantly — the only male in our delegation shrugged off his overcoat within minutes of consuming a glass

To your health

Coffee and tea are always on. Tea is a rich amber-red brew with sugar served separately. Every cup of Turkish coffee is prepared individually in a hand-held kettle called a ‘cezve’. Turkey grows tea but not coffee, which it imports. Hence Turkish coffee is not a particular bean or blend.

The olive fruit is everywhere, in your food, beauty creams, in the picturesque Mediterranean scenery. Some kinds are believed to survive for a thousand years. The variety of the fruit and time of picking determine its use. It would seem the Turkish people owe their health to olive and garlic.

(The author was in Turkey at the invitation of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office, Turkish Airlines and VIP Tourism.)

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