Aphrodisias

We spent the morning in Aphrodisias, the former capital of the province of Lydia, built to honor the goddess Aphrodite. Artemis was reportedly immune to Aphrodite's love-arrows, so I didn't do any research today--just enjoyed. (Artemis was nowhere to be found--these chicks were apparently territorial!)

The city was built in the first century, and because it was the home of the ancient sculpture school, it had statue after statue depicting mythological themes, emperors conquering, and the Greek pantheon (except you-know-who).

The amphitheater ("two-theater") there was an ellipse-shaped structure (as opposed to a semi-circular "theater") that could hold thirty thousand people. I felt like an ant. On the top of the stone seating we found markings similar to backgammon boards, which apparently served as pre-game entertainment.

In the photo above we're standing in front of the tetrapylon, an ornamental gate composed of four groups of four columns. It sat at a major intersection of north-south and east-west streets. A bit fancier than what we have at intersections in Dallas...

The temple to Aphrodite was eventually converted to a Christian worship space and an apse was added. The city name was also changed to Stavropolis.

In the afternoon we visited a Turkish rug factory. We viewed the process of sink-thread-making, women's fingers flying on the looms, and enthusiastic sellers trying to help us lose our buying inhibitions. Nice try.