Sep 4
Have you ever unexpectedly stumbled on something amazing while traveling? The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows is just that! It is a free collection of art tucked into the Navy Pier in Chicago and is really a treat.
Amphora display showing how containers were set upright into the ship’s hull and lashed together
Over the last 4000 years, small ships have darted throughout the Eastern Mediterranean with oil, olives, wine, raw metals and other trading goods. Since most of these early vessels were not particularly sophisticated, the waters around Turkey are littered with shipwrecks. After a tip from local sponge divers in the 1960s, the first underwater archaeology excavations were begun along the Bodrum coast. A lot of these findings can be seen today in the Museum of Underwater Archaeology housed in the 14th century Bodrum Castle.
Partial grazing light image of Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist” as it hangs at The Art Institute of Chicago
It is not uncommon for artists to rework or even reuse canvases. Careful examination with scientific techniques can offer glimpses of pasts images buried beneath the surface. But sometimes you don’t need sophisticated instruments; sometimes the underlying image is very obvious looking at the final piece. This was my experience with Pablo Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist” and the ghostly woman’s face in the top center of the painting. Looking at it from the side and letting the light graze the image, you can see the depth of her face very clearly.
Map of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Image: crystalinks.com)
While I am keeping a count of UNESCO World Heritage sites I have visited, I realized that I am quickly racking up the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. I saw 2 alone in Turkey! I should use the verb “saw” loosely as both sites are essentially destroyed but definitely a notable stop along the way.
Everyone knows Ephesus and its iconic library. Maybe you even know Troy or Alexander the Great’s Pergamon. These are wonderful archaeological sites, but if you are in Turkey and love classical ruins, you absolutely have to visit Aphrodisias. A mere side-note in most guidebooks, I found that Aphrodisias had some of the most impressive architectural and sculptural pieces in Turkey and was completely devoid of tourists when we visited.
Major archaeological sites in central western Turkey: Aphrodisias (A), Pamukkale/Hierapolis (P) and Ephesus (E) (Adapted from Google)
Daydream Tourist 