Post from Michelle:
Turkey is full of ancient ruins and they pop up in unexpected places - an ancient theater sits beside a city street, a Byzantine aqueduct stands along a road, 1000-year old tombs carved into cliffs overlook a town.
Walking through a field full of large rocks and tall grass, we came across the upper part of a stone doorframe rising out of the ground. It was then I realized we were walking on top of an ancient city covered with centuries of earth. I stooped down and picked up one of the many pieces of brick covering the ground, fragments of old roof tiles probably over a 1000-years old. It blows my mind away to stand on top of what was once a prosperous community of markets, public baths, theaters, and houses, and now, due to invasions, earthquakes, and natural erosion, is a pile of rock and earth I am climbing over and exploring.
Buried under me was probably clay jars for holding water and wine, coins, jewelry and hair clips, and other household items from long ago. And I think of thousands of years from now into the future when others are walking over the ruins of our great cities - maybe New York, LA, or London and finding the remains of a civilization - a comb, a car tire, a plastic cup. Like these once thriving kingdoms, ours too will some day fade and be replaced. It is the nature of time.
Walking through a field full of large rocks and tall grass, we came across the upper part of a stone doorframe rising out of the ground. It was then I realized we were walking on top of an ancient city covered with centuries of earth. I stooped down and picked up one of the many pieces of brick covering the ground, fragments of old roof tiles probably over a 1000-years old. It blows my mind away to stand on top of what was once a prosperous community of markets, public baths, theaters, and houses, and now, due to invasions, earthquakes, and natural erosion, is a pile of rock and earth I am climbing over and exploring.
Buried under me was probably clay jars for holding water and wine, coins, jewelry and hair clips, and other household items from long ago. And I think of thousands of years from now into the future when others are walking over the ruins of our great cities - maybe New York, LA, or London and finding the remains of a civilization - a comb, a car tire, a plastic cup. Like these once thriving kingdoms, ours too will some day fade and be replaced. It is the nature of time.
Photos From This Location
