Not far from Ephesus' heavily-visited, millennia-old ruins, the city's treasures have found a home within the archaeological museum (which is temporarily closed until 2014).
While there we were able to see ancient pieces like the great statue of a multi-breasted Artemis, Lady of Ephesus (photo: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/efes-m%C3%BCzesi-izmir?select=zjfcL4FvwGnz3xtM7HAhFA#zjfcL4FvwGnz3xtM7HAhFA). It was rescued from the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It's one of those pieces you see many times in films you have to watch in history classes. It was so surreal finding it in a room, almost by itself, with no one else around. The statue is quite immense, and I actually wasn't expecting to see it.
In another part of the museum, a small exhibit on the cults of Bes and Priapos had a figure with a large "exaggerated phallus" (as the sign put it), suspended by a string, in a darkened case. In order to see it, you have to press this green button to light the box.
The museum had an almost casual feel to it. Statues had brick pedestals. There was a yard area with many more architectural pieces and statuary from various ruins, as well as historic farm equipment and what appeared to be carved gravemarkers. We encountered several napping cats back there, laying sprawled out in the warm sunlight.
As we were exiting the museum we could hear the Call to Prayer from the nearby mosques.
Highly recommend visiting this museum when it reopens. read more