Ancient Library of Celsus

[bahadir]

Completed in 135 AD this edfice was intendedtocommemoratea highly literate person, Celsus Polemeanus, the Roman Consul andthe General Governor of the Province of Asia!, by his son Julius Aquila.

Beneath the ground floor, Celsuswas buried inside a marble tomb, and at the facade you can see the statues symbolizing wisdom (Sophia), knowledge (Episteme), intelligence (Ennoia) and virtue (Arete) attributed to him, to last forever...

Recently ,a play by Sophocles, Electrahas beenperformed here within the programme of (annual)International Izmir Festival. A decent activity to continue the convention, I guess...

Btw,the great composer Mikis Theodarakis and his orchestraare expected on the 12nd of July toperform his divine music in the Ancient Theater which is nearby, featuring the very festival I mentioned... hint hint ; )

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[bahadir]

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[bahadir]

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[bahadir]

Here are two images of the great theater nearb the library. Dating back to the 3rd century BC, and then renovated by the Romans, it hasa capacity of 25.000 seats. It is still active. I last wentfor a concert of Joan Baez there: )

The 5-6m. width road you see infront of the theateris the Arcadian Street (which once flanked by the arcades against strong sunligh and the rain) wasleading to the harbour...

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[bahadir]

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[hercules]

Very facinating shots of one of the largest libraries of the ancient world, hey it would probably be really neat to go and study there and yes Mikis theodorakis is a great composer, but you know i saw him on a talk show here the other day and he's really starting to age;( but anyway really nice job there

[bahadir]

Very facinating shots of one of the largest libraries of the ancient world..

Hercules, thanks for your appreciation... You're right!As a matter of fact, the first two greatest libraries of the ancient world were those of Alexandria and Pergamon (which is now a town of Izmir as with Ephesus),and the only librariy to follow thatof the Pergamon was that of Ephesus.

Btw, your will to study here is so true!!, since,quite naturally, such libraries were also the centers for the renowned scholars of their times to spend a considerabledeal of their lives..

Mikis theodorakis is a great composer, but you know i saw him on a talk show here the other day and he's really starting to age.

Yes, this concert will take place as long as his health permits...

[bill43210]

Wow a fabulous set of shots,crikey, I think in the 3rd c bc we were still in mud huts!

[TCav]

bill43210 wrote:

crikey, I think in the 3rd c bc we were still in mud huts!

Do you know what a thatched roof is?

Here's an example:



You're still in mud huts! And you charge a premium for the privilege! :lol:

Great shots, btw. Too bad about having all the people wandering about, but it would probably take a lot of time and effort to Photoshop them all out.

[musket]

Fabulous scenes, a tourist and photographers haven,

by the way the 12th of July is also very musical here as well

withumteen bands of the marching kind out and about that day :-)

..........................musket