EPHESUS, TURKEY

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era. In the Roman period, Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC, which also made it one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world.

The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. Following the Edict of Thessalonica from emperor Theodosius I, the temple was destroyed in 401 AD by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom. The town was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD. The city's importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes).

Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation.The Gospel of John may have been written here. The city was the site of several 5th century Christian Councils, see Council of Ephesus. It is also the site of a large gladiators' graveyard, with many sarcophagi.Today's archaeological site lies 3 kilometers southwest of the town of Selçuk, in the Selçuk district of İzmir Province, Turkey. The ruins of Ephesus are a favorite international and local tourist attraction, partly owing to their easy access from Adnan Menderes Airport and via the port of Kuşadası.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Taphophile Tragics meme.

The theatre

Sarcophagi in the necropolis

The library of Celsus. The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus. Celsus is buried in a sarcophagus beneath the library, in the main entrance which is both a crypt containing his sarcophagus and a sepulchral monument to him.

Composite photo of the four statues of the four personifications of learning adorning the library: Science, Comprehension, Virtue and Wisdom

The monumental "Main Street" of "Downtown Ephesus".

Ephesus contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. Only an estimated 15% has been excavated. The ruins that are visible give some idea of the city's original splendour, and the names associated with the ruins are evocative of its former life.

BALI BOMBINGS MEMORIAL, PERTH

The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people, (including 88 Australians, and 38 Indonesian citizens).

A further 240 people were injured. Various members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a violent Islamist group, were convicted in relation to the bombings, including three individuals who were sentenced to death. The attack involved the detonation of three bombs: A backpack-mounted device carried by a suicide bomber; a large car bomb, both of which were detonated in or near popular nightclubs in Kuta; and a third much smaller device detonated outside the United States consulate in Denpasar, causing only minor damage.

An audio-cassette purportedly carrying a recorded voice message from Osama Bin Laden stated that the Bali bombings were in direct retaliation for support of the United States' war on terror and Australia's role in the liberation of East Timor. On 9 November 2008, Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Huda bin Abdul Haq were executed by firing squad on the island prison of Nusakambangan at 00:15 local time (17:15 UTC). On 9 March 2010, Dulmatin, nicknamed "the Genius" – believed to be responsible for setting off one of the Bali bombs with a mobile phone – was killed in a shoot-out with Indonesian police in Jakarta.

The Bali Memorial was commissioned in memory of the Western Australian victims of the tragic bombing in Bali and to honour of the individuals and institutions that helped all the people in need. The Memorial is nestled in the native landscape of Kings Park escarpment.

It embraces the natural qualities of the site and looks out from the landscape park,across the open expanse of the Swan River to distant Darling Rangers stretched below the vast open sky. The structure is composed of two axes; The Swan River axis captures a framed view across the river to the rangers beyond, while the Sun Rise axis gathers the first rays of light on the 12th of October each year to illuminate the cast bronze plaque inscribed with the victims names.

The design features local materials and artworks including some evocative text carved into the sandstone.  The design celebrates relationships between people.  Its informal arrangement suggests an anti-moment that offers casual meeting places for families, friends and visitors to the site, who may wish to capture a moment of reflection on this significant event in the history of our nation.

This post is part of the Taphophile Tragics meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

GROUND ZERO, NYC, 2003

On this anniversary of 9/11, the violent terrorist act that claimed the lives of 3000 or so innocent victims still haunts the memory of all people around the world who believe that non-violent means for achieving a change for the better is the only means that befits a rational, humane and thinking human being. September eleven still horrifies and disturbs all human beings who have a pure heart.

The world has changed since that attack and we, the survivors have a duty to do our best in order to ensure that such acts become not only impossible in the future, but are declared to be reprehensible and heinous, all over the world by all leaders. The way that we bring up our children, the way that we worship our God, the way that we live our life, the way that we administer justice, the way that we ensure that each person on this earth has dignity, freedom and a comfortable life where basic needs are met, should all contribute to the war against terror. This is how we ensure that such attacks do not recur. One does not go to war to stop terrorism - one does not fight a terrorist act with another terrorist act.

We visited Ground Zero when we were in New York City in 2003 and we were speechless with emotion and awestruck by the terrible sights we saw, the stories we heard, the people we met, the things we read... No photograph can convey the desolation of the place and the plight of both those lost and those that survived them. And yet the cross made of rusty iron girders, the exhibit in St Paul's Chapel and the mural that we saw nearby are deep and heart-felt memorials to those involved in the tragedy.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Taphophile Tragics meme.

MARINE TERRACE, FREMANTLE

On Marine Terrace, in the Esplanade Reserve of Fremantle, there is a monument to a Portuguese navigator. This commemorates explorer Vasco de Gama (1469 - 1525) the Portuguese navigator whose voyages linked Europe with the Indian Ocean. The monument designer is  John Kirkner, the ceramicist is  Edgar Naylor and the sculptor is Clare Bailey.

Vasco da Gama, was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. For a short time in 1524 he was the Governor of Portuguese India, under the title of Viceroy.

The monument was dedicated in 1997 and the  front inscription reads: "To commemorate the Portugese navigator Vasco de Gama, Whose voyages united Europe with the Indian Ocean  - Vasco de Gama 1469 – c 1525."

Opposite this is the Fremantle Maritime Museum.

A rather tangential entry to Julie's Taphophile Tragics meme,

and also part fo the Our World Tuesday meme.

POMPEII, ITALY

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was partially destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Pompeii was lost for nearly 1700 years before its rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.

This post is part of Julie's Taphophile Tragics meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

Entering the archaeological area

View of the forum 

The amphitheatre

One of the major streets, flanked by shops and houses 

The atrium of one of the villas. Pompeii was a prosperous holiday city and the residents were largely wealthy and patrons of the arts 

A "thermopolium" or take-away shop where the ancient Roman version of "fast food" was sold. Wine was also to be had a-plenty here!

A covered portico 

The private gardens of Pompeii were elaborate and sumptuously decorated

The nascent Venus - a famous fresco in a villa garden

Ancient Roman graves and funerary monuments were situated just outside the city walls and a number of graves are seen here

A fine funerary monument

The Villa of the Mysteries or Villa dei Misteri is a well preserved ruin of a Roman Villa which lies some 400 metres northwest of Pompeii, southern Italy. Although covered with metres of ash and other volcanic material, the villa sustained only minor damage in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, and the majority of its walls, ceilings, and most particularly its frescoes survived largely undamaged.

The Villa is named for the paintings in one room of the residence. This space may have been a triclinium, and is decorated with very fine frescoes. Although the actual subject of the frescoes is hotly debated, the most common interpretation of the images is scenes of the initiation of a woman into a special cult of Dionysus, a mystery cult that required specific rites and rituals to become a member. Of all other interpretations, the most notable is that of Paul Veyne, who believes that it depicts a young woman undergoing the rites of marriage.The Villa had both very fine rooms for dining and entertaining and more functional spaces. A wine-press was discovered when the Villa was excavated and has been restored in its original location. It was not uncommon for the homes of the very wealthy to include areas for the production of wine, olive oil, or other agricultural products, especially since many elite Romans owned farmland or orchards in the immediate vicinity of their villas.

Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823–1896) was an Italian archaeologist born in Naples, Italy. His excavations at Pompeii helped preserve the city. 'Fiorelli ... developed the use of plaster casts to recreate the forms of plants and human bodies.' Fiorelli is most famous for his plaster casts, produced by a process named after him: the Fiorelli process. He realised that where a corpse had been buried in ash, it had rotted over time and a cavity remained. Whenever an excavator discovered a cavity, plaster of Paris was poured in and left to harden. The ash around the plaster was then carefully removed, so that a plaster replica of a person at the moment of their death remained. This process gave information about how people had died in the eruption, what they were doing in their final moments and what sort of clothing they wore. Fiorelli also took the topography of the town and divided it into a system of 'regiones', 'insulae' and 'domus' - and he developed the use of plaster casts to recreate the forms of plants and human bodies that had been covered by the volcanic ash, and had then left a hole - shaped in the form of the plant or person - in that ash after putrefaction.

Another plaster cast of a person who died in Pompeii 

Close-up of a plaster cast of a person who died in Pompeii

Karl Briullov (1799–1852) - "The Last Day of Pompeii", 1830 - 1833. Oil on canvas. 456.5 x 651 cm. The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia