2019 Nov 14 Ephesus → Istanbul · Westbound

Bird chatter woke me, and when I drew the curtains I found that the big tree outside was home to hundreds of large black birds (not crows). I hadn’t noticed them last night—maybe I arrived too late, or they came in even later on their own journey. I cleared a small work hiccup on my phone, then forced myself to sleep another hour; that made a patchwork total of six hours to carry me through today.

I’d planned 600 km, but my “greed” persuaded me to linger and savor the ruins of this once-super seafront city—thankfully so. Majestic buildings climb the hillside, all strung together by a marble avenue lined with statues: from the council house, odeon, residential quarters, fountains and public latrines, to the library, the agora, the great theatre, and finally the ancient harbor. The route runs for kilometers; the harbor is gone now—the shoreline has shifted 9 km away.

The library, famed as the birthplace of the first bound book, still has four goddesses at the portal, though the book itself now resides in a national museum in Germany. The public latrines once doubled as a social news hub—fresh stories spread across Europe to the rhythm of human nature (no wonder news can carry such mixed “flavors”). A city holding guardianship over temples naturally had countless sanctuaries: the earth goddess facing the temple of a tyrant king. Inside ordinary rooms the marble revetments and corridor mosaics are still vivid after 2,500 years.

Halfway up the hill, the basilica ruins mark St. John’s resting place—he who accompanied the Virgin Mary in her final days here. In town stands the tomb of Cleopatra’s sister, shaped after the Lighthouse of Alexandria, though she was killed at just 15. Cats roam everywhere, slipping into “no-entry” zones as if they were the true, long-standing guardians of the city.

To get back to Europe quickly I skipped the Aegean’s romance. Rain fell all day; by dusk a low layer of mist spread across the road, giving the illusion I was driving toward heaven. Five hours later a bridge rimmed in red light appeared—the Bosphorus—and I crossed the line between Asia and Europe. I’m leaving some blanks here—for future curiosity.

2019年11月14日 以弗所→伊斯坦布尔 一路向西，鳗说鳗聊

清晨的鸟鸣声叽叽喳喳的叫醒了我，拉开窗帘才发现窗外的大树上是几百只大黑鸟（不是乌鸦）的家，昨夜还没有注意到，可能是我到的太晚他们都已经熟睡，要不就是远行歇脚在这里，到的比我还晚吧，我是不是也该起床同行上路呢，简单的处理了一下手机里的工作，化解了时不常出现的小危机，窗帘的缝隙中天还没有亮起来，我强制自己再睡1小时，这样也算零星的凑了6个小时的睡眠，对今天的路程也算是有个保底的准备。预计600km，还是贪心说服了自己要细细的慢品一下这座当时超级海滨城市的遗迹，最终还是要感谢这贪心带来的好奇心，庆幸这是个对的决定，依山而建的各种宏伟的建筑被一条两边满是神像的大理石道路串在一起，从市政厅，小剧场，住宅区，喷泉，公共厕所，图书馆，市集，大剧场一直到当时的海上码头，延绵数公里，可惜现在已经没有了码头，海边已经因为地质运动，退到距离这里9公里的地方。图书馆，人类第一本装订书的发现地，门口的四座女神也没能守护住现在此书尚保存在德国国立博物馆中的事实；公共厕所，这里居然是当时的社交信息中心，最新鲜的新闻就是在这本能生理运动的陪伴下传遍欧洲各地的，想象一下画面还真是太美，也许这就是为什么大部分新闻都是混着各种复杂味道的根源所在；这座拥有神庙守护权的城市，必定会有着数不清的各种神庙，大地女神的神像和暴君国王的神庙遥相呼应。一间间室内普通房间的大理石墙面和走廊中的马赛克画经过2500年还是鲜艳生动。半山腰的大教堂遗迹是圣约翰的安眠之所，是他陪伴着圣母在这里度过的最后时光；市井中还有埃及艳后亲妹妹的陵墓，外形按照亚历山大灯塔建造，虽然她被杀时只有15岁。满城的猫咪懒懒的穿行在各种游客禁止入内的禁地，毫无违和感，也许她们才是世代守护这里的精灵。为了尽快回到欧洲，所以无缘一睹爱琴海的浪漫了，一路上雨一直下个不停，在黄昏降临时地面上笼罩着一层并不高的雾气，这雾气蔓延扩散到了路上，有一种将要把车驶向天国的错觉。5个小时后，当开上一座被红光镶嵌的大桥时，就预示着已经跨过了亚欧大陆的分界线。留了部分的白，为了以后的好奇心。