Knidos
In a small bay at the end of a peninsula on Turkey’s south-western coast, sit the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Knidos. Care has to be taken entering the port here; the 2,600 year-old breakwater lies in rubble beneath the surface of the water. But the reward is worth the risk, and we anchored in the turquoise waters, under the gaze of columns and archways.
Long ago the inhabitants of Knidos joined the mainland with the rockey island in front of it. This resulted in a port being built in each of the two coves created; one for warships and the other for merchant ships. Just this year, the low tides revealed the ruins of one such port for the first time.
Aside from a small cafe & restaurant, there are no other services here. Knidos is how it always was. Streets, shops, agora, port, odeon and amphitheatre still in place. No new buildings have been built atop her ruins. Once upon a time Knidos was home to a respected medical school. The fame of local physicians quickly spread throughout the ancient world.
The city was also home to the scientist Eudoxus of Cnidus, a mathematician, mechanic and astronomer who is considered to be the father of ancient geometry. Eudoxus was the first to calculate the circumference of Earth. His marble sundial built in the form of an armchair that shows the time of the day and the season still sits today in this open-air museum.
And although the city is still being excavated, a number of impressive statues and artefacts have been discovered amongst the ruins over time. The city was famed for its association with Aphrodite and for its famous statue of the goddess, said to be the first life-sized representation of the nude female form in Greek history. Unfortunately the statue has not survived, but a copy sits in the Vatican Museums. The ornate marble pedestal that Aphrodite was stood upon can still be seen in Knidos.
A 6-tonne marble lion also once sat high atop a monument in Knidos, and was made from the same marble used to build the Parthenon in Athens. It had commanding views over the sea and was a navigation aid for passing sailors. It was taken by the British in the 19th century (along with another statue, Demeter of Knidos) and now sits in the British Museum. We are sensing a theme here…
Despite this, and the oppressive summer heat, we really enjoyed wandering around this rare historical gem. And by night the absence of light pollution created the perfect conditions for a little bit of stargazing.
