It’s all too easy when visiting places to take the obvious picture of the grand facade or a sweeping landscape… but these don’t interest me as much as it’s the close up details which you can’t see in magazines/books/websites that you want to remember and make visiting sites a special experience. 

So here is the underside between the columns of the Library of Celsus at Ephesus. 

Although it did hold thousands of scrolls, this building was actually made as a monumental tomb for the father of consul Gaius Julius Aquila Celsus Polemaenus, completed in AD 135. It is a huge monument celebrating both the Greek and Roman aspects of the family, as Gaius was one of the first pure Greek men to become Roman consul. So the statues of Greek virtues are set into niches along the walls whilst the architectural design is in the style of a Roman nymphaeum, as this underside detail clearly shows with its ostentatiously elaborate carving.

Ephesus is an incredible archaeological park to visit, the only downside being the huge throngs of tourists. Though I guess in some ways that gives you an idea of the thriving city this once was. Don’t miss the frescoes in the painted houses on the terraced section – often it needs a separate ticket or is closed for renovation but if you can get in, it is well worth it.