Heh, this is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. But I thought of showing this to you guys as well, as I totally was amazed by the beauty of all this. I saw a it on tv a year ago and was very sorry not to know of this before. ----------- The Birecik dam on the river Euphrates was completed in December 1999. The dam is located on the boundary between Gaziantep and Sanli Urfa provinces in Southern Turkey, about 30 km North of the border with Syria. It now provides electricity which will assist in the economic development of Southern Turkey, as well as water for irrigation. The dam has created a reservoir which has now drowned much of an area rich in history and in archaeological sites. In particular, the waters of the dam cover much of the site of Zeugma, a Greek and Roman city on both sides of the Euphrates. The city of Zeugma - or rather two cities on each side of the river, Seleuceia and Apamea - was founded in 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander´s generals who had been made satrap of Babylon. It was to guard what had become the principal crossing point of the river Euphrates for those passing from the Western Mediterranean world to the Eastern satrapies of the old Achaemenid empire, conquered by Alexander in 331 BC. Like many other such foundations, the role of Zeugma which means "link" in Greek, or "bridge", was to protect the communications of the Seleucid Empire which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea, near its Western capital of Antioch, to India. It lies close to the point at which the river emerges from its gorge in the foothills of the Taurus mountains. In the second and first centuries BC, Rome gradually came to supplant the Seleucid Empire in the West, but the Parthian kingdom in the East also saw itself as a successor to Alexander´s Greek Empire. The river Euphrates became the frontier between Rome and Parthia, rivals for control of the East and the only two "Great Powers" in conflict during the first centuries of our era. Zeugma became important both as a military base, home for one of only three legions on the Eastern frontier, but also as a trading city on the "Silk Route" from China to the West. As the Roman empire was extended to include Mesopotamia in the fourth century the city lost its importance as a frontier post, but its wealth increased and many fine mosaics from the third and fourth centuries have been found. Early Parthian raids sacked the city on several occasions and the whole frontier was unstable throughout the Roman period, but Syria as a whole gained a remarkable prosperity. Even after the Sassanian Empire (successor to that of the Parthians) had pushed back the Byzantines into Anatolia, Zeugma remained important as the seat of a bishopric. Population and wealth of all Northern Syria and Mesopotamia however fell drastically following the Arab victories of the seventh century over both Byzantium and Sassanid Persia. In succeeding centuries, Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Mamluks, Crusaders and Kurds all fought over this area. Certain cities - such as Aleppo and Edessa (now Urfa) retained their importance, but Zeugma was largely forgotten when the principal Euphrates crossing moved downstream to Birecik in the Middle Ages. ---------- I mean look at these mosaics..!! In the document there was this huge house with 2 thousand square meters of mosaics...That skill! I would have wanted to live in that house!! As well the mosaics include names of ancient heroes so the stories today are thus sorta verified as passing through the times-Gods, war of Troy, Odysseus etc... http://www.zeugmaweb.com/zeugma/english/engindex.htm http://www.artnet.com/magazine/features/acar/acar8-29-00.asp http://www.ist.lu/zeugma/ [ 25. March 2003, 04:13 PM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]
Think of this: some 2,000 square meters of mosaics under your feet in your home some 1,750 years ago...You were filthy rich! http://www.archeo.ens.fr/sites/zeugma/Images/10141954.jpg http://www.zeugmaweb.com/zeugma/english/engindex.htm www.archeo.ens.fr/sites/zeugma/Images/10151973.jpg For the story in the site above: In this mosaic, Dionysos the wine (?) and nature god of Anatolian origin and Nike god of victory are pictured together.Dionysos can be seen in a cart pulled by two panthers controlled by Nike. A Bakkha can be seen dancing and leading in front of the cart.Dionysos is also the name of a religion.Those who belonged to this faith would lounch a mysterious journey by drinking wine.Those who participated in these ceremonies were named Saritus(men) and Bakkha(women).
Some more. The arrangement of the structure: http://www.byegm.gov.tr/YAYINLARIMIZ/newspot/2002/sept-oct/n18.htm The ten saved mosaics: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/zeugma/mosaic.html
I see a Mega-MacDonald's in the middle there.... maybe a 30-screen Sony Multiplex theater, Taco Bell, Sharper Image.... yeah?
International working team in Zeugma - Turkish Daily News Jun 24, 2008 archnetwork :: Aspects of Underwater Heritage in South East Anatolia
