（晚了四个月才写出来，呵呵。Better Late Than Never. :)）
早班飞机离开伊斯坦布尔，早上十点降落在爱琴海边伊斯米尔（Izmir）。这个海滨城市的前身是有着久远历史的摩尔纳（Smyrna）.在现代土耳其之父阿塔图克和希腊交锋前，磨尔纳曾是座摩登而且宽容的繁荣海港城市，东西方的商人政客和各式各样的冒险者汇聚这里。尤金乃德斯的Middlesex那本书里的摩尔纳听上去好像如今的纽约二三十年代的上海一般繁华热闹，令我向往了很久。可惜1922年那场土耳其-希腊战争结束时的一把大火把摩尔纳夷为平地。在原址上重建起来的就是今日的伊斯米尔，是土耳其的北约总部，也是所有旅行书里鄙夷地一带而过的平庸工业城市。伐善可陈。

一个黑脸膛，高个头，蛮壮实的向导在空空的机场前厅接了我们。开车沿爱琴海岸南下。崎岖蜿蜒的海滨公路，波光粼粼的爱琴海让我想起加州的一号公路和北加的Big Sur，停在路边看高高的山崖冲入雾蒙蒙的海，渔船点点。向导说这里是钓鱼的好地方。而且海水温暖。放行李时注意到向导后备箱里的鱼竿。他说喜欢这个地区的主要原因是想什么时候去钓鱼都可以。向导和米粥在前座谈美国即将到来的总统竞选，谈伊拉克，谈土耳其东面的库尔德人要求独立的战争，谈向导在东部服军役的事，也谈中国和土耳其的世仇。他是我们这程遇到的唯一一个知晓那场古老战事的人：中国大唐和突厥国。他的英文非常好，说是在土耳其军队里学的。

坐在后座的我望着窗外山崖下的爱琴海，激动不已。荷马史诗里的爱琴海，海伦，阿基里斯，赫克托的爱琴海，特洛伊的爱琴海，烟波浩淼，近在眼前。。。

开过干旱的田野，加州的夏天，古老的橄榄树，漫山遍野，“小亚细亚的面包篮”向导说。泥土，小泥房，祈祷塔，田野，老牛，拖拉机。。。

以弗所,以弗所,永远的以弗所

大理石废墟，圣母玛丽的最后栖息地，朝圣的人群，无处不在的橄榄树，苏格拉底的家，美丽的花园小楼，冷热水系统喷泉，壁画，竖琴。

哲学家，斗兽场，大理石柱夹道的大道似乎总也走不完，山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村的，贸易市场，剧院的海景大窗，图书馆的细致花纹，依山傍水。

粉色大理石，竖纹如笛，感动，古老的美丽，经久不息。

而这一切曾经存在，久远的古昔，从公元前四世纪（286 B.C。）到公元七，八世纪。那之后，河流的入海口被淤泥添塞，海洋变为平川，以弗所赖以生存的海洋贸易随着海岸线远离了以弗所。昔日的闹市渐渐凋零衰落，最终沦为今日的大理石废墟。。。

之后几天我们住在曾经被誉为人间天堂的古希腊小村庄，无数次想搭了当地人的小巴士，去看我爱的图书馆，以弗所的图书馆，傍晚或者清晨，去找那份独自和它对视的宁静。终究未成行。也许更喜欢把那份可能的宁静留在心里。一种可能。

花园小楼英文介绍原文(以弗所博物馆里抄来的解说词)：

“Since Ephesos was the capital of the province of Asia during the Roman Empire, it was the most densely populated city in Anatolia. During this period, the population of the city exceeded two hundred thousand inhabitants. The privileged individuals among this population, the wealthy and ruling classes, lived in the city center, while the other citizens lived on the outskirts of the city, or beyond it.

“The terrace houses are located in the center of Ephesos, on the slopes southwest of Kouretes Street. The conveniences and lavish decoration of the houses and the fact that no labor or expense was spared in their construction, show that the people who inhabited this houses were no ordinary citizens.

“The terrace houses are extremely beautiful and well-developed examples of pristyle houses. The prsistyle, located in the center and open to the sky, would provide light and fresh air to the house. In these houses which had two and sometimes three stories, the lower floor would contain the rooms concerned with daily life (such as living and dining rooms, kitchen, toilet and heating center/steam bath), and the upper floors, rooms such as the bedrooms and children’s rooms.

“In the construction of the houses, building materials appropriate to the climate were employed, which would remain cool in the summer and warm in the winter. A central heating system was installed, and both hot and cold water were available from the running water supplied by the expensively decorated fountains.

“Mosaics ostentatiously adorned the floors, and frescoes covered the walls. In these decorations, topics were portrayed which suited contemporary tastes, such as designs and figures, and scenes from mythologhy and theather shows. This fact shows that the owners of these houses had great interest in the fine arts and culture.”