Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Taking the bus to Ephesus by way of the Getty Villa

View of the entrance to the Getty Villa
from the bus stop across the street.
The building at the top of the hill is a private residence
and has nothing to do with the Getty.
It’s no secret that I am a Getty Villa addict. I love going there for any reason. This past Saturday there was a very good reason—a lecture entitled Living in Roman Luxury: Terrace House 2 in Ephesus. The lecturer, Sabine Ladstätter, is director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute and excavation director at Ephesus in Turkey.

Excavation of a section of Terrace House 2 in Ephesus with frescoes and a mosaic floor.
Photo: OeAI-Vienna Niki Gail
On a Greek cruise several years ago I had the fortune to visit Ephesus. However, as Dr. Ladstätter mentioned, sadly we were one of those groups who raced through the tourist area in less than an hour. But afterwards we were given plenty of time to spend our money on souvenirs (I bought two refrigerator magnets, good thing as one of them broke!)

The Terrace House area is a separate admission from the other areas and because of time constraints, not many people get to visit this excavation.
Of course the main reason I attended the lecture (other than having been to Ephesus) was because of the above photo on the Getty website: a beautiful mosaic in excellent condition. Apparently, many mosaics were discovered in the Terrace House residences.
In the two and a half days we were in Turkey I was extremely impressed and hope some day to return for a longer period of time. Perhaps next time I will be able to stay in Ephesus long enough to explore it thoroughly.
I almost didn’t make it to the lecture. A friend who was going with me cancelled. And it looked like a big storm was coming in. I had planned to go by bus and didn’t want to get soaked, but after checking the weather forecast I decided to brave it.
It so happens October 20 was National Archaeology Day. I don’t know if that was part of the reason the museum was overflowing with visitors. I heard somebody say they were turning people away at the gate who didn’t have a reservation. And the lecture hall was standing room only. So one lucky person on standby got to take my friend’s seat. I was happy it didn’t go to waste.
Since the Metro Expo Line train station arrived in Culver City, the bus lines that cover my part of town (LA Metro, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus and Culver City Bus) have tweaked their bus routes to stop near the station. So now I am a short walk from the Line #534 Express bus stop that takes me all the way to the front gate of the Getty Villa via the Santa Monica Freeway. I used to have to take a bus several miles east to the bus center on Fairfax, change to the #534, then backtrack all the way west again. This made for a very long journey to the Villa. So, even more good fallout from the train!
Once you get to the Getty Villa, you show your entry ticket to the guard, then press the button for the shuttle to take you up to the museum. Unfortunately, there is no accommodation for visitors to walk up to the top of the hill. Personally, I think this was a huge oversight when they remodeled the museum in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Maybe there were insurance reasons, I don’t know, but there are plenty of stairs inside the complex so it makes no sense to me. It’s almost like they are discouraging public transportation as it can take longer to wait for the van as it would to walk up. Plus, leaving the museum it is a circuitous journey around the back of the compound and through the streets back to the gate.
View from bus stop on Pacific Coast Highway looking towards Malibu.
The bus stop for the homeward bound part of the trip is on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway. Two bus seats are perched precariously in the dirt at the top of a small slope above the beach.
View across Santa Monica Bay with Palos Verdes on horizon at right center.
But what a view! Even though it was a gloomy, cloudy day, the perspective looking out across the Santa Monica Bay to the south and Malibu to the north is astonishing. Must be one of the best bus stops in the world!
In case you are interested, the bus came at 4:00pm and I was walking through my front door at 4:55pm.  I could hardly make that kind of time in my car!
Please click on the photos so you can see tham at a decent size!
(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

 

 

 

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