Pergamon, Ayvalik Turkey

31 July

We had booked into Ayvalik marina for two days as Nicky and Michael were leaving us. This gives us a chance to give the boat a good clean and make it easy for them to leave, rather than throwing cases into the tender from a boat at anchor somewhere.

The marina was almost full and on checking in the paperwork was by far the most laborious we had ever encountered. We had to agree to allow access to all our electronic media if so asked. Assumedly, this is due to social issue Turkey has from time to time. Having said that, we never saw any issues with anywhere, even in some of the more remote places.

Anyway as Nicky and Michael are both doctors they had some interest to visit the Pergamon. On a low plateau about a mile from the lower city are the ruins of the ancient Aesculapium. Galen the physician (130 - 200 BC) was born in Pegamon and developed the principles laid down by Hippocrates in Kos. He was to excersise a profound influence on medicine and medical practice until as late as the 17 Th century. Galen stressed the benificial effects of good diet, mineral baths and cold dips. He also wrote a sort of psychotherapy formulating an analysis of dreams, some 1800 years before Freud.

Pergamon (it’s like a massive medical facility) but was located a fair distance fro the acropolis, the main city. Even now when you walk through the Pergamon, you hear the sound of trickling water. This was seen as a very important contribution to wellness. It seems they were way ahead of their time. We now are still trying convince people in our day and age of the benfits of good diet, relaxation and environment.

Another weird thing was mothers were not able to give birth here and people were also not allowed to die on the site. With regard to the latter, they were painfully aware of disease.

Up till then Sam and I had never heard of Pergamon, but it was well worth it. We had a tour guide, and that is essential because he explained everything in context. By the way the picture is of Michael sitting at the amphitheater. I wonder what he was thinking sitting in a place we’re the essentials of medicine began so long ago.