Day 11 Berlin

 Berlin Wall Memorial.  Several sections of the original walls are still in place.  Standing in the open zone between the walls - and seeing where the guard towers were - you can see there was virtually no opportunity for escape.

The outer wall is 12 feet high with a rounded top.  Impossible to get over.

Memorial to the people shot while trying to escape.  Some were just little kids.

The Pergamon Museum.  A truly remarkable collection of full scale reconstructions of architectural monuments from Greek and Roman antiquity.  Most were excavated in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Unfortunately one of their most famous exhibits is closed until 2025 for maintenance work.  That is the Pergamon Alter dating from the 2nd century BC.

This is a section of the Processional Way leading to the Ishtar Gate in Babylon

This is the smaller of the 2 Ishtar Gates.  Constructed in 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II.  This was considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.  Just to stress - this is the original Ishtar Gate - not just a model.  Truly remarkable.

This is a model showing what the Processional way and the Gates would have looked like.  It must have been awe inspiring for anyone arriving in Babylon for the first time.

Below is the Market Gate of Miletus.  Originally built in the 2nd Century AD.

This is a mosaic tile floor from a residence in Miletus.

This is the facade of the Hall of the Trajaneum in the city of Pergamon.  Built to honor emperor Trajan and to treat him as a god.  Early 2nd century AD.

This is my host in Berlin, Simon.  He was gracious in letting me stay 2 days at his flat.  He has a wealth of knowledge about Berlin and picked out some great places to eat.

Pergamon Museum - it's inside Berlin's Museum Insel.  Contains the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, The Pergamon Altar, the Mschatta Facade from a desert castle in Jordan, and the Roman Market Gate of Miletus, which dates to the 2nd century.