Three cities which used to be sea harbors

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Saturday, September 1. 2018

Three cities which used to be sea harbors

Just three of them jump to mind, but there must be many more examples where changing geography left cities built on sea-going commerce sitting on silted rivers, and further from the ocean.

I am thinking of Florence, Seville, and Pisa. Oh - Pompeii was a seaport too, which is partly why it was so full of whorehouses. Whorehouses and temples and fast food joints - that was Pompeii. Here's The lost harbour of Pisa revealed

Classic visit to Pisa (which is actually a charming antique town like San Gimignano or Siena): Grab a slice of pizza, take a selfie in front of the bell tower, then get back on the air-conditioned bus.

Other examples of cities which were once important seaports?

Posted by Bird Dog in Travelogues and Travel Ideas at 13:06 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0)

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There is (of course!) a website called Ancient Ports – Ports Antiques, and an article about silting.

https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/ancient-port-structures/silting-up/

#1 Lincoln Annie on 2018-09-01 13:56 (Reply)

The former major Graeco-Roman port of Ephesus is probably one of the more famous examples. It is now some 6 miles from the ocean.

http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/port_of_ephesus.htm

#2 Jim on 2018-09-01 13:58 (Reply)

Excellent example. My lad and I stood in the front of the amphitheater there where they threw cabbages at Paul .

#2.1 Bird Dog on 2018-09-01 14:02 (Reply)

That's where the footprints are carved in marble with the name of the prostitutes showing the way.

#2.2 Mike K (Link) on 2018-09-02 12:29 (Reply)

Ostia Antica, now about a mile from the sea, is my favorite silted up, abandoned former port city -- and the ruins are fascinating.

#3 Silt Lover on 2018-09-01 14:19 (Reply)

Antioch, now Antakya, in Turkey is another candidate. It is on my bucket list, if the Syrian War ever ends.

I am not entirely sure that the Orontes River was navigable up to the site of the current city, though.

#4 Silt Lover on 2018-09-01 14:49 (Reply)

Narbonne, on the Aude near the Mediterranean, in what became France, was a crossroad and center of trade and culture in the time of the Crusades.

#5 Charles K. Devitt on 2018-09-01 16:56 (Reply)

Florence a sea harbour?

It is c.50 miles inland.

#6 james on 2018-09-01 17:29 (Reply)

Rye was once part of the Cinque Ports Confederation, and its fishing fleet, while invited to assist in the removal of troops from Dunkirk, declined to take part.
Technically, it's still a 'port' but its proximity to the English Channel isn't what it was years ago. Today, it's mostly a tourist town with some market functions. Its 'harbor' is now used more for yachting than anything else.

Lubeck was, at one time, capital of the Hanseatic League - due to its access through Travemunde. Not as much anymore.

Florence was a port city? That I really don't remember...I suppose ships could make it up the Arno, but was it an important seaport?

#7 Bulldog on 2018-09-01 18:29 (Reply)

#8 Bulldog on 2018-09-01 18:29 (Reply)

Pompeii and Herculanium both used to bewaterfront cities. Before Vesuvius blew that is.

#9 Bull on 2018-09-02 02:43 (Reply)

Brugge, Belgium

#10 HSNormal on 2018-09-02 09:17 (Reply)

Bath, Maine was the 3rd largest shipping port in the US in the late 18th and early 19th century and was also by the mid-1800's the 5th largest shipbuilding port.

#11 tanstafl on 2018-09-04 20:41 (Reply)

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Saturday, September 1. 2018

Three cities which used to be sea harbors