Ephesus, Turkey

July 8, 2010

Today we got our first taste of Turkey. It is so very different from anything we’re use to. We ported in Kusadasi and then drove about 20-30 minutes to Ephesus. Our guide said that until Ephesus was found Kusadasi was just a little fishing village. Now it’s quite the bustling city with 5 star hotels, water parks, and a pretty large port.

Ephesus was quite interesting. We especially enjoyed our experiences in the city because we could wonder in and around through the ruins, where you couldn’t on the Acropolis. We got to walk where then ancients walked and touch the marble that they touched. We crawled all over the theaters and got to wonder in their houses. So very cool!!

We got to go into the recently uncovered Terrace Houses. I will never cease to be amazed at the mosaic floors and frescos on the walls. They are so detailed. They also showed us that when the Ephesians wanted to change the wall coverings, they would just paint/fresco over whatever was there, adding layer on top of layer. These layers aren’t very thin either; we’re talking a couple of inches thick. Our guide said they have found places with up to 7 different layers. We also got to see a marble desk and water well. But I guess some of the most amazing things we saw were the terracotta water and sewage pipes. They have found quite a lot of these and many of them you can still see in the walls and along the ground where they were originally put. The guide also said that Ephesus had quite an incredible sewage/water system. We could see why.

I never really knew much about Ephesus, beside what you read about in the Bible, that is until we found out we were going. It’s quite amazing to see so many things in person that you study in art. The ancients will never cease to amaze me. The ancient Ephesians knew the world was round and this was many years before Columbus. There was a large fountain on one of the main streets that had a huge statue of Emperor Hadrian in the middle of it. Today all that is left of Hadrian is his foot on a sphere. This was to symbolize that he, as the Emperor, was ruler of the world. They also had a huge library in Ephesus that held over 200,000 scrolls. This is the main large ruin that you typically see in pictures. The detail on this building is quite incredible.

Throughout history there have been 4 Ephesus’. The one we saw today was number 3. At the height of its population 250,000 people lived in the area. The reason the people left is because the city originally had a port, but it somewhat dried up and became a swamp. The area became a harbor for disease, because it was so well protected by the surrounding mountains. So the people had to leave. Currently Ephesus is one of the best preserved ancient cities, right behind Pompeii, the reason being because of the valley.

What perhaps is the most incredible thing about Ephesus is that Paul actually was there. We got to walk where he walked. We go to stand where he preached to the Ephesians. We also go to see the prison where they took him when they rejected his teachings. It really makes what you read in the Bible that much more real. Amazing!
We also got to experience our first Turkish Bazaars and they are CRAZY! The shops line the streets and every vendor is out in front and in your face begging you to buy. They will say anything to get you to buy from their shop. Things like “Come have a look! Thank you, please.” “No charge for looking today.” “Genuine Fake Watches, right this way!!” (We couldn’t quite figure this one out.) “Today might be my lucky day, please come look!” One guy kept saying to me “Cheaper than WalMart!” So I turned around and asked him if he’d ever been to WalMart. He said yes, but I highly doubt he ever really had. And on our way back to the boat, one guy shouted “You still have 45 minutes! Come look in my shop.” You want it, they had it. From what our guide said the markets in Kusadasi and Ephesus are just a fraction of what the ones in Istanbul are like.