Ephesus, Turkey

July 1, 2023 – Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey

Docked: 10:00AM to 6:00PM

This morning we woke up to clear blue skies and a couple of hours of sailing until arriving at the port in Kusadasi on the western coast of Turkey.

We left the ship at 10:00 am and met our guide, Cihat Bilgin, after we left the security area. He is an independent tour guide working on his master’s degree in ancient artifacts. We were taken to a spot where we could board the van that would take us to the sights we would be touring today. After leaving Kusadasi, we had about a 45-minute drive to the Virgin Mary’s house situated high up a hill outside Ephesus. Fortunately, he chose to begin the touring here and we were able to beat the crowds. The house is quite small and consisted of two rooms.

The first room we entered was set up like a chapel and the second room was smaller with a small altar and some gifts from past popes. As we left the house there was a marker with quotations from the Quran that mention the Virgin Mary.

Further along we walked along the “wish wall” where visitors place their written wishes.

You can also drink from faucets from which deliver water from the house. The house was “found” as a result of a dream of a woman confined to a mental hospital. Subsequently, some clergy located the demolished structure, and the Pope declared it as Mary’s house in 1896. By the time we departed, there was a long line of vehicles stopped on the mountain road to reach the parking lot.

The driver then took us to the ruins of Ephesus, which was once the capital of the Roman province of Asia Minor. The current site is actually the 3^rd location for this ancient city, which dates back to its founding in the 10^th century BCE. Over the centuries it was under the control of Greece, Persian, and Egyptian empires and then the Romans in 129 BCE until 395 CE. Control then passed to the Byzantine Empire (395 to 1308 CE). It remained a most important city through the 5^th and 6^th centuries. This coastal city covered an area of about 1,000 acres with an estimated population of around 70,000. During Roman times, Ephesus was the capital of Asia Minor and an important trading center. Although excavations have been going on for over 150 years, only 20 percent of the city has been uncovered. Cihat gave us a very good walking tour of this ancient city that is so rich with historic sites and played a role in early Christianity in the 50’s. The Apostle Paul lived in Ephesus from 52-54 CE, worked with the Ephesus congregation, and organized missionary activities. He also was imprisoned in Ephesus and between 53 and 57 CE, he wrote the letter 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. Later he wrote the Epistle to the Ephesians while imprisoned in Rome (around 62 CE).

We entered the ancient city at the Magnesian Gate and proceeded to the State Agora and “theatre” where officials met.

This area constituted the political/governmental center of the city. The theatre supposedly would seat 1,500 people and had a wooden roof. Our guide pointed out a marble “game board” for a game like backgammon.

On the right side of the street there were numerous Greek and Roman columns, which could be distinguished by their capitals.

We had a good view of the Celsus Library at the end of the street at the bottom of the hill.

There were statuary reliefs and a marble block with the symbol for medicine.

This was next to a building for medical treatment. There was a marble relief of the goddess Nike.

Next came the remains of Trajan’s fountain.

Across the streets were the terrace houses of the elite people with mosaic floors. The houses had rooms that were grouped around a central colonnaded courtyard.

Further down the street on the opposite side was Hadrian’s Temple.

After a short walk, we entered the open-air public latrines.

Next was the huge Celsus library, which its impressive two-storied façade ornated with 16 columns arranged in pairs.

Columns at the center of the façade are shorter than the others which is an optical illusion giving the impression of greater size. The four female statues (copies) placed in the façade’s niches represent abstract concepts and under the statues are Greek inscriptions giving information about them. From left to the right are Sofia (Wisdom’), Arete (‘Virtue’), Ennoia (‘Insight’), and Episteme (‘Knowledge’). They are personifications of the virtues of Celsus but also of the virtues the life of high Roman officials should have had.

What is interesting about this building is it is not only a library but a mausoleum as well, as it consists of the tomb of Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus who had been consul in 92 AD and who was the governor of the province of Asia in 115. After his death, his son, Consul Gaius Julius Aquila had the library built in his father’s honor as we read from the inscription on the building’s front staircase. The library was completed in 135 AD and Celsus’ body was put in a white marble sarcophagus which was placed in a crypt beneath the building. The capacity of the library was 12,000 scrolls.

We then walked down a street that led us to the huge central market/commercial area of the ancient city.

A short distance brought us to the Great Theatre with three separate levels and a seating capacity of 25,000.

Supposedly the Apostle Paul preached in the theatre. In the later Imperial period, gladiatorial contests took place here. After seeing a short production with a “gladiatorial contest”, we drove into the nearby city for lunch.

After lunch, we drove to the Artemis temple area. All that remains of the temple, which was built in the 6^th century BCE and was one of the 7 wonders of the world, is a single column of the original 127 columns. The other 126 columns were removed and are in the British Museum.