Ephesus

We spent a significant time in Ephesus, because Ephesus is a significant place.  One of the largest cities in the Roman Empire at 250,000 people, Ephesus was a place where Paul the Apostle spent a significant amount of time.  A lot of our time was spent exploring this enormous ancient city and some time was also spent under teaching which connects what can be learned from Ephesus to our lives today.  

Just the size of it all is mind-boggling, and only a small fraction of the city has been unearthed.  The Aegean Sea used to lap up against the city of Ephesus, but is now five miles away because of silt and rock fill being washed down the rivers over time.  And earthquakes have made the city into a giant jigsaw puzzle with gazillions of pieces and no picture or legend to help put it together.  So what has been put together is quite amazing.  Some examples:

The Champs-Élysées of Ephesus, the Main Street of Ephesus was lines with covered shops on both sides.  These are the high-end shops in the high-rent district, and Gokhan (our guide) said that Cleopatra and Mark Antony spent six to nine months here on their honeymoon, with Cleopatra reportedly collecting olive oil for lotions and cosmetics.   So this was a happening place.

Emperor Worship:  The Emperor Domitian was all over this place while he ruled, and after his assassination in 96AD, the Roman Senate chiseled off his name from all public inscriptions.

Temple of Hadrian:  A tiny temple hastily erected when he came to visit.  Its carvings included the Medusa, various gods and some battle scenes.  The temple promised worshipers eternal life, which Jews and Christians firmly refused.

The Roman public latrines:  at least 30 positions to do your business, shoulder to shoulder.  No privacy.  The Romans began to collect urine from public spots and sold it to tradesmen for cleaning clothes.  It became so profitable that the emperor, Vespasian, taxed it.  When criticized for it, his response was “Money doesn’t stink”.

The Library:  Ephesus boasted a library of over 120,000 scrolls

The Terrace Houses:  The very rich lived in multi-level houses along the Main Street.  Accessible via several flights of stairs, these can be viewed from above and below.  I took a lot of pictures inside this area.

We spent some time in the Agora, the marketplace area, adjacent to the theater.  This was the location of the riot described in Acts 19.  Many events in the Bible can be placed in a general area, but not exactly, however the riot definitively happened in the Agora at Ephesus and spilled into the theater.

The theater is undergoing significant renovations so it is closed to the public, but we could still see it from just outside.

And, of course, the ubiquitous cats:

After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we stopped at a museum in town containing many artifacts from this area, including pieces of a large statue of Domitian, who is depicted as a buff dude with curly hair.  In actuality, he was bald and kind of skinny.  He was also crazy, as several of the emperors were.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we visited the temple of Artemis (Diana) of the Ephesians.  Hard to imagine that this is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  Not much left of this place other than a lone standing pillar and a a few pieces piled on top of each other.

Once this was all done, we took an hour-long boat cruise along the shores of the Aegean Sea, mostly near the edge of town.

We walked back from the marina, doing some browsing in the many shoppes along the way.  Since this is a major cruise destination, there are a LOT of them.

Dinner, once again, was a lavish buffet of good stuff, overlooking the waters of the Aegean.  The sunset was enjoyable also, especially viewed directly from our hotel room balcony.