Ephesus

 

 Wow what a birthday. The sights of the Ephesus library and shining silk Turkish rugs has made me forget the pain of getting older completely. Last year on my 30th birthday I didn’t think I could possibly tip the Bahamas, but I guess I was wrong. 

   When I was planning this trip, Turkey seemed a little intimidating to me with less reliable public transportation and tourism systems, so I booked us a full day guided private tour. We didn’t opt for the bigger cruise group tours because the private tour booked independently was far cheaper than the cruise line option, and we were able to pick our itinerary. Our guide was a native Turkish woman who spoke perfect English, had a 4 year degree in tourism, and turned out to be very knowledgeable in history and archaeology. It was probably the best guided tour I’ve ever experienced. We were able to hear everything, ask questions, and chat about what her personal experience is like being Turkish. Local perspective is always a special treat that makes a city memorable. 

The theater where the Apostle Paul preached to the Ephesians. 

While we were up in the seating area there was a woman (Croatian maybe) that sang a song in another language on the stage of the theater to test the acoustics. She was just a tourist (clearly not professional) but there was something very pleasing about the full confident sound of her voice projecting in some latin language. I can attest that the acoustics check out.

Turns out the library at Ephesus is actually reconstructed. For some reason I had the idea in my head that it was still standing after all these years. Still it's interesting that the archeologists were able to reconstruct so much of it from the rubble pieces that lay around. The guide told us that it's a pretty accurate reconstruction. This is where the educated and elite went to get an education back in the day. It was kind of a university, constructed impressively to attract students to Ephesus in attempt to boost the economy.

Of all the home ruins I've ever seen of ancient Greece or Rome, these homes are the most intact. I can't believe many of these date to before Christ, with wall paintings intact. I also feel like the care we put into wall painting today is disappointing in comparison.

Only a small fraction of the homes on this hillside have been excavated. It's exciting to think what may still remain farther up the hill.

The "Hercules Gate" that had too many tourists to get an actual pic with.

This caught my attention. I didn't realize the symbol for medicine went back to ancient Greece.

That hillside in the background is where more terrace apartments remain uncovered.

   After we had seen the excavations at Ephesus, we headed to the basilica of St. John, where he was supposedly buried, and walked around the remains of the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the original 7 ancient wonders of the world. Very little remains and the massive columns were mostly taken to Hagga Sofia in Istanbul. 

We had a little extra time and used it to wander the Bazaar in old town Kusadasi, and buy some knock off brand name clothes for cheap. Garrett had his first actual Turkish doner kebab and was unimpressed. After we wandered into an incredibly beautiful collection of Turkish silk rugs and talked for a long time with the shop guy about how they’re made. They didn’t pressure sales like I expected so the whole experience ended up being rather pleasant. We made it back to the ship in time (barely) and now are resting in our air conditioned ship room, the perfect end to a lovely birthday.