Ephesus.

10-5-13 IZMIR: It was another early start, busing to Ephesus. Ephesus was an ancient port city, conquered by Alexander and later by the Romans. Paul worked there for a few years converting pagans to Christianity, and it was, supposedly, where Mary lived out her life.

Archeological work has restored some of the site, and it gets an onslaught of tourists every day. There must have been fifty buses when we arrived. The site was crowded, but the tour doable. We entered the site and followed a marble road, rutted by chariot wheels, to a huge amphitheater.

Then we moved on down the next marble road, with curbs on both sides, to the agora and the Celsus library. The two-story library is reconstructed and full of architectural and sculptural details. We also went through the terrace houses, where the Ephesus 1% lived, very impressive, many rooms, frescos and mosaics, indoor plumbing and central heating.

Moving up the next road we saw temples, public baths, a brothel, a memorial to Trajan, city hall and a small theater, among other stuff. The site is littered with hunks and chunks of marble, some gathered with others that have like markings and patterns. It’s like a huge jigsaw puzzle in 3D but only partly assembled. Judy and I were there in 1985 and were impressed with the amount of progress that has been made.

We left the site for the nearby town of Selcuk and visited the Saturday market before an excellent lunch. After we ate, we saw the house in which Mary lived after the crucifixion and after her care was entrusted to the disciple John. The evidence supporting the claim seems pretty thin. Moving on, we saw the Basilica of that same St. John, which might be built on his burial site. Above the basilica is a Muslim citadel from the 1100’s. Below the basilica is the site of the Temple of Artemis, the patron goddess of Ephesus. The temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Ephesus, by the way, once a city more than 250,000 fell into decline after its harbor silted up in the 6th century. It is now a few miles away from the Aegean.


Ephesus amphitheater.

Celsus Library and the Gates of Mazaeus and Mithridates on the right.

Detail on the Library.

Interior of a Terrace House.

Looking down the road to the library.

The Saturday market at Selcuk at lunch time.