Ephesus, Turkey - A Step Back in Time

Wow! This day was a real highlight of our trip. Our ship was now in Kusadasi (rhymes with odyssey). We had a driver and a tour guide for today that met us at our ship at 8 am. Our guide spoke fluent English. We started by driving to the Virgin Mary's house which is on a hill a few miles outside of Ephesus. This is where Jesus told John to take his mother after his death so she could live out her life here.

Some believe the water here is holy and has healing powers. I filled a small bottle to take home.

There is also a prayer wall full of prayers written on paper.

After leaving this peaceful place we headed to Ephesus which used to be on the coast but is now inland about 5 miles. We saw fig, pomegranate, peach and orange trees and wheat fields.

Over time earthquakes have destroyed the buildings but we can tell where the buildings were and how they lived.

The men's potties were made of marble so they would send their slaves to warm them up.

The library was at the end of the street.

Street sign.

The theater where Paul spoke. We were fortunate to have a retired pastor with us who read to us from the book of Acts. It is awesome to think we were in the same theater referred to in the bible!

We saw the terrace homes which are being restored. The well-to-do lived here and reminded me very much of a modern condo. They had indoor baths and there were many steps to climb. In one we could see the large dining room which had a fountain. The purpose of the fountain was to drown out the voices so the spies could not hear them talk.

 We could see frescoes painted on the walls and mosaic tiles in the floors.  It is like putting together many puzzles to restore these houses.

After touring Ephesus we went to see the tomb where St. John is buried.

A small mosque across the street from the tomb which reminds us we are in a muslim country.

We saw so much today! I tried to absorb all the history but it is still hard for me to believe I walked in the footsteps of people like Paul and John.

Tomorrow it is on to Athens, Greece.