Turkiye 2023: Ephesus
Day 8 of the vacation and this morning will be spent visiting the world famous Ephesus, a UNESCO Heritage site. It was home to the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple is located outside of Ephesus, and we have not seen what is left of it. Ephesus was also a major Christian center being the home to St. John and St. Paul and has been mentioned in the Bible.
We were put up in a very nice hotel throughout this trip and this was what awakened us. The day was full of promise. I was hopeful.
This was not my first visit to Ephesus. In 2009, I made my first visit there when our cruise ship docked here in Izmir.
A lot has changed and also a lot has remained the same. So many familiar sights within the site. The amount of crowd in my estimation seems to be almost the same. On the first visit, we did a DIY where the taxi driver dropped us off and then picked us up an hour later. Yet despite the presence of a tour guide this time around, I still had a wandering eye and found that most of the time I was barely listening to the guide. It must be all the noise the crowd was making or that I wanted to do more photography above anything else.
Ephesus was an important city in the ancient world. It was a major trade route being a port city. It played a key role as an export center to the West. With the Library of Celsus in the city, it was a leading intellectual center. In addition, it was also a center of Christian evangelism. It's believed that the Gospel of John was written here, and that St. Paul began many missions from Ephesus.
There was a large number of cats here. Cat lovers, like me, were assaulted (in the most wonderful way) by their presence at the entrance. Several of us were prepared with food for them.
See the beautiful blue sky? Don't be fooled. We got rained out not soon after, but the rain cleared out as quickly as it came.
Do you see the modern structure on the right? I believe that's the newly-opened museum. We chose not to visit it.
There she is, the Library of Celsus, which for me is the centerpiece of Ephesus. Built in 2nd century CE (the period from 100 AD to 200 AD) or Common Era, a time that is considered religiously neutral. Named after the city's former Roman governor, it held over 12,00 scrolls and is one of the most impressive buildings during that time. The facade still tickles me, just one of the prettiest I've seen.
Back of the facade.
The library, side view.
The Great Theatre could seat up to 25,000.
This couple is with my tour group. They were more cat people than I am.
We were put up in a very nice hotel throughout this trip and this was what awakened us. The day was full of promise. I was hopeful.
This was not my first visit to Ephesus. In 2009, I made my first visit there when our cruise ship docked here in Izmir.
A lot has changed and also a lot has remained the same. So many familiar sights within the site. The amount of crowd in my estimation seems to be almost the same. On the first visit, we did a DIY where the taxi driver dropped us off and then picked us up an hour later. Yet despite the presence of a tour guide this time around, I still had a wandering eye and found that most of the time I was barely listening to the guide. It must be all the noise the crowd was making or that I wanted to do more photography above anything else.
Ephesus was an important city in the ancient world. It was a major trade route being a port city. It played a key role as an export center to the West. With the Library of Celsus in the city, it was a leading intellectual center. In addition, it was also a center of Christian evangelism. It's believed that the Gospel of John was written here, and that St. Paul began many missions from Ephesus.
There was a large number of cats here. Cat lovers, like me, were assaulted (in the most wonderful way) by their presence at the entrance. Several of us were prepared with food for them.
See the beautiful blue sky? Don't be fooled. We got rained out not soon after, but the rain cleared out as quickly as it came.
Do you see the modern structure on the right? I believe that's the newly-opened museum. We chose not to visit it.
There she is, the Library of Celsus, which for me is the centerpiece of Ephesus. Built in 2nd century CE (the period from 100 AD to 200 AD) or Common Era, a time that is considered religiously neutral. Named after the city's former Roman governor, it held over 12,00 scrolls and is one of the most impressive buildings during that time. The facade still tickles me, just one of the prettiest I've seen.
Back of the facade.
The library, side view.
The Great Theatre could seat up to 25,000.
This couple is with my tour group. They were more cat people than I am.
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ReplyDeleteThe kitties that live in the ruins are adorable. I thought the name sounded familiar. I am jealous as you get to walk and explore ancient ruins. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteEphesus looks like such a fascinating place t visit! The library facade and ruins look magnificent. The thought of all those scrolls--hope some knwledge was preserved! Seeing all the cats reminded me of the first time I visited the Coliseum in Rome and the ruins of Pompeii in the 1970s as both places were overrun with ferral cats. I like cats but felt sorry for the ones that were wild. Italy has made an effort to remove them from those sites, and neuter stray cats, but there are still many in other locations.
ReplyDeleteMarvelous photos and interesting history.
ReplyDelete