Kusadasi (and Ephesus) – November 3rd

Our next stop was the small port city of Kusadasi, on the west coast of Turkey, our only stop outside of the EU.  Kusadasi itself has remains of medieval walls, white-washed stone houses, quaint alleys and cafes, carpet “factories,” and shops – lot of shops.   If memory serves, this may the place where we saw the sign advertising “Genuine Fake Watches.”  (It was also in Kusadasi that our dinner companions were whisked from shop to shop in wheel chairs.)

But, we were on an Antiquities Quest so we were more interested in a place about 10 miles away: 

Anna and what's left of the Temple of Artemis

Ephesus.  Ephesus dates back to pre-Ionian times when the locals built a temple to the Mother Goddess.  Later this site became the Temple of Artemis (Diana) and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World–now sadly just  a heap of stone and debris.   The Ionians landed in the 11^th century BC, and, for the next three or four centuries, Ephesus became a prosperous center of trade and banking.  The subsequent years brought rule by Persians, Alexander the Great, Syrians, and, in 133 BC, Romans.  It was also the site of one of the first significant Christian communities, as in Paul’s Letters to the Ephesians.  There was so much to see that we were glad we had elected again to take a guided tour.

Library of Celsus

We were amazed by the size of Ephesus! The ruins are spectacular, covering a very large area.  Among the most impressive and beautiful ruins is the recently restored Library of Celsus, built in 135 AD.  Its main reading room, 55 feet by 36 feet, is reached through a marble-paved yard 70 feet wide, and the façade is 53 feet high and boasts columns, reliefs, and statues.  And, what would a Roman city be without a theater?  The Great Theater of Ephesus seated about 24,000 and is referred to in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 19, verses 23-41.  (Our guide pointed out that St. Paul had spent three years in Ephesus, preached  in the Great Theater, and had been imprisoned in a rustic building on the hillside.)There are also ruins of houses, forums, baths (with their hypocaust systems -a type of heating system- still intact), theaters, a variety of fountains,

Marble Street

public restrooms, etc.  Restoration and excavations are ongoing and have recently revealed houses of rich merchants with colorful frescos, mosaics, statues, and inscriptions.  Then there is the Marble Street!  It was built in the 4^th century AD and is huge.  It has a drainage system (that still works) right down the middle, and, if you look closely, you will see the ruts left in the marble by wheeled vehicles.  Ephesus was obviously a very large, prosperous city until its harbor became so filled with silt as to be unusable and the city went into decline and eventually ceased to exist.

After a short bus ride, our next stop was the

Basilica of St John the Evangelist

ruins of the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist, once one of the largest churches in Christendom.  There are a couple of legends regarding the church, including that it is the burial place of St John.  It is also said St. John wrote the Fourth Gospel here. 

Then we all piled back into the bus for the ride back to Kusadasi and some free time to explore and eat lunch.