Ephesus

The last two days of our Turkey holiday we visited the seaport of Kusadasi and the ruins of Ephesus.  The juxtoposition of the the new city with the huge cruise ships a few miles from ancient ruins was a treat.  Our hotel looked out over the sea and we could see the ships come and go.  It was lovely to wander up and down the seafront and largely experience local life after the boats pulled out for the evening.

Ephesus itself was amazing.  It takes my breath away to walk on streets that old, to see places that Paul and Timothy and John would have seen.  To stand in the amphitheater and imagine what it was like in its prime.  The girls even went down on the stage and sang "Here I am to Worship" to the crowd.  It was great!  Although the library ruins are cool, my favorite part of Ephesus were the houses on the slopes.  This was an extra charge, but I had read about them the night before and knew I wanted to see them.  Breathtaking.  This is where current excavation is taking place and we could see them piecing together marble walls, uncovering mosaic after mosaic floor and unearthing amazing frescos on the walls.  It was such a shame that the tour groups all missed it--we had the entire complex to ourselves for an hour! Our budding archaeologist was in heaven.

Here are just a few of the incredible shots we took.  Enjoy!