It was a warm morning as we approached Turkey. This is a new country for Bruce and I and we are excited to be here.
Again we are on a ship excursion being herded like cattle into the theater and getting our name tags. It is not my preferred way to travel but today we are number 1 so should be out of here first.
We went ashore in Kusadasi. There were Turkish dancers at the port.
We traveled by the Kusadasi castle built in 14th century and expanded in 18th century. This was used to protect the harbor from pirates.
We arrived in Ephesus to begin our tour. Ephesus was rebuilt four times and the path we walked on was the third one.
As we walked the paths were made of marble. Very slippery but they have held up through the ages.
Our first stop was the Odeon, which looks like a small theater. It was used for political meetings.
The fountain of Trajan was built in 104 AD to honor Emperor Trajan, with his statue overlooking the pool. All that is left of his statue is a foot.
The bathrooms or latrines were interesting. They were only for men and no privacy.
The Celsius Library was built in 2nd century AD by the Roman Council of Asia Minor. There was an auditorium in the open space for literary speeches and to read poems.
The Great Theatre was also built in the 2nd century AD during the reign of Emperor Trianus and held 25,000 people. St. Paul, who owned a tent-making shop, preached to the crowds from this theater.
These were some highlights of Ephesus. It was an amazing place with an amazing history.
As you can see it was a fairly long walk on marble. It was quite slippery so it was important to walk slow.
There was a parade of Roman soldiers and a reenactment.
Outside the gates, we saw the ruins of a coliseum. This is where they would have the gladiator fights.
After Ephesus we went to a rug shop. Here a woman is hand-making a silk rug.
#ephesus#turkey#ruins#carpet#celsiuslibrary#kusadasi#cruise#port#ancient
