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| Library at Ancient Ephesus. 3rd largest behind Alexandria and Pergamum |
We were picked up at 9am by our guide Burcu for our day in the ancient Greco-Roman city of Ephesus. Ephesus has been around for yonks, as early as 11th century BC according to legends but had its heyday around 200-300AD. Most probably know it as associated with early Christianity, being mentioned in the bible a few times. St Paul and St John visited and Mary, mother of Jesus, was said to have spent her last years there. We spent a few hours in the sprawling but fascinating ruins, so I won't bore you with a history lesson, but will detail our highlights with photos instead.
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| The very large restaurant where our buffet breakfast was. If there was sunlight...we would have had a beautiful view of the sea |
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| The baptism pool outside Mary's house. The early plumbing (red pipes) are original |
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| We were surprised to see a nativity scene in a Moslem country. But where is baby Jesus?! We were told as he wasn't born until Christmas Day, they only take him out for display on Dec 24! |
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| They even decorated Mary's house for Christmas |
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| No photos inside, so just one outside. This was from the side of her small and cosy home |
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| Wall of wishes. Our guide says she sometimes reads them for a laugh (terrible she knows). When we had a look some were complete essays!! |
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| The vast ruins of Ephesus |
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| Nike. Can you see the origin of the swoosh? |
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| Original pavement stones nearly 2000 years old |
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| They were smart enough to have working public toilets and sewage system back then |
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| The front gutter was for fresh running water. The holes in the ground held sticks with cloth which you can use to dip in the water to then clean yourself... |
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| Stray cats everywhere. Our driver gave our guide 2 bottles of food to disperse. This one was happy to pose for my phots capturing the gorgeous original mosaics |
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| We had entry to the special ticketed exhibit of the terrace house where the rich lived. These examples were much better preserved than the ones in the outdoor |
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| Just us and the stray dogs at the Library. Marc Antony gifted the scrolls and text to Cleopatra and had them sent to Alexandria where they all burned in the fire |
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| what happens in the ancient times to your stone writing when your hand gets tired |
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| A pamplet with instructions and directions to the "love" house or brothel |
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| Theatre of Ephesus |
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| Tunnel that the gladiator walked through |
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| The famous Garfield of Ephesus. He has his own instagram page with more followers than me |
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| A better idea of the scope of the theatre, taken from the gymnasium |
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| Lunchtime! Today's food highlight - fresh pomegranate juice |
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| Boulevard of orange trees. Our guide read our Asian minds, there are all still there because they're bitter oranges not sweet ones |
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| After our visit onsite, we visited the museum to see where the aritifacts from the dig site were housed. Oma's comment "Look Lara that's you as a baby". Classic |
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| The Ephesians version of boardgames |
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| Statue of Artemis dating from 1st century BC |
After our time in the ancient city and museum, we had an unexpected shopping stop. A leather goods factory used by big luxury brands, they treated us to a runway display of their leather products. Elliot and Lara were invited up to model with much discomfort on their part and much glee on their parents. These leather products would sell for 3-4 times the price on the tag once the luxury brand has been stamped on it. Lara scored herself a beautiful red leather jacket. Poor Elliot looked like one young adult dystopian movie hero after another being made to try on dark leather jackets. Notably Twilight and Divergent. He did look very handsome though!
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