Thursday
Dear Elsie
Today was the day we we went to Ephesus! We didn’t have any expectations of these ancient buildings in Turkey, so we were very surprised, It is very extensive, covers a large area and huge chunks of these 2000 year old buildings still exist. There has been a massive amount of restoration. To get there, we cruised overnight from Athens to Kusadasi. Out of Greek and into Turkey
One of the helpful things was John’s book. John had loaned us a book on Ephesus which shows what some of the buildings used to look like. I carried it 1000s of kilometers and today had the opportunity to use it while walking through the city.
It was a remarkable journey back in time. Ephesus was founded in BC10.
Earthquakes did further damage over the passing of time, so major restoration projects are underway. This is the “little” stadium…
The Fountain of Trajan was a major water source.
The Curettes Road is a main thoroughfare.
Monument-of-Memmius goes back to the 1st Century AD. 
The Temple of Hadrian…
The most impressive building is the Ephesus Library.
Teddy came too.
After the Library, there is the Marketplace where Paul would have preached. He spent 3 years in Ephesus.
This is the colonnade along side the market place. Paul would have walked these streets. And the Gospel he preached cause an uproar.
Acts 19:
“26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.”
The main theatre under restoration. Just to think all this happened here!
The sea, a number of kilometers away reached Ephesus via a River. This is the Harbour Street. At the end of it there would have been the water. The river silted up cutting Ephesus off from the Aegean Sea.
It was altogether a fascinating visit and we feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to visit here. Certainly a highlight of our trip.
We returned to the ship via a weaving centre which was really interesting, although a hard-sell event! All their carpets are hand woven and very expensive.
Back on-board for our last night, I admired Kusadasi from the deck.
And now we are back on the move heading back to Istanbul, where we dock tomorrow at 10am.
It’s not about now – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂