Ephesus!

Ephesus (Efes in Turkish) is an hour south of Izmir, located right next to the town of Selcuk.  This trip was significant to us for far more than the ruins; as Elijah said, Ephesus today is really nothing more than "lotsa rocks."  But we went so we could walk the streets that Paul and Luke walked, and cross the theater arena where Christians were thrown to the lions.  Can you imagine their sacrifice, their faith when faced with excruciating (from excruciatus, Latin for "out of the crucified") suffering?  We were able to walk right past the ruins of where the Council of Ephesus took place.  The outcome?  Jesus' divinity was affirmed, as was Mary's immaculate conception.  We are still in awe of the events that transpired in that city.  The early Church and Biblical writings can seem so far away to those of us from the West.  This trip reinforces the fact that the people and places in the Bible are very, very real.  While Ephesus can appear to be little more than an interesting place with "lotsa rocks", it is much more.  This trip was special, to say the least.

We started our tour of the ancient city by entering from the lower gate. The tree-lined, stone pathway instantly made us feel what it must have been like to live in Roman times. We passed the baths (where travelers would clean up before continuing into the city) and walked up Harbour Street, which was once a very impressive entrance into Ephesus.

Harbour Street

Daniel and Elijah led the way past the Gymnasium of Vedius, which once boasted exercise rooms, a swimming pool and a ceremonial hall.

Daddy and E at the gym

Our first breathtaking sight of these ancient ruins was the Great Theater. According to the audio tour Daniel was listening in on, Christians were persecuted here.

For some perspective, the red circle is where Daniel and E are.

Was this tunnel beneath the theater where believers were locked up and forced to await death? (Daniel mentioned them being fed to the lions, but had to quickly stop when Elijah began begging to see where the lions were. "Maybe all gone."  Yup, all gone, buddy.)

Next, we headed down Marble Street, connecting the Theater to the Library. On the way we passed the Hall of Nero, which is still in the process of being excavated. This evil man burned Christians on stakes for his garden parties. If that name doesn't give you shivers as a Christian, I don't know what will.

The Celsus Library, named after a Roman governor, was by far the most beautiful structure in what remains of Ephesus. The facade has been meticulously reconstructed with all the original pieces. The niches in the inner walls held 12,000 scrolls!  Hard to believe we were actually taking these pictures!

To the right of the library was the South Gate to the Commercial Agora. This was where they held a massive textile and food market...and sold slaves.

We exited back through the South Gate, past the library, and by Hadrian's Gate. Immediately following were the terraced houses, although we didn't pay the additional fee to tour the inside of these homes. However, we were still able to get a good impression of how lavish they must have been from the detailed mosaics right outside their doors.

Conveniently located right across the way were the Roman toilets! Unlike our concept of "personal time", the Romans apparently considered this social hour. The wealthy even had memberships and reserved seating!

We hiked up Curetes Way, which was once lined with rows of popular shops and displayed statues of honored people of the day.

"The Sampson"

 We headed past the Pollio Monument and the Domitian Fountain and quickly found ourselves at the Upper Gate and Upper Agora.

 I confess that by this point we were all pretty worn out and sadly forgot to stop at Luke's grave. Elijah impressed us with what a good job he did walking almost the entire time. Zeke was also in a great mood and captivated many tourists.