The Ephesus and the Kusadasi area completely shocked and pleasantly surprised us. We arranged for a private tour through Trip Advisor reviews with a company that sent us a tour guide named Samiy. We were in for a treat. Samiy is a linguistics professor with a Masters in Archaeology and History. Can you get any more knowledgeable? We felt like we were Indiana Jones himself!
First stop, the Church & final resting place of St John. This was a very peaceful area, which overlooked the farmlands of Ephesus, as well as one of the local Mosques. In the distance, we saw what remained of the Temple of Artemis, which had been taken apart as the popularity of Christianity grew. The Church of St John actually had some of the marble and stone from the Temple of Artemis used for its structure. Turkey is surprisingly religious and rich in Christian history. The area is constantly being excavated and more things are discovered as the years go by.
Next stop was a local pottery shop. The artisan pottery maker created three pieces before our very eyes within 4 minutes. Craftsmanship and Originality are very important to the Turks. No "Made in China" pieces... LOL. The Turkish people are also very welcoming. I must have heard "this is your home" over a dozen times. Everyone speaks English too. The American influence is very prevalent. Almost everything is in both Turkish and English. They also accept the USD and the Euro as currency, along with the Turkish Lira.
The House of Mother Mary (House of the Virgin Mary) was a revering experience. This is where Mother Mary, the mother of Christ, was believed to have spent the last years of her life before being assumed into heavenly glory. Sidebar: Nelson asked Samiy at what age did Mary pass away, and he was immediately corrected. "She was assumed into heavenly glory, its not said that she died". BUT, the short answer was 65 or 66. It was very interesting to hear his reverence for the religion, history and beliefs that he held. We WILL be coming back to Ephesus to see him. I know it.
After walking though the house, Nelson and I collected some of the Holy Water and we lit candles in honor of our families health and my Father's soul. After, I asked Mother Mary to please pray for all of my friends back home, who I was missing very much at that moment. This stop was the second time (the first time being the Vatican) that we actually said out loud... "if only you guys were here, it would have been even more amazing to share this with you."
Then came Ancient Ephesus...
Imagine a place so old (over 3000-4000 years) with so much life and history still within its walls that it actually gives you chills when you walk down one of the avenues because the structures came to life in your mind... Well, at least in our minds.
We took so many pictures, but nothing can describe the works of art and the history trapped within the stones. For the next two hours we slowly walked and listened to the stories of the ancient pieces that had been trapped in rubble, buried under catastrophic earthquakes, and only recently (in the last 100 years) brought to life once more by many teams of skilled archaeologists.
The Greek Theatre, Hadrians temple and the Library of Celsius are only a few of the pieces that we came across. The pictures tell the story much better than I can.
It's late, and tomorrow is Athens. We look forward to the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus and the Parthenon, to name a few. I'm sure many more stories will come from there. I look forward to telling them.
By the way, the cruise is going great. I have a separate Entry regarding the cruise that I shall post all at once. Most of my readers have been on a cruise before and I can tell you that as much fun as I'm having on the ship, it pales in comparison to the unique and breathtaking stops we have been experiencing.
Love and miss you...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Kusadasi, Ephesus, Biblical Ephesus
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