The Ancient City of Ephesus

Next stop on our cruise, we were back in Turkey – but this time we were in Kuşadası, which is a resort town on Turkey’s Aegean coast.

Kuşadası is a small port town on the Asian side of Turkey, it was a very different visit than our time in Istanbul!

The highlight of our trip to Kuşadası was a visit to the ancient archaeological side of Ephesus.

 

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor. During the Roman period it was the second largest city of the Roman Empire, behind Rome!

   

Charles was in heaven again with his rocks.

Here are a few random fun facts about the ancient site of Ephesus:

 

The Gospel of John may have been written here.

Marc Antony & Cleopatra honeymooned here!

   

Stray cats and dogs were not only randomly around Ephesus, we saw them all over our honeymoon! Most were tagged and the city knew about them, but it was weird to see them all over the place just hanging out!

 

I was really surprised to see just how spread out the ruins were – this was a pretty big city back in the day!

 

Just like in Athens, we were impressed with the details still preserved throughout the city.

 

At the top of this hill is where the House of the Virgin Mary sits. It is believed that she spent her last days here and died in her home.

 

The fields in the distance used to be completely covered by water. Ephesus used to be an important commercial center and harbor but the water slowly silted up and is now WAYYY in the distance! Crazy, right?

 

We walked down the main street and stepped back in time.

    

Check out the original mosaic tile in the street. Thousands of years old – I can’t believe it’s still there!

Seriously, how gorgeous is this?

This is the remains from the Temple of Hadrian.

Pretty impressive if you ask me, and I am not the rock lover in our little family.

 

Next on our tour we checked out the bathroom facilities.

This was the area for the women.

And here is where the men did their business. Pretty impressive facilities for thousands of years ago!

The view from the toilets!

Charles tested out the seats for himself.

Then it was time to head to the center of the city – which is home to the Roman Library of Celsus.

This bad boy has been reconstructed from all original pieces – pretty impressive, right?

   

The building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light.

         

Can you find me in this picture?

There I am!

   

I then went inside the library, which once was home to nearly 12,000 scrolls as well as a statue of Celsus himself. The statue has been moved to a museum, so I got up there to show you where it once was.

 

Ephesus was bumpin’!

It really was a beautiful place to visit.

 

On our way out of the city, our last stop was the Theatre.

   

This theatre is MASSIVE! 

At an estimated 44,000 seating capacity, the Theater is believed to be the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world.

It’s hard to really show you how BIG it is.

See me doing dancer pose in the middle?     

All I can say is WOW.

 

I think this gives a better idea of its size!

  

After our time in Ephesus came to and end, we spent some time in Kusadasi by the water. 

 

Charles and I ended up stopping in a cafe for a drink and we sat right next to the little fishies! Check out how clear the water is.

  

No surprise here – I got a Mint Cafe Fredo.

   

My new favorite (non-alcoholic) drink!

 

Along with our coffee break, came a lovely view.

   

Next up on our travels – Patmos!