Buzzing Around The World With Fellette & Doug

Kusadasi, Turkey, the port for Ephesus...

Have you read your bible lately? Are you familiar with the book of Ephesians? [Ephesians came from Ephesus.]

Another great day today with Jim and Gail. We hired a cab and took off up the road about 40 minutes to Ephesus

the abandoned and was-buried city became into being some where around 1200 BC. It was under Persian rule until 334 BC when Alexander the Great arrived.

Upon his death the city was developed greatly. In the first century AD there were around 200,000 people living here.

St. Paul lived here for three years in 65 to 68 AD. In 269 it was devastated by the Goths and the buildings were used as a source of building materials and over the centuries it deteriorated and was basically forgotten.

Excavations started in 1859 and are still going on.

It is estimated that only about 25% of the buildings have been uncovered from centuries of erosion from the surrounding hills gradually burying the city.

That is enough of my attempt at a history lesson. The photographs are I hope enough to convey what the ancient city may have been like about 2000 years ago. Because Roman architecture was very fixed in style, experts can tell what structure existed by merely looking at it's foundation. In most cases foundations were not taken for recycling building materials. Pillars and walls were easier to cart off.

We also visited the suggested location of the house of the Virgin Mary

who was taken there by St. John the Apostle after Jesus was crucified. On the way up we had a quick look at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, built after his death, over his tomb. Now in ruins.

On the way back to town we passed the colourful domes of a Turkish Waterpark

then had a well deserved lunch on the waterfront.

We had a bit of extra time so we did a brief tour of a carpet shop, a leather shop, a ceramic shop and a jewellery shop. The "carpet experience" can be an interesting thing or a frightening thing. You can have apple tea, [delicious], wine or coffee as you linger. The carpets are without exception beautiful, ranging is size from a foot square silk to a living room size wool. When you consider the time it takes to hand-knot carpets, by our standards they are inexpensive. Bargaining can considerably reduce the cost and yes, they ship. We have found the Turks, all clerks are men, to be very pleasant, polite and humerous. Most people on the ship have very fond memories of Turkey. We, however saw the "Tourist Turkey," not the nitty-gritty rural, agricultural Turkey that the population has to live in.

You may tell from my writing that I am tired. It was a busy day, after a busy day, after a busy day. Tomorrow we are in Crete, the next day Athens, I have to get to bed and get my strength back. No complaints though, as I write this we are sailing past the Islands off the west coast of Turkey, the twinkling lights of towns dot the horizon. The end of another great day, Good Night all.

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 8:01 PM