Ephesus

Well, it appears that I am not able to upload pictures online while on this ship. I will try to do that ASAP.

Today we went to Ephesus, and it was absolutely amazing. I only wish we had more time to spend there. The ancient site sits right in the midst of beautiful, green rolling hills and olive, fig, and peach trees. This was not at all what I had pictured. Ephesus is the second-best Roman site, according to historians. I got to go to Pompeii when I was a kid, so I was expecting a landscape similar to that one, for some reason.

Ephesus is an important city to Christians. When Jesus died, he asked John to care for his mother, Mary, and this is where they came and Mary lived out her remaining years. It is also one of the places where Paul visited, and his letter to the Ephesians is included in the Bible.

So, it was beautiful, and some of the ruins were so well-preserved. My favorite (and this should come as no surprise to my brother, Matt) was the Library. That building happened to have two floors preserved, and some pretty incredible statues standing outside.

The other really awesome site was the large theater, where Paul preached to the Ephesians that they needed to abandon pagan worship. It was breathtaking to be standing right there, where so many important people traveled through.

On our way out of the town, we drove by the singular remaining pillar of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. If only we had more time! I am actually not sure if I will ever get the opportunity to come back to Turkey, but it was so worth this trip.

We are back on the ship, relaxing and relieving blisters, and we sail to Mykonos, our first stop in Greece!