Blogs from Ephesus, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East

We had to be off the ship early this morning to meet our guide Emret. So we enjoyed an early breakfast on the ship then, as soon as they opened the gate to let us off, we were on our way to another amazing day in Turkey. Emret and the driver were caught in the traffic of hoards of busses coming into the harbor area for the gazillions of tourists from the other huge cruise ships. Even though we started out a tad late we made it to Efes before most of the huge crowds. Efes (Ephesus) was one of the seven churches of Asia Minor mentioned in the Bible. It is important to know that Efes was the largest city in its day, with over 250,000 inhabitants calling it home. It featured some of the ... read more

Ich muss zu meinem Zimmer in Izmir noch hinzufügen: auf dieser Reise ist es das kleinste, dafür ist das Internet relativ gut. Es ist mehr ein Touristenhotel, was sich auch beim Frühstück und den Gästen dazu bemerkbar macht. Nach der Morgenmahlzeit wurde ich für die Tour nach Ephesus abgeholt. Es gab eine Mitreisende, einen Führer und eine Fahrerin. Wir sind also etwa 50 Kilometer nach Süden gefahren und nach dem Besuch eines ersten Geschäfts waren wir beim Marienhaus. Dieses wurde allerdings weitgehend nachgebaut. Von dort sind wir zur Ruinenanlage von Ephesus. Das Wetter war sehr schön und der Führer erzählte viel. Von dort sind wir zu einem Teppichladen, wo wir auch zu Mittag gegessen haben, danach zu den Resten des Artemistempels (dieser war eines der 7 Weltwunder) und zuletzt besuchten wir noch ein Ledergeschäft. Ich habe ... read more

We were met today by our guide Ali from the Best of Ephesus tours. Our first stop was to be a visit to the Temple of the Virgin Mary where it is believed that John the Baptist bought Mary to live the rest of her life following the crucifixion. It is a small house and has been renovated. After leaving here we drove to Ephesus where we spent the next two hours walking through this amazing site in 40 degree heat. Water, hat and sunscreen were the order of the day. The excavations were amazing and the site is huge. The great theatre which seated 25000 people is often used today for concerts. Elton John has played there. The Celsus library - amazing. There was room here for 12000 scrolls. They were stored in the niches ... read more

We're parked under a tree for shade which has the tiniest of flowers which readily fall off in the breeze. When we went out this morning the chairs looked like they had a covering of snow. We now have the awning out... Off we walked to catch the dolmus (taxi minibuses) from town to Ephasus. We asked the way to the bus station & the chap flagged down a bus & said he'll take you & will put you on the right bus for Ephasus. We set off & 5 minutes later he was banging his horn & waving at a bus on the other side of the road who stopped, we got off one, paid him then jumped on the other & we arrived at Ephasus 15 minutes later having nearly knocked a motorcyclist off ... read more

We spent the day at Ephesus marveling at the restoration and all the tourists, many of whom more interested in selfies than history. The terrace houses of the wealthy are quite amazing--frescoed walls, intricate marble floors, and covered to protect from the elements. Maury was excited to see the amphitheater where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians. On our own for dinner, we tried Izmir's oldest seafood restaurant, Deniz. Not much English spoken but interesting to see a relatively affluent segment of Turkish society out for a weekend meal with family. Yes, there are babies and small children in restaurants at 9p.m. and women drinking raki and wine!... read more