Blogs from Ephesus, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East - page 4

The Temple of “Artemis Ephesia” (the Ephesian Artemis), goddess of fertility, was known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. (Can you name the others?) Built in the 6th century BC, it was said by Plinius to have had 127 columns. It is thought to have been destroyed and reconstructed 7 times, a tribute to an enduring dedication to Artemis (and female fertility?) amongst the Anatolians. But now when you visit it, there’s just one remade column standing in a swamp, with a large white nesting bird in residence at the top of the pillar. Oh well, perhaps that is a living sign of fertility. After Ephesus had exhibited centuries of dedication to the Goddess Artemis, it is said that Saint John brought the Virgin Mary to Ephesus and she lived out her remaining ... read more

Ephesus was our main goal if we left Istanbul at all, because Phil was keen to see remnants of antiquity, and Annabel Murray had told us Ephesus shouldn't be missed. So our travel agent built Ephesus in to his grand plan for us. Leaving Cappadocia, we flew to Ismir, and the inherent merits of our tour arrangements became more apparent when we learned that we were being taxied, by ourselves, from the Izmir airport to the seaside town of Kusadasi, nearly an hour to the south along the coast, and delivered right to the lobby of our next hotel. What a luxury! And what a change from that first crowded hour in Istanbul going from the airport to the Sultanahmet in a train so crammed that Phil and Wai had to stand the whole way, bracing ... read more

Day 11: Upon disembarking from the bus in Selcuk we were escorted to our hotel. It was too early to check in so we left the bags behind the reception and sat and waited for our 0930 tour; that's right, no rest for the wicked. While we waited we met a brother and sister from Australia who were going on the same tour as us. After the bus ride, where no one spoke a word of English, it was nice to be able to meet new people without the problem of a language barrier. We introduced ourselves to Matt and Amanda and got to know each other for an hour and a half. The tour bus eventually showed up and we were on our way to Ephesus. The first thing you notice as you enter Ephesus ... read more

We went with a different tour company in Ephesus and to our great surprise we were given a private tour with Celine and a very agressive driver. We left Kusadasi in our fast black car, driven by the mustached man, and along our way we learned how Ephesus was rebuilt in 4 different time periods and locations. It was once a great harbor city, but over time silt and swamps brought malaria to the population and covered up the city. The sea is now 5 km away from the largest ruins of Ephesus. Our first stop was the house where Mary lived after John moved her away from Jerusalem. A mystic named Catherine Anna Emmerlick had a vision of this house on her deathbed - and that is how it was discovered. Near the small house ... read more

As we pulled into the petrol station just outside Yalikavak, the attendants went crazy to get us to their pumps. It was obviously a slow morning. It was after all still 7am. With their confusion, 6 pumps, 6 guys, all empty and waiting, I ended up parking at the one and only diesel pump. A quick reverse and I was in place. “Good Morning, Sir”. I always cringe when I’m called Sir. He filled the tank for us. We had a 3hr journey ahead of us to Ephesus, apparently the best preserved city in the Eastern Mediterranean. I tipped the guy for his troubles, but more out of feeling pressurised that he had filled the tank for me. He was delighted but then decided to go and show me up. As I went to close the ... read more