This is a writing about a trip and tour to Ephesus, Turkey, from which Carol Steficek returned.
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Background:
Ephesus
was a well situated trade center, close to the Maeander Valley and with harbor
access to the Cayster River. It was Arzawa Kingdom's "Apasa"
which is mentioned in Hittite documents. The Temple of Artemis was
erected in 500 B.C. It was considered to be one of the seven wonders of
the ancient world. The outdoor theater seated 50,000 people and was the largest
in the world. Ephesus was once the capital of the Asian province.
The population was more than 200,000 people.
The
Ephesus church was established by St. Jean in the 1st century. The 7th
& 8th centuries brought attacks by the Turks and in the 10th century the
name of the city was changed to Ayasuluk.
After
Alexander, many Anatolian cities were rebuilt and renewed, including
Ephesus. The streets crossed each other at right angles, the slopes were
terraced, and the buildings arranged orderly.
Tour:
Of
all the ruins we toured, this was the most complete. We walked from the top of
the city downward along a street called Kurets Street. Partial buildings
and temples remain on each side. The street itself is lined with
large columns and statues in various states of repair. The entire street
pavement was marble and very slippery even in the dry weather and sunlight.
Plus, it is anything but level as the marble slabs don't meet well anymore.
At least two people on our tour fell. Everything is ornately
carved -- the top entrances of the temples, statues, the top capitals of the
columns. One of the largest partial structures remaining was the 3
story Celsius Library. There was some evidence of the Christian
influence as we saw some stones of buildings with crosses carved in them.
We could see the remains of some mosaic floors. There is still much
archeological digging and restoring taking place and cats and dogs freely roam
the ruins.
It
is now amazing for me to open my Bible to the book of Ephesians and realize
that I actually walked in the footsteps of St. Paul.
I'm
sorry there is no way to adequately describe what I saw and experienced without
pictures and even then they don't do the tour justice.
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