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Ephesus

    Benedicts in Turkey: Ephesus

    I’m nearing the end of recapping our two week tour of Turkey! Looking through all of these photos is making me homesick. I want to drop everything and head to the Turkish coast.

    After Pamukkale and Hierapolis, we drove to Kuşadası and spent the night at Sergent Hotel. It was a great hotel with a fantastic view of the beach. They were so helpful and accommodating.

    Unfortunately, Dad had been battling a stomach bug for a few days, and ended up going to the hospital the next morning for antibiotics and fluids. David and Mom took him while the boys and I walked the boardwalk, peeked into the shops, and stuck our feet in the Aegean. The Turkish coast is paradise. I mean, look at all these blues:

     

    Kuşadası beach

     

    After a few hours, they came back from the hospital. Dad was feeling a little better and we drove 18km north to Ephesus.

    Ephesus was a major port of commerce in the ancient Roman world. Over the years, the waters receded so it no longer sits directly on the coast. The city was famed for its Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders. The apostle Paul spent time in Ephesus and had a heart for the believers there (Acts 18, 19, 20). It is also one of the seven churches of Revelation (Revelation 2).

    Ephesus was one the first places David and I visited when we first moved to Turkey. We enjoyed showing the family the ruins, library, terrace houses (completely worth the extra entrance fee!), and theater. I can’t believe how blue the skies were this day!

     

    Exploring Ephesus

     

    Ephesus ruins

     

    Dad with Caduceus

     

    Ephesus main road

     

    Ephesus kitty with Nike Athena:

     

    Nike Athena and Ephesus kitty

     

    Hercules Gate:

     

    Ephesus Hercules Gate

     

    ephesusruins

     

    Family photo inside the Theater of Ephesus. It can hold 25,000 people and has perfect acoustics.

     

    Theater of Ephesus - family photo

     

    David and Leah with Ephesus Library

     

    Library of Ephesus

     

    Mom and Dad on steps of Library of Ephesus

     

    Pomegranate plant

     

    Ephesus Mosaic tiles

     

    Terrace houses at Ephesus

     

    Sam headstand in Ephesus

     

    Ephesus mountains

     

    After a few more Magnum bars, we drove three hours north to see our third of the Seven Churches of Revelation.

     

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    Library of Ephesus

    Over the Kurban Bayram holiday, we traveled with two of our colleagues and friends to Izmir and Ephesus.

    It was so cool to walk around the ancient ruins. The library was built in 117 A.D. Paul visited Ephesus; you can read about it in Acts 19.

     

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    Iyi Bayramlar: Day 1 & 2 in Izmir and Ephesus

    Last week, we had a few days off of school for Kurban Bayramı. Kurban Bayramı is an Islamic holiday celebrated in Turkey. According to wittistanbul.com, “The Feast of the Sacrifice commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to show his faithfulness to Allah. You can find essentially the same story in the Old Testament where Abraham was willing to kill his son Isaac, until an angels stops him.”

    Since our school is located in Turkey, we are closed during both Christian holidays and the Islamic holidays recognized by the Turkish government. It was a five day weekend, and we decided to travel to some historical and Biblical sites with two friends and colleagues.

     

    Map of Ankara to Izmir

     

    We left Ankara Thursday morning by Pamukkale bus and headed to Izmir. The bus was fairly comfortable and had internet and built in entertainment, similar to a lot of airplanes. After a long 9 hour ride, we finally made it to our hostel. The first thing we wanted to do was see the water. We walked a few blocks and came upon the coast of the Aegean Sea. The sun was falling towards the horizon and we were greeted by a beautiful sunset.

     

    Izmir sunset on the water

     

    As the sun dipped lower, we took a ferry to Karşıyaka, another part of the city, for dinner. It looked like a promising spot to find some grub, however, many of the businesses and restaurants were closed for the holiday. We found a quick bite to eat at a doner restaurant.

     

    Izmir Ferry Ride

     

    Karşıyaka, Turkey

     

    After taking the ferry back, we finished off the night by drinking coffee in a cafe next to the water. It was a very peaceful and relaxing night. Our hostel, Hotel Baylan, was very accommodating and affordable with a delicious breakfast buffet.

     

    Izmir Park

    Izmir is a coastal city. We had perfect weather, and it looked like Florida with all of the palm trees. This photo was taken by our friend Dale! Well, by her camera’s timer.

     

    In the morning, we left Izmir via train for Selçuk. This small town lays about 2 km from the ancient city of Ephesus. Our hostel, Attila’s Getaway, was only 3 km from Izmir. Breakfast and dinner were relatively expensive, so we found more affordable options in Selçuk. Although it was a bit more rugged than our first hotel, we enjoyed our stay.

    After checking in, we took a taxi to Ephesus. Visiting Ephesus is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. As we walked around the ruins of the city, I was overwhelmed to be standing next to such amazing pieces of history.

     

    Hercules Gate

     

    At the Efes ruins

     

    On the ancient toilets in Ephesus

    On the ancient toilets! I may or may not have slipped past a rope for this picture…

     

    We walked through the ruins taking pictures for a couple hours. We saw the library and the theatre believed to be mentioned in Acts 19. One of the most amazing exhibits was the Terrace Houses. This excavation site featured several houses with beautiful artwork. There were mosaics and frescoes still surprisingly visible upon the walls, ceilings, and floors of these houses.

     

    Library at Ephesus

    In front of the Library at Ephesus

     

     The Great Theatre of Ephesus

    We sang Amazing Grace in the Great Theatre of Ephesus. The acoustics are so perfect that the person in the very back row can easily hear.

     

    Ephesus Terrace House

    Inside the Ephesus Terrace House exhibit. There was beautiful and intricate tile work!

     

    We grabbed dinner and coffee in Selçuk before heading back to the hostel, where we played games on the patio. The first two days of our break were amazing, and they were just the beginning!

    » Read about day 3 & 4 here.