Wednesday, April 19, 2023 – Day 119
Our first of two stops in Turkey was the port of Kusadasi. We arrived as the sun was just coming up over the mountainside. Our destination today was Ephesus. I was really looking forward to seeing this town that we read about in the New Testament Book of Acts and was still going strong at the time of the writing of Revelation.
But first things first. Turkey is no longer called Turkey. In December of 2021 the Turkish president declared that the official name of the country be changed to The Republic of Türkiye. It took until May 2022 for the UN to ratify the name change; the USA made the change in January of this year. To my ear is sounds like Tour-ki-yea, with a long i in the second syllable.
Now… on to Ephesus!
We entered along a tree lined ‘Harbor Street’ number 1 in the map below.
The ancient city of Ephesus was once a seaport, its harbor eventually filled with silt, so it is now quite some way from the water. But its location made it a major trading center of that time.
The Theater (2) appeared through the trees on our left as we walked further up Harbor Street.
I wonder if this fellow is a relative of someone who also roamed the theater long ago. There were cats everywhere here! The guides said that they and the workers at the site take care of them. They all seemed happy and healthy.
We came across a contingent of citizens preparing for an event of some sort. Why… I think it is Athony and Cleopatra!
The Gladiators presenting themselves to the Royal box.
We didn’t see who the victor was; but the players brought to life how things may have looked when Ephesus was a bustling city. Some estimates say over 2,000 people lived here at its height. I think it’s more likely that this kind of activity would have taken place in the theater, but we got the idea.
As we approached the end of Harbor Street where it meets Marble Street (6) we came were able to see the full size of the Theater (2).
The Theater, which is still undergoing restoration, is estimated to have held 25,000 people, the largest ever found in the ancient world.
The pictures below give you an idea what the site looked like before the excavation began and how it looks today. I’ve always wondered how these things get filled in and how anyone realizes there is something under the earth that is so significant!
As we stood in front of the Theater at the intersection of Harbor and Marble streets, we came across a symbol carved into the stone. The circle with eight spokes was used to communicate that a Christian community was here, especially in the time of Roman persecution. You can write each letter of the word ΧΘΥΣ, one at a time, in the spokes of the wheel.
ἸΧΘΥΣ (IKhThUS), is an acronym or acrostic[for Ἰησοῦς Χρῑστός Θεοῦ Υἱός Σωτήρ”, which translates into English as ‘Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior’.
After passing by the Theater we continued walking down Marble Street. On our right we came upon the ruins of the Commercial Agora (marketplace) (3).
The Commercial Agora was one of the most significant trade centers in the ancient world. Merchants from all over the area would bring their goods into the market.
Apparently, there is an inscription along the wall of the Agora dedicated to the market supervisor. We were told it reads: “The people of Ephesus express their gratitude to agronomy, Eutuches, son of Menecrates, for having pre-empted a rise in the price of bread”.
The Commercial Agora here in Ephesus was also where a slave market operated. Ephesus had the second largest slave market of the Ancient World. Slaves were prevalent in the ancient world. Owned and sold by all different groups, usually along religious lines (rather than racial as is our American experience). As empires conquered others, they had people (conquered peoples, prisoners of war, kidnapped people, criminals, etc.) that they could press into service, trade and/or sell. It would seem that the infrastructure and commerce of most ‘civilizations’ have been built on the backs of enslaved men and women from the beginning. We don’t seem to learn well from our shared past.
Once past the Commercial Agora the street starts to rise, and we approach the Library of Celsus (4) through the Gates (5).
The Library of Celsus is considered one of the only remaining examples of great libraries of the ancient world. It was the third-largest library in the Greco-Roman world and is believed to have held 12,000 scrolls in a 2,000 sq. foot interior.
The interior of the library and its contents were destroyed in a fire in 262 AD. The facade itself was destroyed by an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century. Archaeologists began the restoration in the 1970s.
Our faithful escort needed a rest as we left the library!
Coming down the Library steps looking left, back through the gates towards the Commercial Agora and further down the Theater.
Traffic control trio at the intersection of Marble and Curetes Streets.
With our backs to the Library we were now on Curetes Street (16). On our right was an active archaeological project to restore the Hillside Houses (8), also known as the Terrace Houses. Built in the 1st – 7th Century AD these homes in the high rent district. Built onto the hillside, they were covered in soil from landslides and well preserved all these years. Excavation began in 1960 and continues today.
Under the covering is the project. We were unable to go in to see the excavations, so I’ve borrowed the picture below from dreamstime.com. I’d love to go back and wander around inside the houses!
This, the work not as far along, is borrowed from ephesushousessirice.com
Across the street is Hadrian’s Temple (14) unearthed in 1958, much of the original material was found on the site. Reassembled with mostly the original stones, but where there were missing pieces, reproductions were used to complete the structure.
The detail in the carving is just amazing!
Our time was running short, so we turned back towards the Library and found the men’s Public Toilets (9). Once again, these were communal toilets with water running below to carry away the waste. We were told gossip was swapped, deals were done, and general social time was spent here – men only. Apparently, they haven’t found the women’s toilet yet. When they do you can bet there are fewer seats and a longer line to get in!!
Walking back out through the Agora the trees are in bloom and the hillside grasses are so green!
Walking through these streets we wondered if we were walking where Paul walked as he taught early Jewish Christians here in Ephesus. Where was the synagogue he went to? Where did he live while he stayed here between AD 52-54? Where was the silversmith that had the prosperous business selling Artemis shrines until people stopped buying his products after learning about the God Paul taught of. Where was the prison Paul stayed in while he was writing the letter that became 1 Corinthians? The next time we read these books, I feel certain we will be able to place ourselves into the streets of Ephesus and see things anew.
Scholars think the Gospel of John may well have been written here in Ephesus. We know for sure that the church here was going strong when John mentioned them in the book of Revelation.
I felt here much like I did at the Sea of Galilee and in the Garden of Gethsemane, in awe of the Spirit of God as alive today as then.
While Jeff is tiring of seeing old stuff, he too was moved by this place. What a blessing to have visited this pile of rocks.
