Ephesus

The Ancient City of Ephesus, once a port city but now 6km from the water, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And of course the Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Quite ironic that a number of significant places in Christianity are based in Turkey, a Muslim country. The house of “The Virgin Mary” is 7km from Ephesus and a major place of Christian pilgrimage, Ephesus was the stomping grounds of St John and St Paul (who wrote his letters to the Ephesians from here). It is also a reminder that the depiction of Jesus as a fair skinned, fair haired man couldn’t be further from the truth.

Ephesus is one of the places in Turkey that is as I remembered it – unlikely that ancient ruins are going to change in 26 years 🙂 Although the entrance now has a number of modern shops and restaurants where previously there were just a few stalls on a dusty road to the entrance. I still remember a lovely man that lent us a huge book on Ephesus in exchange for us writing a letter for him in English to someone in Australia/some English-speaking country.

Some of the ruins are still in such excellent condition, it’s incredible given how long they have been there and they’ve certainly done a good job in preserving them.

I remembered the oldest advert (for a brothel) – carved into the marble pavement, a picture of a woman’s head, a heart, a foot (to show which side of the street it is located on) and coins (bring money). Also a rectangle (depicting Mastercard, Amex and Diners card if Aykut, our guide is to be believed) 🙂 but what I didn’t remember (or never knew in the first place) is that there was a secret underground tunnel from the library to the brothel so that men would be seen (by their wife/wife’s friends) entering the library instead of the brothel.

If you want to know more, this website has all the information you could ever want. (You’re welcome!)

Ephesus is also absolutely filled with very friendly kitties!