Ephesus

Wow! does not begin to give a sense to the wonder and magnificence of the ancient ruins of Ephesus. The site has been being excavated for over 100 years and there are hundreds of years worth of excavating and reconstruction still to be done. In its "heyday", Ephesus was a city of 250,000 - one of the largest in the world and had a harbor (the river has since been drained to make a better irrigation system for the surrounding plains). The theater in Ephesus seated 24,000 and could be flooded for mock "sea battles". The city also had numerous market places, public baths, temples, a library with 13,000 manuscripts, and terrace houses for the wealthy. Some of the newest excavations and restorations have involved the terrace houses, esp their mosaic floors. frescoed walls, and marble tiles - both flor and wall. The better preserved statuary and friezes are in a museum near old town Ephesus. They too are quite amazing. We spent 3 hours touring the site and only quit because of the blazing sun and to get to lunch. It is a site that could easily take 2 full days to really explore. After lunch we toured the Selchuk Museum, the supposed house where Jesus' mother, Mary, lived out her days, and the Bascillica of St. John, who also reportedly lived in Ephesus. The sun really took a toll on the group's energy level - most of us took a nap when we got back to the hotel. Tomorrow is a free day - some are going to Izmir (old Smyrna), some to the Greek Island of Smaos, and I'm going horseback riding in the Aegean countryside and Sea. By the way - there are no tides in the Mediterranean, Aegean, Adriatic, and Black Seas - which I found very surprising!
I will skip blogging tomorrow unless something amazing happens.....Friday it's off to Pergammom and a meeting with some teachers.