The Ancient City of Ephesus
Related Album: Ephesus Terrace Houses
We encountered so much history on our Mediterranean cruise. The Acropolis in Athens was interesting, but the crowds made it hard to appreciate. I take nothing away from Pompeii, where a massive excavation has revealed its tragic history. But Ephesus takes the concept of an ancient city to a whole new level.
For one thing, Ephesus was founded around 1,400 BC, making it about 700 years older than Pompeii. Ephesus played a big role in the bible. In the New Testament era it was the fourth greatest city in the world, after Rome, Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch of Syria. The apostle Paul visited Ephesus on numerous occasions during his missionary travels. We had a private guide who referenced the Book of Acts frequently as we toured this ancient important city.
While it is now part of Turkey, Ephesus has been under the rule of the Greeks and Romans at various times. For awhile, it was even a self-governing city state before coming under Roman rule in 86 B.C.
This album is dedicated to an outside tour of the ruins. But a very large part of what made this tour so special was the “under the roof” tour of the Ephesus Terrace Houses, seen in this separate album.
CLICK FIRST PHOTO BELOW TO START SLIDE SHOW.
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- Our private guide was the owner of a top tour company in Turkey. She did a great job telling the Ephesus story & keeping us away from the crowds.
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- Columns once lined this street on the edge of the city.
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- One of the public baths in Ephesus.
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- Part of the city water system. Ephesus may have had the most advanced aqueduct system in the ancient world.
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- In a private shady corner of Ephesus, our knowledgeable guide leads another discussion of what we were seeing,
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- Curetes Street leads downhill to the Library of Celsus in the distance. There was once a harbor beyond the library which brought ships to Ephesus’ front door. The harbor has long since been filled in by sediments.
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- The Temple of Hadrian.
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- Inside the Hadrian’s Temple above the door is a human figure thought to be Medusa,
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- Exquisite sculptures graced the buildings.
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- Approaching the iconic ruin of Ephesus, the Library of Celsus
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- The Library of Celsus was built in 135 A.D.
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- This entire structure had fallen to the ground. The front facade was painstakingly restored using all the original columns and parts.
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- Details of Library of Celsus edifice
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- Me … marveling at what I was seeing.
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- I couldn’t get enough of this ruin. Looking back at the Library of Celsus
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- The Tucson contingent headed to the great theater.
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- Many columns line the road from the library to the great theater.
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- Another street … more columns Arcadian Way leads from the harbor (once only a short distance away) to the theater. The sea is now many miles away.
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- The great theater at Ephesus
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- This massive theater measured 495 feet in diameter and seated an estimated 25,000 people.
