(Turkey Flag)
(Turkey Map)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2009:
All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.
On a gloomy Monday morning we docked in Kusadasi, Turkey.
Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast.
Kuşadası's residential population is 50,000 rising to half a million
during the summer when the large resorts fill with tourists.
This statue of the Virgin Mary stands just outside The Acient City of Ephesus.
The statue is near the House of the Virgin Mary which is a Christian and Muslim shrine located on Mt. Koressos.
It is believed by many Christians and Muslims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to that stone house
by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption into Heaven.
The two pictures to the left of the statue were taken from that same location.
Şirince is Greek village village of 600 inhabitants.
Souvenir shops, an open market, a dozen restaurants and a few
guest houses scatter the pretty cobbled streets of the village.
Although tourism has come into the village, farming remains the foremost activity.
Oprah Winfrey spent several days here earlier in the year.
I spent most of the afternoon exploring the ruins of ancient Ephesus.
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the west coast of Anatolia, near Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey.
It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era.
In the Roman period, it was for many years the second largest city
of the Roman Empire; ranking behind Rome, the empire's capital.
Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC,
which also made it the second largest city in the world.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Temple was destroyed in 401 CE by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom.
Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths.
The town was again partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614.
The Temple of Hadrian (center picture below) dates from the 2nd century but underwent repairs
in the 4th century and has been reerected from the surviving architectural fragments.
The Library of Celsus (lower right), the façade of which has been carefully reconstructed from all original pieces,
was built ca. CE 125 by Gaius Julius Aquila in memory of his father and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls.
Ephesus contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean.
Only an estimated 15% has been excavated. The ruins that are visible give some idea of the city's
original splendor, and the names associated with the ruins are evocative of its former life.
The theater dominates the view down Harbour Street, which leads to the long-silted-up harbor.
The Theater - At an estimated 44,000 seating capacity,
it is believed to be the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world.
Unfortunately I didn't have too much time to spend in Kusadasi itself.
I was able to snap a few photos of the harbour area before returning to the ship.
You can see a small rainbow in the picture on the lower right.
The moon broke through the clouds as we sailed away from Kusadasi bound for Israel.
I returned to Kusadasi in 2013. Click HERE for the details.
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Hello folks, We docked in Kusadasi, Turkey this morning around 8:00. Kusadasi is a resort town on the coast of the Aegean Sea. The statue below is the Virgin Mary. It was made in Lima, Ohio and donated to the city. The statue is not far from the small house that the Vatican recognizes as the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. While we were at the statue a large flock of sheep was being herded down the mountain just behind the statue. Next we visited the small Turkish village of Sirince. Oprah Winfrey spent several days here this summer. Next we visited the Ephesus Museum which houses artifacts unearthed from the ruins of Ephesus.  Next it was off to Ephesus itself. We entered through the Magnesia Gate and walked down the marble-paved road into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital.  I found the place to be more impressive than the Colosseum in Rome. Below is the Fountain of Trajan.  Below is the Temple of Hadrian. Below is the public latrine. Not much privacy here.  Below is the Celsus Library. Below is the Grand Theater where Saint Paul preached to the Ephesians. It seats 24,000 people. Elton John, Diana Ross, Bon Jovi, Povaroti and many others have had concerts here. Got back to the Kusadasi harbor just in time to sail away.  Below is a picture of Kusadasi from the ship just before we sailed away.  Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way to Israel. I will have two full days in Israel. They will be long days as I have a 10 hour tour scheduled each day. So I will rest up tomorrow. Tim |
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009:
On Tuesday we were sailing in the eastern most part of the Mediterranean Sea heading for Israel.
I visited Istanbul in 2013. Click HERE for the details.
Click on the arrow above to continue to my next adventure, ISRAEL.
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