Famous Colonnade

2,000 Year Old Colonnade

According to Chris (& the Encyclopedia Britannica), while the Apostle Paul was in Ephesus about 53-54 A.D. he was likely imprisoned in the hilltop jail seen beyond this colonnade. There he wrote Galatians, I Corinthians, Philippians, and probably Philemon. Some believe Ephesus is also where Mary, mother of Jesus, lived until her death. According to our guide, Marc Antony, later in his life, had his headquarters in Ephesus and rode in a procession down this street with his "Queen of Kings" Cleopatra.

Restorations Progress in Ephesus

Beautiful 25,000 Seat Theater

The Library of Celsus

The Turkish government is still excavating and restoring some of the old city including the beautiful Library of Celsus and the 25,000 seat theater. We couldn't tour into the theater but, unlike Greece, we were able to go just about anywhere else we wanted. Though the theater was started much earlier, the finished structures were both built during the Roman rein of Trajan (98-117 A.D.). The library was reported to be the largest in the world during it's heyday until it was destroyed by fire.

Nike Goes Retro - Way, Way, Back

Our Tour Guide Describes the Attributes of the Greek Goddess Nike

I think the "swoosh" was represented by the folds of the curved cape. This bust was one of many displays we saw along the main walking street.

Kusadasi Turkey

Erina & Patricia Disembarked Under Sunny Skies & the Turkish Flag

Our tour took us to Kusadasi, Turkey where we visited the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, known for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World and for the Apostle Paul’s New Testament writings to the Church at Ephesus. Xerxes left his children at Ephesus when he invaded Greece around 479 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered the city in 333 B.C. and then 200 years later the Romans had gained power.

Bull-Leaping

Chris demonstrates in front of a giant set of horns while Dave explains the Minoan "Bull-Leaping" Ritual

Often, I am sure it was nearly impossible for someone to tell the difference between fact and fiction while listening to Chris. However, despite the cloudiness of my ancient history lessons, our vacation wouldn't have been near as much fun without his hilariously warped explanations of culture, technology, ancient civilizations and "the unknown".

Awesome Hiding Place & Lots of Storage Space

Patricia viewing the large pithoi

The archaeologists and curators have painstakingly reassembled some of the very large Minoan pithoi back together. These ornately decorated jars were so large they had handles spaced across the entire surface to, I believe, distribute the load and enable them to be emptied or even moved.

A little know fact, according to Chris, is that in the past tourists were allowed to crawl inside the jars for awesome "photo ops." However, too many couldn't crawl back out so that practice is now prohibited. Hmmm........?

Crete

Patricia points out the bull-leaping ritual painted onto an ancient storage jar called pithoi.

I went to a traditional Saudi Arabian wedding the other evening and on looking back at my blog postings I really feel compelled to share a few more photos and stories from our summertime Italy, Greece, and Turkey vacation. We had such a great time touring with our new friends Kelli and Chris, Platt and all the young adults from our local high school and university.

On one cruise ship stop we negotiated for a cab to take us from the Crete port of Iraklion to the ancient Minoan palace at Knossos. The Minoans reached their technological and cultural peak around 1600 B.C. Their palace at Knossos even had bathrooms and running water.