Ephesus

7^th July 2011

Today was another hot one with the temperature peaking at 35 C, always the hottest time is aound 3 pm.

We had a shorter day touring planned with first stop at the Virgin Mary’s House, located in the hills not far from Ephesus. The crowds there were amazing (three cruise ships arrived in the area overnight). The House is said to be where the Virgin Mary lived and has been visited by the Pope and other dignitaries. To accommodate the huge crowds you were only allowed a fairly hasty walk through the house.

Virgin Mary's House

On the way back down the hill, there were outlets for spring water that people were lining up to collect a small bottle full of Holy water to take with them.

Sue collecting some Holy water

From here we proceeded on to Ephesus, along with the crowd that had just been at the Virgin Mary’s House. We spent about 2.5 hours wandering through Ephesus, which at it’s peak was the Capital of Asia Minor in the Roman Empire. The scale of the city is amazing, and it is the only Roman ruins I have seen, where the complete city can be explored and is being gradually restored. Because of it’s importance in the Roman Empire, the grandeur and facilities were impressive.

In the early life of Ephesus, it was located near a harbour, later the ocean receded, and the area  is now all dry land and the ocean is some km away. The valley, which was once the ocean is now fertile land covered in commercial crops.

The Roman baths at Ephesus

The Processionial Way at Ephesus

The library at Ephesus

The public toilets at Ephesus

The team getting Ancient History lesson at Ephesus

After seeing Ephesus, we headed up into the hills to a small village called Sirince, for a very pleasant lunch in a local restaurant. The town is also known for producing wine, so we also did a little tasting on the way back to the bus, and bought a few bottles.

Lunch at Sirince

After lunch we called in at St John’s Basilica in Selcuk. Quite a massive church containing the tomb of St John.

The Tomb of St John

From there we returned to our hotel for a welcome swim in the ocean at a private “beach” owned by the hotel.