 |
| Ephesus, Turkey ruins |
 |
| me |
The day my niece and I went to Ephesus on our Roman Empire cruise, the young guy working in the coffee shop on the ship mixed up the decaf and regular coffee. We ordered cappuccinos expecting to get a nice jolt for our tour day.
Instead, I walked around Ephesus bleary-eyed. But looking back now on the photos, I am blown away by how truly awe-inspiring this site really is. It is so amazing that it is hard to believe that it is real.
From a website on Ephesus, "During the 2nd century BC, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its Artemesium, the Library of Celsus and its medical school." Additional information on Ephesus can be found here.
 |
| Library of Celsus at Ephesus |
I mean, come on, The Library of Celsus ... this is the same Celsus that is responsible for centigrade readings of temperature. It doesn't get more special than that. And the preservation and restoration are incredible. The best part of the tour was the Terrace Houses, which we paid extra for. But I will cover that in another post. For now, I am remembering the walk we took through time.
The day was sunny, hot and bright. There were what seemed like a million people there. Groups from all over the world speaking with group leaders speaking in over 15 languages at the same time. What I wouldn't give to go back and walk the site alone or with a small group!
 |
| Is it Greek or Roman? |
The archaeology of Ephesus is especially interesting to me. On Wikipedia, I found this, "The history of archaeological research in Ephesus stretches back to 1863, when British architect John Turtle Wood, sponsored by the British Museum, began to search for the Artemision. In 1869 he discovered the pavement of the temple, but since further expected discoveries were not made the excavations stopped in 1874. In 1895 German archaeologist Otto Benndorf, financed by a 10,000 guilder donation made by Austrian Karl Mautner Ritter von Markhof, resumed excavations. In 1898 Benndorf founded the Austrian Archaeological Institute which plays a leading role in Ephesus today."
More information on Ephesus can be found here.
 |
| My favorite Ephesus cat |
 |
| Port of Kusadasi where the Noordam docked |
No comments:
Post a Comment