Friday, May 8, 2026
Our hotel is actually in Kusadesi but the highlight of this part of the trip was the ancient of Ephesus. At the time of its construction, Ephesus was a major port city, but over time the river deposited so much silt that the ports could no longer be used and the city slowly died. In its heyday though it was a huge commercial site, with travelers arriving from across the known world.
The photo below shows the entrance to the city.
This city is different from some of the other ancient cities that we visited in that not only are some of the main public buildings standing, but some of the more important private residences have been partially restored.
The
main avenue leading to the port was flanked by columns and would have been
fixed with flaming torches so that it was lighted at night.
Much of the city was dedicated to the goddess Artemis, a legacy coming down from the ancient worship of the mother goddesses. Artemis, however, was not exactly a nurturing mother figure. She was pictured with a vest covered in bull testicles, and bulls were ritually sacrificed in her temples.
The original Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt on a much bigger scale. It was larger than the Parthenon in Athens. The temple was finally destroyed by the Goths.
Here
was a smaller structure dedicated to the goddess.
At
the site, we also were able to see some of the more mundane scenes of daily
life. These clay pipes were part of the
aqueduct system. Most of the water in
Roman cities was piped down from high elevations in pipes. The arches “aqueducts” that we normally think
of are actually just bridges to carry the water across valleys or rivers.
Roman
cities also had public toilets and underground sewage systems. Water flowed constantly under the
toilets. Next to the seat would be a
stick with a sponge at the end. The user
would dip the sponge in the water below, clean himself, then put the sponge
back for the next person to use. Public
toilets were just for men since women mostly stayed around the home.
Besides the obvious sanitation issues, public toilets also brought the danger of methane gas explosions.
OK, moving right along…The library of Celsus was not among the largest of the ancient libraries, but the façade is still quite nice. It was constructed as a tomb for the Roman Senator Cassius, who actually is buried under the floor. But to give something back to the city, his son built the library over the tomb.
Much
of the building no longer stands, but the façade has been reconstructed.
The
theater in Ephesus is currently undergoing reconstruction, but there was a
decent view near the city exit.
Although Constantine had made Christianity an official religion, worship of Roman emperors continued for many hears. Most emperors had temples erected to themselves and citizens were expected to worship them as gods. This temple was dedicated to Dometian.
Most of the early Christians were executed not for their belief in Jesus but because they refused to also worship the emperors. Dometian had the disciple John exiled to Patmos for preaching against him.
According
to the Bible, John was entrusted with the responsibility of the care of Mary,
the mother of Jesus. John and Mary lived
in Ephesus for some years, and it is thought that Mary lived here until her
death.
One of the highlights of our visit to Ephesus was the chance to see the terrace houses, residences of the wealthier inhabitants of the city. These were the apartment houses of their time.
Below
is a layout of the terrace houses. It
was quite a complicated structural feat to construct them.
The
lower houses had large courtyards where visitors would be entertained. Upper houses were smaller.
The
walls would have been covered in colorful frescoes and the floors in complex
mosaics. Some of these remain today.
One
of the most impressive mosaics was this depiction of Poseidon.
Our
last visit was to the church of Mary, built on the site in the early 5th
century. Not much remains except a few
ruined buildings and a large stone baptistry fount.
Back at our hotel, Yaren had arranged a magnificent cocktail and appetizer going-away get together. The goodies were amazing and it was so nice to have a chance to say our goodbye’s. Some of us will be riding the bus to the airport together in the morning so we will have one more hadi-gidelim together!
As
the party wound down, the sun was setting over Kusadesi harbor. I just couldn’t resist that perfect orb and shaft of gold slicing across the water.
Thanks for traveling with us. Check out On the Road Again from the home page for more adventures.
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