Exploring Eternal Ephesus

The night was rough because Sam caught some sort of stomach bug, but of course he was a trooper and got up bright and early for our day tour of Ephesus and the surrounding sights in Selcuk. Although there was some confusion about our transportation, we jumped on a dolmus (mini-bus) to get to the start of our tour. (We’ve encountered more of a language barrier in the small town we’re staying in… our hand motions and slow talking aren’t working as well as in previous cities).

We were pleased to be part of small group of only 8 people, led by a friendly Turkish guide for the day’s sightseeing tour. Our first stop was the Virgin Mary’s House where it is said that Mary lived and was buried. The grounds were very beautiful and the reconstructed house was an interesting sight to see with many travelers of various faiths all paying tribute to the controversially described holy site.  

After spending about an hour at the Virgin Mary’s House we hopped in our van and drove about 5 minutes to reach the highlight of the tour… Ephesus. This city was an ancient Greek city and later on became one of the largest Roman cities and most active ports of Asia Minor.

Ephesus was rediscovered in the mid-1800’s and to the delight of our eyes has arguably the best preserved ruins of antiquity. When walking down the streets of Ephesus it is easy to imagine what life was like for the 250,000 residents that called this city home. 

The downfall of the impressively preserved community is it draws on average 10,000 visitors a day. As you can see, all walks of life visit this archaeological mecca including Russians that have no shame in walking the entire city in their bikini and banana hammock all the while taking glamour shots along the way.

The rest of the day was spent eating lunch at a Turkish buffet, walking the Ephesus museum, learning about Turkey’s carpet-weaving tradition, and a final stop at the Temple of Artemis (one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World). This last sight was one of the best locations for a view of the various cultures that left an imprint on this region. From this location we could view ruins of a Greek temple, a Christian church, a Muslim Mosque, and an Ottomon castle.  It was quite an impressive view and a good way to end the day’s tour.

Once back at our hotel we were excited to relax in our hotel’s garden and enjoy the beautiful weather and some freshly picked plums (plucked from the tree right before our eyes). We finished the night off with dinner at one of the local restaurants where we had Turkish dishes, some of which are native to the town of Sirince. After the long day tour we were happy to have a restful and relaxing night.