Ephesus (known here as Efes) was a major stop on our trip. The ancient city is in the southern corneer of the western state of İzmir. While amny of you may not be familiar with the name I know you have all seen pictures of the Celsus Library (built for Tiberius Julius Celsus Polomaeanus, and ancient greek governor of Roman Asia) at some point, it resembles a free standing Petra. Like most ancient cities, Ephesus has been built, burned, pillaged, conquered and rebuilt by the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs and Ottomans. The area was inhabited as far back as the 10th century BC but the original city was founded around 6,000 BC. Ephesus was once the second largest city in the world with a population of over 250,000 and second in importance only to Constantinople. It was famous for the Temple of Atremis, once considered on of the seven wonders of the world before it was destroyed in 401AD by St.John Chrysostum. The city is also one of the seven churches of Asia, three more of which are in the area, five of which I have been to. Ephesus is believed to be the city of the Seven Sleepers, saints to the Catholic and Orthodox churches, also mentioned in the Qur'an. It was home to the Christian counsels of the 5th century and the home and church of the Virgin Mary as well as the Basilica os St. John are nearby. Ephesus stretches three kilometers in size with some excavation still being done. The city boasts two full theaters capable of seating 25,000 with better accoustics than many modern concert arenas, full bath houses still in very good shape, many temples are still retain their full detail, mosaiced floors are still in tact in the homes of the wealthy, the front of the Library of Celsus, a large gladiator graveyard, large, paved streets still in good condition, marble stalls of the market place and ofcourse ancient greek graffiti. Emperor Constantine I is responsible for most of the city we see today. He rebuilt it in the 500's AD after it was partially destroyed in 401AD and then was again damaged by a large earthquake in 614. The city once sat along the Cayster River and as it silted up the city fell into decline.
Ephesus has pretty much been inhabited and praised by every significant emperor from every major empire of the region, capital city of many empires, home to many fabled battles, martyrs, gods and goddesses and the history is more extensive than I can ever tell you.
The home and church of the Virgin Mary and the Basilica of St. John are not too far from the ancient city. While I was not able to go inside the Basilica, the buiding is very beautiful from the outside and covered in flowers in the spring. The home of the Virgin, whie not more than a simple stone building, is said to have been built for her by St. John after Christs crucafixtion. It sits in a very serene cedar forest in the mountains and is a very popular pilgrimage site for Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholics. Below the Church on the mountain side between stone fountains fed by natural springs, is a huge wishing wall. It is covered in papers, tissues, socks and whatever else was onhand, upon which visitors have written prayers and wishes to the Virgin Mary, all tied and crammed into wooden posts attached to the wall written in every language you can think of. The walk leading up to the church is lined with gold signs explaining the site in every major language of the world.
The only real significance of the İsa Bey Mosque compared to its surroundings is that it is sort of old and was a part of an important Karavansaray, or safe haven for merchant caravans protected by the ottoman empire, and built in the 1300's. The description of "sort of old" made sound ridiculous but here is an example of just how used to the extreme age of their surroundings the Turks are. When I was in Samsun for Christmas one of the Turkish students was taking us around the city and pointed out a cafe saying it was one of the popular new hangout spots to which one of us responded reading the sign "Founded 1987?" "Well, it's new to us".
Ephesus was one of my favorite stops and even without knowing the history of the place, the size and detail is mind blowing. I will try and get pictures posted as soon as I can.
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