Selçuk/Ephesus

So, last Friday, Brad and I started our trip heading for Izmir. We ended up passing through there rather quickly and stayed the next two nights in Selcuk, which is the 6th settlement of Ephesus. The settlement that is of Biblical interest is the 3rd settlement, and it is the only one that is being worked on right now from what we were told. (By the way, most of the pictures are of Brad because I haven't gotten his pictures of me from him yet.)

The stadium at Ephesus, with Brad

Because we had so much time there, we ended up seeing most of the things of interest in the area. The first day we were there we saw the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. As you can see below, there's not much left of it... but it used to be big enough to fit a football field inside. (Portions of it got used to build a church eventually and then portions of that church got used to build a mosque even later. The rest of the Temple is supposed to be in the British Museum.)

The Biggest Remains of the Temple of Artemis

We also saw the Ephesus Museum and took an Ephesus tour. The ruins of Ephesus are quite impressive. It is definitely easier to have a mental picture of what was going on a couple of millenia ago after visiting. As excavations are continuing, the site should continue to get better.

The Agora in EphesusThe Temple of Hadrian

It is interesting that we were told that ancient temples were typically beautifully decorated on the outside but rather plain on the inside. Compare that with the ancient Jewish Temple.

A Main Street in Ephesus ending at the Library, mostly original

After we finished at Ephesus, we stopped by a pottery making place and enjoyed watching the master potter make some stuff and then looked at much of what they had made.

Related posts: Seven Churches Intro and Miletus; Sardis, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Smyrna; Colossae, Laodecia, Hierapolis; Pergamum; first trip to Hierapolis; trip to Cappodocia