Day 15 - Ephesus, Turkey

Today we visited the great ancient city of Ephesus, all of which is in ruins.  Our first stop is at a place that claims to be the tomb of St. Luke, which is said to be unlikely.  Up the hill on the outskirts of the old city is the house in which Mary lived.  After Jesus gave Mary to John while being crucified, Mary went with John to Ephesus while he served the area as bishop.  In a small place outside of Mary's house, our Catholic group had Mass.  Afterwards, we actually got to go inside of her house!

Most of the day was spent with a walking tour of ancient downtown Ephesus.  Most of the ancient city is still under ground and may be excavated in the future.  What had been excavated is amazing, revealing a main roadway with shops on either side underneath what would have been covered walking ways.  The most notable sites included the Temple of Hadrian (Roman emperor) constructed in 118 AD and the Library of Celsus built by a Roman in memory of his father Celsus.

Ancient Road of Ephesus

Public toilets

At the end of the long ancient road is the Great Theater.  After gathering into the theater, Steve Ray gave a wonderful talk about the sites of Ephesus and the theater in which we were sitting.  This theater is featured in Acts chapter 19 when thousands of the city of Ephesus gathered to discuss the effects Christianity was having on society.  One of the concerns was Paul's preaching and conversions causing a decrease in sales of goods dealing with Artemis who was the mother-god, or god of fertility.  They also feared that Christianity would want to destroy the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  When Paul and his companions tried to talk to them they kept chanting "Great is Artemis of Ephesians" and so they left.

Great Theater

After the theater, we went to the ruins of the Church of Mary which may be the first church ever dedicated to Mary.  There we stood in the place where bishops gathered from around the world forming the third Ecumenical Council in 431 AD, the Council of Ephesus.  The council was convened to resolve a dispute between two schools of thought regarding the nature of Jesus.  Some thought the divine nature dwells in the man Jesus as in a temple, allowing the belief that the bond between human and divine natures was not real.  As such, they would only refer to Mary as Christotokos, Christ-bearer, not Theotokos, God-bearer.  Others thought that he was one person with a divine nature that absorbed his human nature.  The bishops discussed this at length and declared the one person Jesus as having two natures and, to not separate the two natures bound by the one person Jesus, declared Mary as Theotokos, which means God-bearer or, in other words, Mother of God.

Next we went to the Basilica of St. John which was built in the 6th century over the tomb of St. John the Evangelist.  St. John was bishop of Asia Minor, which was passed to Polycarp who heard St. John's preaching.  The perimeter of the basilica is huge, but is now in ruins.  The tomb of St. John is still present and visiting it was very moving.  Next, we visited the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  It was close enough to the Basilica of St. John that we could see it from there.  All that is left of the once great temple is one column standing up.

Tomb of St. John

Upon getting back to the port, Katie and I walked around some of the local shops where we saw a sign for Genuine Fake Watches.  As one who is fond of watches, I had to check it out.  Once I saw what they offered, I ended up buying a Rolex.  Then I wondered whether it was genuinely fake or if it was just genuine.  If it was genuinely fake then the transaction with the vendor was fair, but if it was just genuine then the vendor was getting shafted and I'd feel bad for him.  The vendor didn't provide a certificate of inauthenticity to guarantee that it is truly a fake.  After looking up on the internet the tell-tale signs of fake Rolexes, I confirmed that it is, indeed, a Genuine Fake watch.  At least they are honest here in Turkey, unlike the streets of New York.

Of course, today was Katie's birthday.  To make the day more unique, we got dressed to go to the fine dining restaurant of the ship, which only costs a flat $20 per person.  We were sat at a table for two near the window looking at the lights of the Turkish port.  The meal started off with the chef's trio-teaser: halibut, roast beef, and something made with Parmesan cheese.  Neither of us liked the Parmesan cheese thing.  Next, I picked out the cheapest bottle of red wine on the menu.  Of course as the man at the table, I had to test the taste of the wine to ensure that it met my rigorous specifications.  I mean, really, what am I going to say?  "No, this wine will not work.  It tastes too cheap."  "Well as you may have noticed, sir, we do offer more expensive wines" "Ohh, nevermind, since you've already opened it, this will have to do."

As an appetizer, Katie ordered crab cakes whereas I had a Thai Chicken Soup made with coconut milk.  Both were delicious.  Then our entrees arrived: fillet mignon with peppercorn gravy.  Never had either of us eaten melt-in-your-mouth meat.  Each bite was delicious.  Then for dessert, they brought out a little chocolate mouse cake with Happy Birthday written on it.  We only ate a small portion since it wasn't our official dessert- French Vanilla Souffle.  Totally stuffed, we left the restaurant with half the birthday cake and half a bottle of wine.  What a day!