Visit the Ancient Biblical City of Ephesus
For many years, Ephesus was the second largest city in the Roman Empire behind Rome with a population of over 250,000 in the 1stcentury BC making it the second largest city in the world. Not only is it the site of a large gladiator graveyard, it was also one of the seven churches of Asia cited in the Book of Revelation.
When the mini-bus picked me up the next morning for my Ephesus tour my mood immediately sunk when I was greeted by the same annoying tour guide as the day before. Did I somehow offend the travel Gods and they were punishing me by making me spend yet another day with the most annoying tour guide on earth? That was time that I will never get back. We started the tour in the middle of a torrential downpour after a brief stop at a souvenir stand to buy umbrellas and rain coats.
When the mini-bus picked me up the next morning for my Ephesus tour my mood immediately sunk when I was greeted by the same annoying tour guide as the day before. Did I somehow offend the travel Gods and they were punishing me by making me spend yet another day with the most annoying tour guide on earth? That was time that I will never get back. We started the tour in the middle of a torrential downpour after a brief stop at a souvenir stand to buy umbrellas and rain coats.
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It was raining cats and dogs along with birds, squirrels and a plethora of other small critters. Our pompous guide stopped for about 20 minutes at each location to give us the long-winded version of exactly what it was, how it was made, who made it, when they made it and how they made it, while we stood around him almost drowning in the rain. My ability to listen was not as great as his ability to talk so when he wasn’t looking I again escaped the group to wander around on my own. My travel umbrella managed to keep part of me dry but the small rivers that formed on the cobblestone under my feet made sure that my shoes and the bottom half of my pants got good and soaked. I went from ruin to ruin looking for shelter from the rain so I could take some pictures without wrecking my camera. I was having very little success. That is the problem with Roman Ruins, or any ruins for that matter – roofs are usually the first thing to go making them unpleasant to visit during a rain storm.
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I finally gave up and made my way outside the gates to the souvenir stands where I endured numerous dull conversations in exchange for a dry place to loiter. Every conversation started with “where are you from” and ended with “I make good price for you.” When I couldn’t take anymore, I bought a souvenir guide and sat in a covered cafeteria area drinking tea and reading about Ephesus.
The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is represented only by one column.
A depiction of how the Temple of Artemis once looked.
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Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province,Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era. In the Roman period, Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC, which also made it one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. Following the Edict of Thessalonica from emperor Theodosius I, the temple was destroyed in 401 AD by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom. The town was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD. The city's importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes). Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written here. The city was the site of several 5th century Christian Councils, see Council of Ephesus. It is also the site of a large gladiators' graveyard. Today's archaeological site lies 3 kilometers southwest of the town of Selçuk, in the Selçuk district of İzmir Province, Turkey. The ruins of Ephesus are a favorite international and local tourist attraction, partly owing to their easy access from Adnan Menderes Airport. Ephesus was an important center for Early Christianity from the AD 50s. From AD 52–54, Paul lived in Ephesus, working with the congregation and apparently organizing missionary activity into the hinterlands. He became embroiled in a dispute with artisans, whose livelihood depended on selling the statuettes of Artemis in the Temple of Artemis (Acts 19:23–41). He wrote between 53 and 57 AD the letter 1 Corinthians from Ephesus (possibly from the "Paul tower" close to the harbour, where he was imprisoned for a short time). Later Paul wrote the Epistle to Ephesians while he was in prison in Rome (around 62 AD). Roman Asia was associated with John, one of the chief apostles, and the Gospel of John might have been written in Ephesus, c 90–100. Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation (Revelation 2:1–7), indicating that the church at Ephesus was strong. |
The city of Ephesus was referred to in the bible in a letter written by Bishop Ignatius to the Ephesians
Two decades later, the church at Ephesus was still important enough to be addressed by a letter written by Bishop Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians in the early 2nd century AD, that begins with, "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fullness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory" (Letter to the Ephesians). The church at Ephesus had given their support for Ignatius, who was taken to Rome for execution.
A legend, which was first mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century AD, purported that Mary may have spent the last years of her life in Ephesus. The Ephesians derived the argument from John's presence in the city, and Jesus’ instructions to John to take care of Mary after his death. Epiphanius, however, was keen to point out that, while the Bible says John was leaving for Asia, it specifically does not say that Mary went with him. He later stated that she was buried in Jerusalem. Since the 19th century, The House of the Virgin Mary, about 7 km (4 mi) from Selçuk, is purported to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic tradition, based on the visions of Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich. It is a popular place of Catholic pilgrimage which has been visited by three recent popes.
The Church of Mary close to the harbor of Ephesus was the setting for the Third Ecumenical Council in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius. A Second Council of Ephesus was held in 449, but its controversial acts were never approved by the Catholics. It came to be called the Robber Council of Ephesus or Robber Synod of Latrocinium by its opponents.
The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is represented only by one inconspicuous column, revealed during an archaeological excavation by the British Museum in the 1870s. Some fragments of the frieze (which are insufficient to suggest the form of the original) and other small finds were removed – some to London and some to the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul.
A legend, which was first mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century AD, purported that Mary may have spent the last years of her life in Ephesus. The Ephesians derived the argument from John's presence in the city, and Jesus’ instructions to John to take care of Mary after his death. Epiphanius, however, was keen to point out that, while the Bible says John was leaving for Asia, it specifically does not say that Mary went with him. He later stated that she was buried in Jerusalem. Since the 19th century, The House of the Virgin Mary, about 7 km (4 mi) from Selçuk, is purported to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic tradition, based on the visions of Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich. It is a popular place of Catholic pilgrimage which has been visited by three recent popes.
The Church of Mary close to the harbor of Ephesus was the setting for the Third Ecumenical Council in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius. A Second Council of Ephesus was held in 449, but its controversial acts were never approved by the Catholics. It came to be called the Robber Council of Ephesus or Robber Synod of Latrocinium by its opponents.
The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is represented only by one inconspicuous column, revealed during an archaeological excavation by the British Museum in the 1870s. Some fragments of the frieze (which are insufficient to suggest the form of the original) and other small finds were removed – some to London and some to the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul.
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Onder Otel
Ataturk bulvsri girisi Yat limani Karsisi, Turkey Tel:0 (256) 618 16 90 Email: [email protected] Website: www.onderotel.com 
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How to Get There - Fly from Istanbul to Izmir, stay in Karsisi and take a tour
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