September 5, 2011 – Ancient Ephesus (and Kusadasi)
I uploaded pics I took while Larry & I were in the amazing and ancient city of Ephesus during our fantastic Mediterranean cruise. That was a particularly hot day on the vacation and the excavation site at Ephesus was MOBBED with people. We weren’t about to not go on an excursion though, and it was fascinating to hear the history of this place as our tour guide walked us through the ancient ruins. Of course, having just been to Rome and Athens, places that are the kings of ruins, you begin to get jaded. It’s like when you go to art museum after art museum on a vacation – like what happened when traveling with Jason & Wendy so many years ago – you just get tired of art. Tired, I say!
The Ancient City of Ephesus, Turkey
The lovely view of Kusadasi
The dock at Kusadasi
Gorgeous view of Kusadasi as we drove the coast route to Ephesus
The entrance to Ephesus
An ancient Greek city with significant remaining ruins
Very little remains, but that’s because Ephesus is from 600 BC
It is situated in what is known as Asia Minor
The ruins of an amphitheater
It was really hot that day, and crowded
Different styles of columns
It also became a Roman city, and at one time along the coast
Since then, the sealine changed and now it’s 7 miles inland
The area looks a lot like Southern California
The Temple of Artemis once was in Ephesus but was destroyed by looters
The Book of Revelation cites Ephesus as one of the 7 churches of Asia
At one point in time, Ephesus was the second largest city in the Roman Empire, after Rome
The main crowded strip leads through the ruins
Very very crowded
Larry loves crowds
So do I – thank goodness for that hat – it was sunny and hot
Remaining marble that made up Ephesus’ streets
You can see at the end of the path the Celsius Library
Remaining mosaic tiles on the ground
Yep, they had bathrooms and public toilets
Pomegranate trees, with their fruit showing the signs of a crown
The Celsius Library – looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie
It’s actually a reconstructed facade using original pieces
Named after Tiberius Julius Celsius, who paid for its construction
It’s built facing east so that the library would get morning sunlight
This is the other side of the facade, showing its modern heritage
I just have to touch everything
Close to the Theater, which is thought to be the biggest outdoor theater of the ancient world
We got treated to a cheesy Roman battle recreation
Although this guy with the short haircut was damn hot
They battled valiantly
But hottie lost
A better view of the Theater – it’s pretty damn big
The path towards our bus
Lunch in Kusadasi & Evening Departure
Back in Kusadasi, we found a great cafe for lunch and Turkish beer
Some hummus
A delicious doner kebab plate
The port town of Kusadasi, full of vendors
Pigeon Island, a castle fortress on a peninsula
Our mammoth ship, the Equinox
Larry on our deck
Our view of Kusadasi from the room
The sunset begins
Three ships were docked all in a row and we could see right to this pool deck
The sunset continues
Ah, cruising
Nearly done, but still dramatic
The ship lights are all ablaze as we start to edge out
Goodbye Kusadasi!
Kusadasi by moon and shiplight
Our dramatically beautiful ship
2011 Mediterranean Trip Pics Index
- Rome: Flying there, Day 1 – Colosseum, Ancient City
- Rome: Day 2 – Vatican City, Trastevere, Nighttime Walk
- Rome: Day 3 – Castel Angelo, Pantheon, Misc Rome
- Mediterranean: Day 1 – Leaving Civitivecchia
- Mediterranean: Day 2 – First Day at Sea
- Mediterranean: Day 3 – Santorini, Greece
- Mediterranean: Day 4 – Athens, Greece
- Mediterranean: Day 5 – Second Day at Sea
- Mediterranean: Day 6 – Istanbul, Turkey Day 1
- Mediterranean: Day 7 – Istanbul, Turkey Day 2
- Mediterranean: Day 8 – Ephesus & Kusadasi, Turkey
- Mediterranean: Day 9 – Mykonos, Greece
- Mediterranean: Day 10 – Third Day at Sea
- Mediterranean: Day 11 – Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii