where the streets are made of gold...I mean marble

Ephesus is stunning! The excavations have revealed a beautiful city! The streets are the original marble that Paul and many other figures of history walked many years ago. Now we have also walked these roads! What an experience!

Let me tell you more about Ephesus, the building at the very end of the city street pictured is the library. This once had thousands of books, but all were lost during a fire. The streets has so much more than what we are able to see. The section between the rows of columns is covered in marble. The outer section consists of sidewalks covered in mosaics and shops were lining these sidewalks.
We often think that in the ancient world people lived very destitute lives. Not so for the upper class in Ephesus! The city was furnished with fresh running water and even toilets! The buildings were beautiful and people from the world came to see the marble city. The harbor made Ephesus a center for trade. If I had lived back in this time period Ephesus would be my pick for a hometown!

The most impressive feature of Ephesus is the amphitheatre. I entered it from the tunnel that the lions entered the arena and it is a massive and intimidating sight! I was trying to envision thousands upon thousdands of Ephesians seated in the theatre yelling and shouting! With the perfect acoustics the sheer volume would be deafening! It really is a an incredible feature of this city.

There is so much more to tell you about Ephesus. This post is just a snippet of what I experienced. If you would like to see more pictures of this city follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029332&id=125300168&l=a761a2f6ae

We leave Turkey and board our cruise ship in just an hour. We will be headed to the island of Patmos.

I am putting on my boat shoes and looking toward the horizon!

Until I discover the treasure of the Internet again...goodbye for now!

your traveling friend,
melissa