Wednesday, 5/11/11

Ephesus, the ancient name, is Kusadasi, Turkey. This is the coast of Asia Minor that ST John could view from the Cave of the Apopylypse while he wrote Revelations. It is on the Aegean Sea, which is an extension of the Mediterranean and is very salty in the summer, with a Mediterranean climate of hot summers (110) and mild winters. It is close to Didymo, Priene, Miletos and Pamukkale, the ancient Greek thermal spas. Ephesus is the most and best preserved ancient city of the world. The ancient city had marble streets and inside the Magnesia gate is the entrance to Hadrian's Temple, Trajan's Fountain, the baths of Scoloastika, the ancient theater and library.
Turkey is a country of 70 million people with 250,000 living in Kusadasi. It is a beach town with a statue of the patron saint of the Ottoman Empire above the town. The oldest part is the castle which is now a hotel. Financially, there are no mortgages; just cash on the table. So young couples need to borrow money from grandparents to be able to buy a home. The houses we can see are terrace homes of the rich for $250,000. There were many apartments further into the city. Alongside an apartment building and the road we were riding on was a horse eating grass. They produce cotton, linen, peaches, apricots, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives, oil, soap, pine nuts, saffron, Turkish cotton and blue jeans. In Turkey 95% are Muslim and 5% is Jewish. The Muslim ladies wear burkas, long black dresses and cover their hair. 70% of the marriages are chosen by the parents.
In 37 - 42AD when Mother Mary and ST John came here Christians were being persecuted; so they lived outside of the town. Mary's house was built in the 1st century AD for protection in the Moissommi Mountains. When you look up into the mountains all you see are rocks, trees and shrubs. You cannot tell that a house is up there. It wasn't even found until a German nun saw a vision of Mary in that area. A Basilica was built on this spot in the 6th century AD by Emperor Justinian with 6 domes. In 1304AD the Ottoman Empire conquered and turned it into a mosque. It was reconstructed in the late 18th century. Excavations in 1869 revealed a fortress with a large statue of Mary where Paul used to preach and the foundations of her house. The statue of Mary is the largest in the world. The Muslims call her " Mother of Miracles" and consider her holy; but Jesus is just a prophet. They say there are no bones for Mary because instead of dying and being buried she rose up to heaven at this location. Our guide informed us that a lot of young women pray to Mary here to bless them with a child. Now it is in really good shape and they keep it spotless and the shrubbery well trimmed.
Ephesus was founded 800 years before Christ with a tribe of Amazons. During the Roman era, Jews and Christians had visited here. The ruins show they had marble streets and a colosseum to hold 24,000 people. In 300BC they had lead sewer pipes to push the waste out and the drinking water in. They also had a smaller theater to hold only 1400 people. The floors of the rich homes had central heating with separate pipes for hot and cold water between the floors and the floors were mosaic. The Turkish carpets copy these mosaics. In 7AD they had a population of 250,000 and an outbreak of malaria set in. Then a level 10 earthquake occurred and the town was leveled. Whoever was still alive left the town. There was another earthquake from 1365-1370. Nobody lived here until the railroad came through in 1869 when they uncovered the ruins. They used the ruins as quarries for their building materials. In 1927-1930 the Austrian government did the excavations. Ephesus is only 25% excavated and renovated now.
The ruins have Doric (200 BC and vey simple) , Ionic and Corinthian columns. They found a wall of a hospital with markings of herbal treatments. At the gate are columns and a statue of Hercules holding a lion in his hands. There is a statue of Dr, Alexandros without a head. When the Christians had to meet in secret they found symbols written in the marble to direct them where to go. It was a circle with a cross inside. Then it was bisected 2 more times with the ends connected together with 8 curved lines. So what you see is a cross with 8 fish around the circle. The fish and cross represent Christianity. The Fountains of Emperor Trajan is in front of a 2 story building with a statue of Trajan with his foot on a ball which represents the world. The statue of Aphrodite is in front of the building also. Greek mythology has a goddess Neke, which is the goddess of sports; where our Nike comes from. The Temple of Hadrian had a tiny relief of statues in a pediment on the top. The statue of Lady Medussa is on top of the arch with the power of her "evil eye" watching everybody. Inside of the arch is the town's bathroom with 44 toilets for both sexes. They all wore togas so nobody could see anything; therefore, no separate stalls. This was the place to go to hear the latest news!
The Greco-Roman library built by Celsus is the second largest in the world. It is 2 stories and has a space between the floors and walls to keep the humidity away because of the manuscripts and books. When it caught fire, the wooden ceiling between the floors burned. Inside the library was a secret tunnel that led to the brothels. So the males could say they were going to the library and really go to the brothels. Outside the library was the Agora gate that led to the marketplace where slaves were sold. Slaves were prisioners of war, born slaves, sold as a slave by a parent or an African slave. This was a popular lectrue spot. ST Paul shaved his hair and changed his toga color and preached here. When he was put into jail on top of the hill he wrote the book of Ephesians. This was 1 of the 7 churches the saints speak about. During the 4th century AD it became a Christian area.
In the 6th century AD they brought the body of ST John from Rome to be buried here. It is a simple grave with 4 columns.