After Istanbul, our next stop on the cruise was to a beach resort town called Kusadasi in Turkey. One of the main tourist attractions to see here is the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the great Greek cities in Asia Minor. It is also home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The town is further a sacred site for Christians due to its association with St. Paul, St. John the Evangelist, and the Virgin Mary (where it is believed that she spent her last days and died there). Within the vicinity of the ancient city one can visit the ruins of St. John's Basilica and the religious shrine of The Virgin Mary's House.
Our time in Kusadasi turned out to be our worst weather day the entire trip. Not only was it pouring the entire time we were there, but it was also thundering and lightning. The lines to see the House of the Virgin Mary were 45 minutes to an hour long outside and, for people like Jon and I, we definitely could have skipped this part as it doesn't hold much religious significance for us. But we can appreciate the importance and meaning of it so we waited. We walked through the small house and then down a ramp where we were led to three different types of holy water. One was for health, one was for love, and one was for money. We got ceramic containers beforehand and we filled them with a third of each kind of water to bring back as souvenirs for friends.
 |
| The small house! |
 |
| Holy water |
 |
| Prayers and notes |
We then drove to the site of the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus is the best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean and was actually built four times in history. Just like many of the ancient ruins that we have seen during our time in Europe, this one did not disappoint. It's astonishing that these structures were built without the use of modern technology and even more so that they are still standing today.
 |
| Celsius Library - dates back to 2nd century AD |
 |
| Grand theater - capacity of 25,000 |
 |
| Magnesia Gate |
 |
| Fountain of Trajan |
 |
| Arcadian Way |
 |
| Temple of Hadrian |
After leaving Ephesus we spent some time in Kusadasi shopping at the markets and eating a fantastic Turkish lunch. Not long afterwards we walked back to the ship and got ready to head to our last destination, Athens!
It was great reading this blog on Ephesus. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit there on our Mediterranean cruise. I recognized so many things in your pictures and remembered being there! It's too bad that you and Jon didn't have good weather. What a bummer to see all those umbrellas! When we visited the Virgin Mary's House we only waited about 15 minutes, but I think it was because we went in the month of November and it wasn't very crowded at that time. But I'm glad that you guys waited to see it because I think it was definitely worth it. The wall right outside of Mary's House reminded me of the Kotel in Jerusalem because of all the notes and papers that were put in the wall. It still amazes me when I see the ancient ruins! To see structures that are standing after thousands of years is unbelievable!! The Celsius Library and the Grand Theatre must have been absolutely gorgeous and so elegant! I really enjoyed reading this blog and seeing pictures of Ephesus. It brought back a lot of wonderful memories of our cruise and trip to this fascinating city!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about Kusadasi trip in Turkey. Kusadasi is One of the main tourist attraction place in turkey and Ephesus also, one of the great Greek cities in Asia.
ReplyDeleteistanbul tours
Amazing photos ! Beach resort town called Kusadasi in Turkey. Kusadasi trip is a very interesting and enjoyable places are there. istanbul tours
ReplyDeleteLooks interesting, ill be sure to check it out. Cheap property in Turkey
ReplyDeleteThe kusadasi trip was very interesting tourism place in turkey. It was in asia country.
ReplyDeleteanzac tours
Kusadasi is a town with a rich and varied history. Founded by Ionian settlers and known as Neapolis, a small settlement is known to have existed at the site even in ancient times, but it was always overshadowed by its mighty neighbor Ephesus.
ReplyDelete