A couple of years ago, we visited the ancient site of Ephesus, taking a bus to Ephesus from the port city of Kusasdasi, Turkey.
I recall, as we planned for this trip, wondering what highlights we might see in Ephesus. At the top of our “must see” sites was The Grand Theater where St. Paul preached. The theater was huge, with 24,000 seats!
We took a bus ride up to St. John’s Basilica. This church—now in ruins—overlooks Ephesus. We visited the baptistry as well as the 2nd century tomb, thought to hold the remains of St. John. (The Isle of Patmos where John received his Revelation is a short distance from Kusasdasi.)
The House of St. Mary is a pilgrimage site, as it is believed to be where Mary spent the last years of her life. (We were surprised to learn of this site—before we went on this trip—from fellow members of our church who had been to Ephesus.)
Other sites we enjoyed at Ephesus included: the Magnesia Gate, the library of Celsius, the steam baths of Scholastica, the Fountain of Trajan, and the Odeon.
Was a memorable experience—and a lot of fun! People kept warning us that it could get really hot in Ephesus, but we live in Florida, so we took an optimistic view of that possibility (and the weather was fine).
Photo: The Grand Theatre, Ephesus by Daniel Snelson is licensed under CC by 2.0.
