Bodrum to Ephesus. John and Martin took advantage of the Polaroid and we were able to leave a little photo of "the dolmuz" (“pig” in Turkish) in the service manual of the car. Only wish we could see the reaction of the mechanic who services the car when he finds the picture!
Our second visit to the House of the Virgin Mary and after all these years, we finally got our Virgin Mary mug.
This is the location where Mary was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John after the Resurrection of Christ and lived out her days here. This is based on the traditional belief that John came to Ephesus combined with the biblical statement that Jesus consigned Mary to John's care. The House of the Virgin is a sacred site for both Christians and Muslims (Muslims also believe in the virgin birth and honor Mary as the mother of the Prophet Jesus). The shrine is still in the care of the Lazarist Fathers, who celebrate Mass here every day. Two resident nuns also recite the Divine Office daily.
The tomb of the Virgin Mary:
At Ephesus, we had a guide who had been at the site for 22 years – and was an absolutely charming and informed guide. Ephesus is the best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean. Ephesus (Greek Ephesos) ranked with Rome in Italy, Corinth in Greece, Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt as one of the foremost cities of the Roman Empire
'The Library of Celsus, whose façade has been carefully reconstructed from all original pieces, was built ca. AD 125 by Gaius Julius Aquila in memory of his father, and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. Designed with an exaggerated entrance — so as to enhance its perceived size, speculate many historians — the building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light.' (Source : Wikipedia)
The Ephesus Library:
The Temple of Hadrian
One of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street in Ephesus. It was built before 138 A.D by P.Quintilius and was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 128 A.D The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, goddess of victory.
The Amphitheather
We had a wonderful tour of the site and it was time to head to the airport to drop M&C off for their flight back to Istanbul. We headed off for Foca, a Turkish resort town on the Aegean. We found a beautiful little hotel on the water and had a dinner of fresh sea bass. Little did we know that the typical Turkish tourist stays up till all hours drinking and playing music…. they finally headed for bed about 2:00…. then at 4:00, the fishermen started their day. Needless to say, we didn’t get too much sleep.
This is the location where Mary was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John after the Resurrection of Christ and lived out her days here. This is based on the traditional belief that John came to Ephesus combined with the biblical statement that Jesus consigned Mary to John's care. The House of the Virgin is a sacred site for both Christians and Muslims (Muslims also believe in the virgin birth and honor Mary as the mother of the Prophet Jesus). The shrine is still in the care of the Lazarist Fathers, who celebrate Mass here every day. Two resident nuns also recite the Divine Office daily.
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