It’s Istanbul, Not Constantinople! (And Not That Either)

Mary's House

Outside the House of Mary

Entrance to the baths

The amphitheater at Ephesus

Inside a mosque

The coast of Turkey

Day 76: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The morning greeted us in Ephesus, Turkey. I must admit that I had a few reservations about visiting here, but I was sorely wrong in having them – for the most part. Turkey is beautiful! The waters around the coast were crystal clear and terribly inviting. We picked up a guide named Emre to visit the ruins of Ephesus. They were amazing! These were the most complete and beautiful of all the ancient ruins that I have seen thus far. Emre was incredibly knowledgeable, and that made all the difference in appreciating this land’s fascinating history.

Our first stop was, remarkably, the house in which Mary was believed to have lived after Christ’s crucifixion. The apostle, John, was known to have lived there and preached during that time, and of course, Mary was entrusted to his care. It was discovered by a German nun who had received the stigmata, and although she had never left her convent, she had visions describing the area in which the house was found. I found it ironic that, if this actually were Mary’s house, it was located within a mostly Muslim nation! Unfortunately, there were crowds of people there, so we could only, literally, walk through the tiny house in a single-file line. Still, I found it quite meaningful to visit the humble dwelling. All around it grew tall trees and flowers. An underground aquifer provided fresh spring water, and the songs of numerous birds provided a contemplative environment.

Afterwards, Emre took us to the ruins themselves. The reason that these are so intact is because Ephesus was not demolished or sacked by invaders. Instead, it was literally abandoned. Apparently, over the years, the ocean receded, and the Romans spent a great deal of money digging out the silt that was accumulating in this once rich port city in order to clear the passage of importing and exporting ships. Once the Roman Empire fell into decline, the people moved the city closer to the ocean to ensure abundant trade. There are acres and acres of beautiful ruins: homes, public baths, an amphitheater, a gorgeous library, an agora, temples, and government administrative buildings. The most fascinating thing to me, though, was the discovery of terra cotta pipes running throughout the city. The entire city of Ephesus had indoor plumbing and heated water! The pipes were even laid under the marble floors to heat them during the winter! This was an extraordinary find. Apparently, Ephesus is the only known place of the ancient world to have had this luxury. The other highlight was seeing (but not touring) the prison in which St. Paul was kept after preaching in the Amphitheater.

As expected, there was much discussion about the major world religions while we drove from one site to the next. Emre invited us to visit a mosque. I was quite interested in seeing one, so he took us to one built in the 1300s. It was very interesting to learn more about the Muslim faith while standing within a mosque. Of course, I and the other women borrowed veils to wear inside out of respect. Emre did a very good job explaining the difference between what his faith teaches and what the extremists practice. He answered all our questions – and there were many – and in the end, I had a tremendous amount of respect for him in particular. He was a young man of great virtue and a great reminder to me of how important it is for me to represent my Christian faith as well.

At this point, our tour was wrapping up. There was just one last stop to make: a visit to a carpet-making shop. We thought that we were going to get a demonstration of how they were made, but it ended up being a ploy to get us to buy the very beautiful, but very expensive carpets! The pressure was intense, and I was quite annoyed! I finally excused myself and literally ran out of the store! Salesmen were practically running after me! Once I escaped, I decided to walk through the local bazaar to see if I could find any presents for my family back home while I waited for the rest of the family to finish up with the high pressure sales tactics. I love bazaars, and I was very much looking forward to visiting this one, BUT… Of course, this ended up being a disaster for me! Emre might be respectful, but the men who ran the dozens of shops in this bazaar definitely were NOT! They were all standing outside their shops asking people to come in and browse. I never got the chance to look in even one! I was grabbed everywhere you can imagine and was the subject of every inappropriate comment the most perverse person could dream up! And this happening all at the hands of the shopkeepers! I practically ran through the narrow alley, trying to ignore the probing hands and revolting suggestions. Unfortunately, what started out as a lovely day was ruined by a most unpleasant ending note. I was thrilled when the boat finally shed the skin of this duplicitous port. My only consolation was winning another eighty dollars at the poker tables tonight! I’ll count my blessings from wherever they come!