Turkey

I was really looking forward to seeing Turkey. I thought this would be the most foreign place on our trip. I was surprised that the city of Kudasi didn't feel so very different from everywhere else we went, but this was definitely a place to remember. We were able to go on a tour that took us to a few places. Our first stop was the House of the Virgin Mary. This house has been rebuilt on top of where the original house was built. This is supposedly where Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John the Beloved lived after they had left Jerusalem after Christ was crucified. I was surprised to feel a special spirit here. It was pretty cool to think that we were walking where Mary and John might have walked.










Down the hill a bit was a wishing wall. There was a little spring there that people were supposed to drink from and then they would write their wish or dream on a scrap of paper and tie it to the wall. It was amazing how many people have done just that.

Next we went to the Ancient City of Ephesus. This is where the Ephesians (look in the New Testament) lived. The city changed locations three times because of earthquakes and wars. We saw the third and most current location. The city had been covered and it is now under major restoration.







There is a main road that takes you through the city.




We were able to peer into where the rich citizens used to live and the tile floors were amazing!
We were also able to see the public bathroom. This was reserved for men only and it was outdoors. Our tour guide said that when the weather was cold the rich men would have their servants go sit on the cold marble to warm it up for their masters. Yikes! They also had musicians playing so that no one outside ot the walls could hear anything. That's one job I would pass on. The seats were super close to each other. They sat cheek to cheek!






Here's a picture of the Goddess Nike. Her body and dress make the swoosh!
The libray was amazing. It was two stories high!










The most beautiful thing was the theater. This is where Paul preached to the Ephesians. It was huge! I couldn't believe how good it looked.
When the city was prosperous there was a big river that connected the sea to the city. Boats could come right up to the city with goods to sell and trade. This is a picture of the road that went down to the pier. This is where Cleopatra and Marc Anthony rode when they were on their honeymoon.



Next we drove up into the hills to this tiny little town where we ate lunch. We sat outside of this restaurant and were served some very yummy food. The treat was the baklava at the end. Holy cow, that was so tasty!

Our final stop was to the Cathedral of John. This was once a small church, but over time they had added on to it until it was quite big. This is supposedly where John was last seen.
The coolest thing was there was a baptisimal font in the ground. One where you would have had to walk down into the water and deep enough for baptisms by immersion.
Turkey was a very interesting place. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to visit these special places and see a different country and culture.