Izmer and Ephesus, Turkey
Ephesus, Turkey Maundy Thursday, April 14, 2022
It takes a full day of sailing to get from Haifa, Israel to Izmir, Turkey (on the most western tip of Turkey). Most surprising today was that there were TV cameras and lots of paparazzi waiting for us as we disembarked because we were evidently the first cruise ship to land there in 7 years. I hope to learn more about this…
There were two
separate buses of 21 of us from this ship (think Covid social distancing) going
to Ephesus and the House of Mary nearby.
During the hour-plus ride south, our perky guide gave some historical
info then came seat-to-seat to answer any questions. Jerry asked her if she could talk politics
and asked a question of economy compared to our visit there 30 years ago. She
was game and spoke about the brain drain in Turkey and that religious politics are
enmeshed in this Muslim country. She
spoke openly (almost kidding that she could lose her job for speaking openly),
spoke English quite eloquently and had studied for 7 years at the American
Institute while getting her guide certification. Her degree is in food engineering; she worked
for Coca Cola for a while and now enjoys the outside for these past 25 years.
Some info about
Turkey. We had been here almost 30 years
ago so are quite interested in the changes.
Izmir is the 3rd largest city and has grown by 1.5 million since the
start of Covid (from 4 to 5.5 million) due to its modern design and modern
thinking. Its history goes back 5000
years. Its Muslim character is evident
in the huge mosque near the port across from some of the most unusual
architecture I’ve seen for offices. 85%
of Turkey’s population is Muslim. Not so
many are practicing…Turkey has about 3000 ancient cities and is surrounded by 4
different seas.
Photo: Goat
Castle on hill with parachute kites flying around. The story is that the nearby people wanted to
get rid of the people in the castle so put candles on the backs of 1000 goats
and sent them up the hill at night, scaring the army in the castle and sending
them running without a fight.
We were
close to the House of Mary when we reached the city of Selcuk (SELL chook). This
city is known for the many storks who migrate from South America, build nests
high on poles, hatch their young and teach them to fly on the promenade of
Ephesus. See photo.
Also see the
photo of the Byzantine Castle that has the Basilica of St. John nearby. Our bus only drove us past these sites,
slowing for photos. Before climbing the
steep road up the mountain, there was a large bronze statue of Mary weighing 5
ton, donated by an American family.
The Virgin
Mary’s “house” is a traditional site. Go
to the following site if you are interested in the story of how the house was
discovered. It is a bit weird. House of the
Virgin Mary (kusadasi.biz)
It is thought that when Jesus told John to take care of his mother, John
brought her to Ephesus. But because the
city was pagan and wouldn’t tolerate any Christian believers, she had to live
outside of the big city on Nightingale Mountain at 1500 ft. in a park setting
that is cool, has plenty of trees and flowers and is a local getaway in the hot
Turkish summers. Nobody is really sure of the origins, but the “home” is more
of a two-room shrine rebuilt from stones from the museum, where one is to keep
silent, where Pope Benedictine came and blessed it (“the only Catholic site in
a Muslim country”), and where those who have been healed after visiting return
to leave a gift. The bronze statue of Mary on an altar has no hands; she was
discovered in a field after WW2 and nobody found her hands. There is a glass shadow box of some of the
gifts: rings, necklaces, and such. Skeletons were found among the archeological
dig cause some to think that believers came here to stay with her.
Going up and
down the mtn are great overlooks of a fertile valley for agriculture.
We drove in
spacious countryside that is lacking in anything we’ve visited for the past
three months. We were thirsting for
spaciousness and didn’t even know it. Turkey
is vast and this area reminded us of Western Colorado and parts of Utah.
Ephesus
(spelled here Efes)
This
awe-inspiring city dates back to 1500 BC. It is believed that Amazons first
inhabited it. Yup. Go women!!! The harbor used to be immediately at the
city, making it a robust and integral port city. Unfortunately, as time progressed, the harbor
filled in and the city was pushed further from shore. Earthquakes were
accessories. At present, Ephesus sits
SEVEN MILES from shore and the land between is still so salty that it is not
useful.
As described in Paul’s teachings in
the Bible, Ephesus was a pagan city filled with temples to at least 50
different gods from Egypt to Greece to beyond.
The central cult revolved around the goddess Artemis. The ancients considered the temple to Artemis one of
the seven wonders of the ancient world. Life in Ephesus revolved around the
worship of Artemis. A month of the year was named after Artemis. According to our trusty Wikipedia, “Artemis is
the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation,
childbirth, the Moon, and chastity. She
would often roam the forests of Greece, attended by her large entourage, mostly
made up by nymphs, some mortals and hunters. The countryside goddess Diana is
her Roman equivalent.”
The
architecture in Ephesus is Greek (Hellenistic) and Roman. Writings are in Greek and Latin. It is believed that 75% of the city is still
underground. Every visit will have new
findings. (Our guide suggests we wait for about 3-5 years as progress is expensive
and slow.)
It is a wonderful walk entering the city at the top of the hill and beginning to work your way down. The city just keeps getting bigger and the ruins get bigger and more impressive. Because the street sort of winds down the hill the initial section does not seem that impressive, but it just keeps going and opening up to the city below. It is a definite wow. The two most impressive things are probably the library, and the last major site is the large theater where Paul spoke.
Starting at verse 23, Acts 19 NRSV - Paul in Ephesus - While Apollos was in - Bible Gateway has a descriptive story about the clash of Paul and a silversmith who made a mint on silver statues of Artemis. Paul spoke to 25,000 people in the large theater. Apparently the silver smiths were not enamored with the idea that the little silver images they were selling had no secret powers and should not be purchased. Imagine that.
Once
finished with our tour of Ephesus we purchased a couple items in the nearby
market and headed to a local restaurant and carpet factory for lunch. The food was typical of other meals we have
had in middle eastern countries.
Eggplant, hummus, breads, kabobs and lamb meatballs. Great meal.
We then visited the carpet factory.
They showed us how they get silk from the silk pods. It is an involved process, and the amount of
silk you get from a single pod is a lot more than you would imagine. Apparently they used silk to cut the smooth marble
columns in Ephesus. It is exceedingly strong
stuff. They showed someone weaving. A weaver weaving with silk can only work two
hours a day (silk is dry and hard on the hands). If the weaver is using wool they can work up
to nine hours a day because the wool contains lanolin and is easy on the hands. The carpets they showed us take six months to
two years or longer for the silk ones to complete. This is a family business and has been going
on for at least four generations with this particular family.
We
finished with the carpets, someone having bought a large one for just under
$20,000. We boarded the bus and had an
uneventful trip back to the ship. On to
Istanbul we go.
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