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10
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Tuesday, May 16 Seljuk |
Visited the ancient city of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and St. Johns Basilica. Had dinner in the Kalehan Hotel. |
The city of Ephesus, capital of the Roman province of Asia, was a large metropolis in the ancient world and an important commercial port in the eastern Mediterranean. The area around Ephesus appears to have attracted settlers from the earliest times. The original settlement on this spot dates back to 650 BC. The city was also an important religious center. The temple of Artemis, the first and foremost among the Seven Wonders of the World, was the largest marble edifice in the ancient world. A visit to the ruins of this ancient city is unforgettable - a magnificent complex of temples, libraries, baths, agoras, gymnasia and theaters linked by spendid marble streets lined with colonnades, beautifully preserved and excavated.
Below: Kate, Pat, Stephanie, and Maija with the Grand Theater in the background. This theater could hold 25,000 spectators and was the scene of the Ephesians protest against Paul's ministry in their city. Paul stayed at Ephesus for more than two years and achieved remarkable success until silversmiths who sold statues of Artemis stirred a riot at the theater and Paul soon left the city.
