Ephesus: July, 2007

The least anticipated port of our Greek Isles cruise for many was Kusadasi, Turkey.

Insecurities about visiting an Islamic nation were reinforced by visions of the 1978 movie “Mid-night Express” about an American incarcerated in a Turkish prison.

Since none of us planned to be drug smugglers like the movie’s protagonist, the threat of imprisonment seemed remote.

Nonetheless, in Turkey every one of us planned to do a shore excursion with the cruise line, just to be on the safe side.

While we split among four different excursions, all of us visited ancient Ephesus, and this proved to be among the most impressive ruins any of us had ever visited.

First, let me allay some fears about Turkey.

Yes, it is right by some hotspots of craziness: Iraq, Iran and Syria.

Mosques are as prevalent in every Turkish city as Mormon temples are in Utah, but Turkey feels moderate and secular, with guides often referring to Turkey as a modern European nation, although the larger portion known as Anatolia is in Asia.

Riding along in our modern, air-conditioned tour bus between fascinating historical sites, we always felt safe and secure.

Ephesus will be most recognizable to many because of Paul’s letters to the Ephesians in the New Testament of The Bible.

Paul preached for years in Ephesus, hoping to get his chance to preach to the “big crowds” in the incredible 24,000 seat amphitheater.

At that time, however, Ephesus was a city of worship for pagans.

Idol worship was big business, especially for silversmiths, so the city merchants had no use for this dude telling everyone to stop worshipping false gods.

The merchants ran Paul and his message of worshipping an invisible God out of town.

Ephesus was a port city, located strategically in the heart of Ionia at a natural harbor where the Küçük Menderesa River met the Aegean Sea.

Over the years, silt filled in the area, and now Ephesus is more inland than coastal, but it isn’t hard to imagine how gorgeous the views must have been walking down the marble street past stately columns toward the sea.

Among the most impressive ruins is the Library of Celsus.

Across from this amazing structure is the brothel dedicated to Venus (Aphrodite).

When the sailors came into town from their long voyages, they naturally sought out female companionship, and it didn’t take the priests long to figure out this could be big business.

Priestesses spent much of their time servicing these men in the brothel, with the proceeds going to the coffers of their pagan religion.

So many amazing historical figures left their mark on this area, including the Virgin Mary who made her final home here, Alexander the Great who was born on the day that the Temple of Artemis was destroyed because, according to legend, the goddess had left the city to oversee his birth in a distant land, the apostle John who wrote the fourth book of the New Testament here, and Anthony and Cleopatra.

The fabulous ruins have been beautifully excavated and restored to give an amazingly strong sense of the history and majesty of the area.