WOW! Right off the bat—this is not what I was expecting Turkey to be like! I had visions of dry, sandy deserts, men sitting on their little carpets on the ground, wearing Fez (hats) with lots of brass items for sale! Too much Indiana Jones, I guess!
Kusadasi looked very much like any other port we have visited--a very well developed harbor, modern apartment buildings, and lots of shops and restaurants, and green!
The main thing Kusadasi is known for, is that it is the gateway to Ephesus (where the Ephesians live!). Ephesus used to be the main harbor, but the river silted up the harbor around 400AD and the ocean front moved away about five miles. About 2000 years ago, Ephesus was a major city. The Romans built extensively in the area. Of course, in the Bible we have the writing of Paul to the Ephesians, and there is an old stone building there called the House of the Virgin Mary, which is the supposed place where Mary spent her later years.
We had a tour booked for today and visited all of these places. I was amazed at the extent of the ancient Roman city of Ephesus—it went on and on and on! Much of it was on display, but you could much more out in the fields and on the hills which hasn’t even been excavated yet—it was HUGE!
We had an excellent tour guide who was very proud to explain all about his country to us. It was fun learning so much and dispelling preconceived notions. He was very respectful of us and seemed to understand our points of view and also very respectful of his country and the importance of its antiquities.
1 comment:
What a gorgeous place! You're right, it isn't what we imagine turkey to be like.
I love seeing the ruins...it's so surreal being somewhere that you can only imagine once had life to it.
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