Going the Way of Paul in Ancient Ephesus

The Library of Celsus

When Paul, one of the apostles, preached in a giant stadium in front of thousands, he was at the stadium in Ephesus. We stood there. When people selling mini Artemis statues rioted because his Christian teachings were bad for the idol business, Paul was taken to prison. We saw that prison on the hill above Ephesus. In fact, ancient history is so well preserved at Ephesus, it's obvious why tourists worldwide come to see what was once a major city of the Roman Empire. 

One of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world

We walked down the original wide marble roads in the city’s downtown area and walked into public restrooms outfitted with ancient marble toilet seats and a drainage system for waste. We stood in awe in front of the Library of Celsus where the Ephesians stored 12,000 scrolls, and we sat in seats once reserved for ancient theatre performances.

Terrace Houses

Ephesus also offers a look inside the luxurious condo-style terrace houses where the city’s super-rich lived at the height of the Roman Empire’s heyday. This required an extra ticket, but is well worth the price. The terrace houses were luxury homes built with inner courtyards. All of the rooms surround these courtyards. The two-story “condos” had high ceilings and enough rooms to house 10 to 12 family members, extended family members and servants.

The terrace houses feature private baths with heated flooring and the most amazing frescoes painted on the walls. The fact that we can still see these colorful frescoes today is nothing short of amazing, considering archaeologists had to dig up these ruins from under several feet of dirt to find them. The natural dyes they used in the paint have lasted for thousands of years. The elaborate mosaic floors of the houses are also intact and are works of art.

We also saw the Virgin Mary’s House where Mary, the mother of Jesus, apparently lived. The facts are a little shaky on that claim, but it still is a very peaceful place nestled in the hills above Ephesus. Our tour guide took us to the ruins of St. John’s Basilica, where John is buried. Kirk even got to stand in an ancient baptistery!

Mosaic floors are still intact inside the Terrace Houses.

We also saw the site where the gigantic temple of Artemis stood—a god the locals worshipped. All that’s left of the magnificent building, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is a single recreated column fashioned from pieces strewn about in the ruins. The building suffered serious damage on multiple occasions back in ancient times and was rebuilt more than once. But after the last natural disaster, it was never rebuilt. Instead, it was left to ruin. Takeaway lesson: Worshipping idols = not good.

Day-tripping from Istanbul

A large marble road is amazingly intact.

Experiencing the amazing site of Ephesus can be accomplished during a day trip from Istanbul. We flew AtlasJet to Izmir (a 1 hour flight) for its cheap fare and for its free luxury bus service to Selcuk, the town only a short distance away from the ancient city of Ephesus. We hired a private tour guide from No Frills Tours to drive us around and to give us the extra special historical nerd treatment (without the many souvenir and carpet-buying stops, etc., most other tours make you do). Kirk, always with questions, was in heaven.

In the evening, we simply took the AtlasJet shuttle bus back to the Izmir airport. It was super easy. At the Izmir airport, the AtlasJet shuttle leaves from the bus park (accessible by walking through the parking garage). It is ready and waiting for you right after you deplane. After a 45-minute trip, the bus drops you off in Selcuk right in front of the city's Tourist Information center. For the return trip to the airport, the bus picks you up on the opposite side of the same road. The pickup location is next to the Selcuk hospital's emergency entrance in front of a park and a small mosque.

After our day trip to Ephesus, we capped off the night with more Turkish Delight. Since our supply at the hotel was down to none, Kirk went out for some at our local locum shop (locum is what the Turks call it). When the shopkeeper tried to sell Kirk on the “aphrodisiac” Turkish Delights, Kirk just laughed. “No seriously,” the man said. Kirk returned with a stash of chocolate, fig and pomegranate Turkish Delights. And the day was now complete.