Oğuzlar

Day 19
Kusadasi means Bird Island.. Our hotel overlooked this little island This is the site of ancient Ephesus, an area famed for its peaches, pomegranates and figs. Samos is the closest Greek island to Turkey,about 1.5km from the coast. We sampled the local baklava, apple tea and Turkish coffee 😊

Rev 2 "To the angel of the church at EPHESUS write..I know that you have persevered and endured hardships.. and not grown weary.. But you have forsaken the love you had at first.. Repent."

There were 4 different Ephesus in the one city, over the centuries. We started with St John's Basilica in the 4th Ephesus, built in the 6th century AD.(John lived in the 3rd Ephesus and some believe he was buried here, so of course they built a church !)From here we can see the Temple of Artemis .'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!'and the 3rd Ephesus from Paul's time, which we explored next.. walking from the upper gate all through the city to the lower gate. This was largely destroyed in an earthquake which is why they moved to the site up the hill, the 4th City. Of particular interest was the theatre where Paul would've preached (24,000 capacity!!)and the Agora where Demetrius the silversmith would've had his shop
After lunch we visited a traditional Turkish rug making shop, before heading to Izmir (ancient Smyrna)

"To the angel of the church at SMYRNA write..I know your afflictions and poverty. Yet you are rich.. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.. Be faithful..and I will give you life.."

We visited the old Agora, which is all that is left from Bible times after the modern city was built on top.
The afternoon was spent sipping a local rosé with special friends sitting on the coast of the Aegean Sea ❤️Read more