I suppose Ephesus is the most impressive place we visited.  Sure, flying through the sky in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia may have been more fun, but seriously, visiting the city to which the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians had to be the highlight of the trip.  This is it.  This really is the place.  It was a holy cow morning.

There were lots of broken marble columns.

This is the Odeon.  It's a meeting hall that was built about 150 AD.

Nice, but small, compared to the Theater, which we'll see in a few minutes.

Lots of broken columns.

Impressive nonetheless.

This place was the capital of Asia Minor in the time of Rome.

Most of the great artworks have been carried away to museums in London and Berlin and other places, but the Turks have done a nice job with the pieces that are left.

They've stacked and sorted and re-created as best they can.

And here and there you can still find beautiful ancient works of art.

This would have been a most impressive boulevard.

And down there is the great library at Ephesus.

More pieces assembled by the modern Turks.  Something tells me the original didn't look much like this hodgepodge. 

Mete holds forth.

An ancient mosaic in a floor.

More mosaic.

The mosaic is over there behind the chains.

It made me yearn to see the incredible beauty of the place a couple of thousand years ago.

This is the Temple of Hadrian.

That design in the wall represents a nearby river.  Can you guess the name? 
The "Meander."
How 'bout that?

That framework design reminds me of another design I've seen.  Isn't this a design from a picture frame in my parents' home?  The ovals represent eggs, or fertility.  Looks awfully familiar.

That frieze shows a wild boar hunt.  I think.

I know who she is -- that's Medusa up there.  See the snakes?

And I know what this place is, too.  And oh, c'mon.  You know what those holes are for.

Mete delicately demonstrates an ancient toilet.

The ancient library at Ephesus.

Pomegranates outside the library.

They took all the pieces that were lying around and put them back together and, voila!  A library.

I'm up here on the library steps and Wendy is 'way down there.  Hey Wendy, will you take my picture?

Well of course she will.

She'll even do a closeup.

The library overshadowed much of what we saw in Ephesus.

Marc Antony moved many of the contents of this magnificent library to the even greater Library of Alexandria as a wedding gift to Cleopatra.  I'll bet that didn't make the librarians very happy.

And right out there in the road was something less magnificent.  How to explain this?  Well, it's sort of a map and it's sort of an advertisement and it's sort of naughty.  See that picture of a woman carved in the stone of the street?  Well, what she's saying is, if you walk in the direction the foot is pointed you'll come to my house and there you'll find what that heart-shaped symbol represents.  OK, it's an ad for a house of ill-repute.

A former avenue.

Now this theater is of particular interest.

After this ancient theater was excavated, the modern Turks would occasionally use it for concerts.  But some rock group had its amplifiers turned up so loud that the vibrations caused some rocks to fall.  That ended the concerts.

But in Roman times that stage happened to be the site of something else entirely.

This is the theater at Ephesus.  There's only one theater at Ephesus, so when the New Testament refers to a "theater" here, one would suppose this has to be it.  Here's a pertinent passage from Acts 19:

23  ¶ And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
24  For a certain man named Deme'tri-us, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
25  whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
26  Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
27  so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28  ¶ And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gai'us and Aristar'chus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater.
30  And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
31  And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theater.
32  Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
33  And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defense unto the people.
34  But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
35  And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
36  Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
37  For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
38  Wherefore if Deme'tri-us, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
39  But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
40  For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
41  And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

So is this really the very same theater mentioned in the account?  Apparently Paul was in Ephesus in AD 54 on his first missionary journey, and construction of this theater was begun during the reign of Claudius (AD 41-54).  So something like a theater must have been right here when Paul was in town.  But the theater wasn't completed until the reign of Emperor Trajan (AD 98-117).  So I dunno.  Also, even though Mete said Paul spoke here, Acts says he merely wanted to speak in the theater at Ephesus, but his friends talked him out of it.  So did Paul actually preach in this theater as Mete claimed?  I really dunno.

And that Temple of Diana, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, isn't even right here.  It's nearby, though.  We'll see it later in the day.

An avenue in Ephesus.

Just look at that great theater up there on the hill.

And look at the avenue leading up to it.  This was quite an impressive place.

Bye bye, Ephesus.

Well, who wouldn't pay 50 cents to feel the magic atmosphere of a Turkish toilet?