SJ14 Ancient Ephesus and the Exile from Patmos

Today the wind and rain continued.  In the morning in Kusadasi, Turkey, it was no problem at all.  We had a wonderful tour of Ancient Ephesus. We were able to see the massive theater and ruins at the heart of ancient Epheus.

Terrace Houses

Just up the hill from the massive theater in Ephesus were homes terraced onto the hillside. These would have been the homes of the most wealthy citizens.  They are a remarkable example of the best the ancient world had to offer.  It is amazing how well preserved the multiple frescos and mosaics are in this area.  The variety of colors and patterns in the mosaics and frescos is hard to believe.  The Ephesians were true artisans! There are only a few photos here, I will post all of the photos on Facebook under and album of Ephesus so you can see them.

 

The Small Theater of the Parliament

Directly across a marble street from the Terrace Houses was an amphitheater that looked like it could seat about 100 people.  This was in the house of the parliament. Standing next to this, just uphill from the great theater and across a marble street from the Terraced houses, you can get a real sense of what this magnificent city may have looked like in the days Paul and the Apostle John walked and shred the Gospel here.

The Library of Celsus must have been a truly impressive sight in its day.  What is left of the ruins are spectacular. It was built in 117 a.d., so it was not in place at the time Paul and John were in Ephesus. It was a monument tomb for Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus.  At its height, it had a capacity t hold more than 12,000 scrolls, making it the 3^rd largest library in the ancient world, behind Alexandria and Pergamum 

The Great Theater

This mammoth amphitheater in my estimation, is the most imposing and impressive structure of we saw in ancient Ephesus. It could host up to 25,000 spectators. While in use, the lower rows of seats were equipped with marble backs for the comfort of the most important attendees. Even then, there were good seats and cheap seats.  I climbed all the way to the top just so I could see the view from the seats I would have been able to afford had I been there for some ancient event.  Who knows, The Stones may have played here back in the day.

Standing down on the floor in the theater, I tried to imagine what it must have felt like for Paul and his traveling partners, Gaius and Aristarchus from Macedonia, on the day a riot broke out because of their teaching about Jesus. (Acts 19) Truly the first Apostles and those believers in the first and second centuries were people of great faith and resolve!  The Spirit of God was moving in them with great courage as well as powerful words and signs.  To have been there would have been amazing and frightening all at the same time.

The Exile From Patmos

Later in the afternoon we pulled up to the Island of Patmos. Here, the Apostle John was exiled and received the vision from which he wrote the Book of Revelation.  The Gospel of John is my personal favorite of the Four Gospels.  I was truly a working hard to contain my excitement at the prospect of going to this little, island.   

Unfortunately as we got ready to depart, the Captain announced that he thought the winds were too high to safely bring the small tender boats alongside our ship to ferry passengers to the island. Instead of disembarking, we were pulling out to move on.  I was very disappointed.

 

I greatly looked forward to seeing the Grotto of the Apocalypse and St, John’s Monastery on Patmos.  It is hard to understand why we had to leave. There were two other cruise ships already in place at the island.  I could see tender boats ferrying passengers from them.  Nothing could be done, though, and away we went. I did manage to snap some shots from afar. Ironically, the best I can say is “Almost made it to Patmos.” 

 In the reverse of John, we were exiled from this little Island.