Visiting Turkey is definitely a lesson in ancient history. Today I have walked through the ancient city of Ephesus. If you only have one ” ruin” in you – definitely make it Ephesus – it is truly stunning and without doubt one of the wonders of Turkey. Our guide was marvellous at describing life 4000 years BC, for some reason he focused on life from the wealthy perspective. The ruins here are only partly excavated so you need to use your imagination a little, but you get a good feel for how opulent and civilized life was for some. They piped heated water through clay pipes in the walls for central heating. The men sat around the communal toilet and It was here that the men talked politics! The wealthy houses are large and beautiful with mosaic tiling and spacious rooms.
There is a long marble road that leads down to the exquisitely beautiful Celsus library – in it’s time it was the 3rd biggest library in the world with over 200,000 books. The road originally went all the way to the sea but in just 1500 years the sea has retreated 6 miles or I should say it has silted up.
What I am loving is the beautiful detailing on every column, wall, archway, paving edge – without question these stonemasons were exquisite craftsmen.
Life on the other side of the fence must have been gruelling for so many slaves – all working on these amazing stone buildings. I constantly marvel at how they built them – huge manpower we have decided. Many slaves were educated (having been captured) and could “earn” their way out of slavery. Others fought for their freedom and you see the arenas where they went into battle against other slaves or animals. It is at the theatre in Ephesus that St Peter delivered the Scriptures.
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