Ephesus Part 1: Throwback to my Christian past and Intro to the Ephesus story
You do not really have to be in a group tour to go to Ephesus but that all depends on where you are coming from and staying. Since I am holidaying in Samos, Greece I opted to take the tour which will take care of my boat (read here: Boat trip Samos to Kusadasi: Turkey Immigration took my passport!), the dock fee, the transfer bus, Ephesus entrance fee and the tour guide.
It’s just a day trip, it’s not like I am staying in Turkey for a few days. I’d rather spend a little than put myself in a hassle that I will later regret. I have a Dutchman waiting for me back in Samos Island that is expecting me for dinner. For the total package I paid 95 Euros. The package does not include lunch, drinks and other incidentals.
A Throwback to My Christian Past
I am quite familiar with Ephesus because of my Christian and Bible background in the past. I was born Catholic like majority of the Filipinos, however, my parents left the Catholic Church for a non-denominational Christian Church when we were little. Obviously, us the children, too young to form our own opinion about god and religion at the time, followed suit. I can remember the drama coming from our extended families when my parents got rid of all the religious statues. I think they threw them out to the sea? Maybe burned some of them? Looking back, I think I would have kept some, not to pray and worship to, but preserve them for art and history purposes.
Then during my teens my brother found this revival Church that talked about Discipleship. We have always been the active Christian kids type. The seeking somewhat activist kind. I was the Youth Leader of our church so to speak, but I became fascinated and deeply engrossed at all the biblical principles taught at this revival Church. They were calling everyone to action: Walk the Talk. If you know me personally, you’ll find out I am hyperactive. I like to make things happen.
Now this of course angered my parents, they did not understand why we have to defect but we were young and naïve, enthusiastic, hungry to learn and fired up to grow, ambitious, very idealistic, too independent and most of all, radical. We want to change the world. Like now. LOL.
Any of you radical activists out there can relate? =)
In this Discipleship Church I learned to read, preach and practice the teachings of the Bible and learned about Ephesus as well. I can honestly say I have read every page of the Old Testament and New Testament. I memorised important verses of the Bible. I even became a ministry leader in this said Church giving up my job.
Fast forward, I have since left the Christian faith, a long time ago actually, when I was still living in the Philippines and have not met the Dutchman. It was a shock to everyone, and to me as well. If you are Filipino or have been to the Philippines, you will understand how central god and religion are in the Filipino society. No one lives their life there without the church. The fear of god is overpowering, all encompassing in every angle, aspect and tangle of the society, from politics, family, education, friends, work, EVERYTHING. That is why you have Filipino colleagues signing their emails with God Bless instead of Regards and an invasion of Bible verses or Christian sayings in your Facebook newsfeed. You are doomed without a god in the Philippines. But yes, I left the faith voluntarily, on my own.
It is probably safe to say that about 0.01% (or 0.001%) are atheist in the Philippines, or does not believe in any deity. I was one of those very, very, very few. Was, because I do not live there anymore.
Religion is a very sensitive topic to discuss, even in a platform such as a blog. So I will not delve into the details why. There is wisdom when we exercise discretion up to a certain extent in our lives, and when we learn to accept and respect as well other people’s differences, opinions and faith without passing unnecessary judgments (and trying to convert them).
This is what I can only say. I have no regrets. The freedom and understanding of life that I now enjoy is a freedom that I have worked hard for and will not change any other way.
So quite a very long novel there on where I learned Ephesus from! You must have dozed off!
Ephesus, Turkey Introduction: Did you know that Ephesus is a Greek City?
The Grecian Empire in the past extended as far as the coastal areas of Asia Minor which is present day Turkey.
The city was founded on the 10th century BC (Bronze Age) and was abandoned in 15th century AD. It was one of those celebrated, modern and extravangant cities. A most talked about and worshipped city that people would love to visit, live and experience. You can liken Ephesus now to the main international hub cities such as London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong for example.
Ephesus is located in Selcuk which is part of the Izmir Province. From Kusadasi harbour (which is not part of Izmir but of Aydin Province) it is about half an hour travel.
Must items to bring when you come here especially during summer because it is H-O-T! and you will be walking for more than an hour on the open ruin grounds: 1) hat or 2) a scarf to cover your head or 3) an umbrella for the Asians (lol) 4) water bottle because you can get dehydrated 5) wear flat shoes or comfortable shoes 6) a little bit of enthusiasm and interest to learn a bit - this could not be that hard, right?
Ephesus has survived through many age periods in history. Bronze—Archaic—Classical—Hellenistic/Greek—Roman—Byzantine—Ottoman/Turkish. It’s amazing to see that some of the ruins are still intact and recognisable, enough for the archaeologists and Turkish government to make a layout and reconstruction of what Ephesus was before.
This is also the city where one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World can be found – The Temple of Artemis, however, there is not much left of the ruin except for a few lonely standing pillars.
Now let us get to the christian part.
John the Baptist and Paul the Apostle lived in Ephesus and they preached the gospel zealously here, converting many pagans into Christians and founding the Church of Ephesians. They both even wrote some of their books here. It is believed that the Book of John was partly written in this city (the rest he wrote in Patmos Island, Greece, I believe). Paul wrote the First Corinthians epistle here as well, often citing the disputes he had with non-believers worshipping the goddess Artemis. The Church of Ephesians was also mentioned in another epistle, Galatians.
The ancient city has been cited in the Bible in the Book of Revelations as being one of the 7 Churches. As you can see, their world was rather small at the time, concentrated only to this part of the world. You might have noticed that the Bible never mentioned for example the Dynasties in China or anything else in the other side of the globe.
For Catholics who are staunch Virgin Mary worshippers, the House of Mary is situated nearby the ruins in Ephesus. Many Catholics on tour groups visit this as well.
If you want to learn more about Ephesus, just go here: Ephesus Wikipedia and Ephesus Archaelogical Site
There is part 2, so please stay tuned! (Edit - Part 2 here: Ephesus Part 2)
Travel Period: June 2013
Destination: Ephesus, Selcuk (Izmir), Turkey
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
It’s just a day trip, it’s not like I am staying in Turkey for a few days. I’d rather spend a little than put myself in a hassle that I will later regret. I have a Dutchman waiting for me back in Samos Island that is expecting me for dinner. For the total package I paid 95 Euros. The package does not include lunch, drinks and other incidentals.
Berry and I went with Meander Travel on the English bus, and this is our tour guide called Nec. He reminds me of my cute tour guide in Mexico when I went to the Tulum Ruins. Nec is definitely taller though. Have a look here: Tulum Ruins and our little Panda Bear tour guide
A Throwback to My Christian Past
I am quite familiar with Ephesus because of my Christian and Bible background in the past. I was born Catholic like majority of the Filipinos, however, my parents left the Catholic Church for a non-denominational Christian Church when we were little. Obviously, us the children, too young to form our own opinion about god and religion at the time, followed suit. I can remember the drama coming from our extended families when my parents got rid of all the religious statues. I think they threw them out to the sea? Maybe burned some of them? Looking back, I think I would have kept some, not to pray and worship to, but preserve them for art and history purposes.
Then during my teens my brother found this revival Church that talked about Discipleship. We have always been the active Christian kids type. The seeking somewhat activist kind. I was the Youth Leader of our church so to speak, but I became fascinated and deeply engrossed at all the biblical principles taught at this revival Church. They were calling everyone to action: Walk the Talk. If you know me personally, you’ll find out I am hyperactive. I like to make things happen.
Now this of course angered my parents, they did not understand why we have to defect but we were young and naïve, enthusiastic, hungry to learn and fired up to grow, ambitious, very idealistic, too independent and most of all, radical. We want to change the world. Like now. LOL.
Any of you radical activists out there can relate? =)
I have to insert this picture somewhere in this entry, so this is me in the Ephesus Ruins and you can see Nec, our tour guide, calling us or moi to stop doing selfie shots and follow him, lol.
In this Discipleship Church I learned to read, preach and practice the teachings of the Bible and learned about Ephesus as well. I can honestly say I have read every page of the Old Testament and New Testament. I memorised important verses of the Bible. I even became a ministry leader in this said Church giving up my job.
Fast forward, I have since left the Christian faith, a long time ago actually, when I was still living in the Philippines and have not met the Dutchman. It was a shock to everyone, and to me as well. If you are Filipino or have been to the Philippines, you will understand how central god and religion are in the Filipino society. No one lives their life there without the church. The fear of god is overpowering, all encompassing in every angle, aspect and tangle of the society, from politics, family, education, friends, work, EVERYTHING. That is why you have Filipino colleagues signing their emails with God Bless instead of Regards and an invasion of Bible verses or Christian sayings in your Facebook newsfeed. You are doomed without a god in the Philippines. But yes, I left the faith voluntarily, on my own.
It is probably safe to say that about 0.01% (or 0.001%) are atheist in the Philippines, or does not believe in any deity. I was one of those very, very, very few. Was, because I do not live there anymore.
Religion is a very sensitive topic to discuss, even in a platform such as a blog. So I will not delve into the details why. There is wisdom when we exercise discretion up to a certain extent in our lives, and when we learn to accept and respect as well other people’s differences, opinions and faith without passing unnecessary judgments (and trying to convert them).
This is what I can only say. I have no regrets. The freedom and understanding of life that I now enjoy is a freedom that I have worked hard for and will not change any other way.
So quite a very long novel there on where I learned Ephesus from! You must have dozed off!
Ephesus, Turkey Introduction: Did you know that Ephesus is a Greek City?
The Grecian Empire in the past extended as far as the coastal areas of Asia Minor which is present day Turkey.
The city was founded on the 10th century BC (Bronze Age) and was abandoned in 15th century AD. It was one of those celebrated, modern and extravangant cities. A most talked about and worshipped city that people would love to visit, live and experience. You can liken Ephesus now to the main international hub cities such as London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong for example.
We are nearing the Ephesus Archaeological Ruins here and this area before used to be water, part of the sea.
This is a Dutch couple I met during the Ephesus Tour.
Ephesus is located in Selcuk which is part of the Izmir Province. From Kusadasi harbour (which is not part of Izmir but of Aydin Province) it is about half an hour travel.
Must items to bring when you come here especially during summer because it is H-O-T! and you will be walking for more than an hour on the open ruin grounds: 1) hat or 2) a scarf to cover your head or 3) an umbrella for the Asians (lol) 4) water bottle because you can get dehydrated 5) wear flat shoes or comfortable shoes 6) a little bit of enthusiasm and interest to learn a bit - this could not be that hard, right?
This is a corinthian order column.
This is the Odeon, a small theater with a capacity of 1,500.
Ionic and corinthian order columns from the Ancient Greek / Classical Period. I will never forget them, they are etched forever in my mind after 4 years of studying Fine Arts.
Ephesus has survived through many age periods in history. Bronze—Archaic—Classical—Hellenistic/Greek—Roman—Byzantine—Ottoman/Turkish. It’s amazing to see that some of the ruins are still intact and recognisable, enough for the archaeologists and Turkish government to make a layout and reconstruction of what Ephesus was before.
This is also the city where one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World can be found – The Temple of Artemis, however, there is not much left of the ruin except for a few lonely standing pillars.
This is the Pyrtaneoin where religious ceremonies and banquets were held. During an excavation done by archaeologists they found 2 statue artifacts of Artemis which are now in the Ephesus Museum.
Nec is such a lovely man who has so much vigour to tell about the history of Ephesus and his country, Turkey.
Now let us get to the christian part.
John the Baptist and Paul the Apostle lived in Ephesus and they preached the gospel zealously here, converting many pagans into Christians and founding the Church of Ephesians. They both even wrote some of their books here. It is believed that the Book of John was partly written in this city (the rest he wrote in Patmos Island, Greece, I believe). Paul wrote the First Corinthians epistle here as well, often citing the disputes he had with non-believers worshipping the goddess Artemis. The Church of Ephesians was also mentioned in another epistle, Galatians.
The ancient city has been cited in the Bible in the Book of Revelations as being one of the 7 Churches. As you can see, their world was rather small at the time, concentrated only to this part of the world. You might have noticed that the Bible never mentioned for example the Dynasties in China or anything else in the other side of the globe.
For Catholics who are staunch Virgin Mary worshippers, the House of Mary is situated nearby the ruins in Ephesus. Many Catholics on tour groups visit this as well.
The Curetes Road from the Hercules Gateway leading to the Celsus Library. Do I not look like one of those Greek sculptures standing on top of a pedestal? But with a head, haha.
The Fountain of Trajan.
The Temple of Hadrian.
On top of the entrance of the Temple of Hadrian is a beautiful detail of a lady Medusa with acanthus leaves and friezes depicting the story of Ephesus.
If you want to learn more about Ephesus, just go here: Ephesus Wikipedia and Ephesus Archaelogical Site
There is part 2, so please stay tuned! (Edit - Part 2 here: Ephesus Part 2)
Travel Period: June 2013
Destination: Ephesus, Selcuk (Izmir), Turkey
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
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