A Walkabout in Turkey: 6 July 2012-- Ephesus and the Ephesus Museum

Efes is an ancient town, probably best known to Christians due to Paul's letter to the Ephesians. He lived her for two years and ran into trouble with the authorities and local merchants due to his preaching against polytheism. The silversmiths rioted. He lived here fro the fall of 53 AD and left in the spring of 55 AD. He struggled against opposition, was imprisoned at least once, feared for his life, and wrote the bulk of his correspondence (1 Corinthians, most of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Galatians and Philemon).

Here I stand on the Curetes Way, which was lined with shops selling silks and incense. This road leads down to the Library of Celsus.

This is a view of the Library of Celsus. It held 12,000 scrolls in niches along the wall, and was the third largest library in the ancient world.

This is a view of the Library from the Marble Street which leads through the Lower Agora (market), from which was sold textiles and food.

This is a view from the Great Theatre which had a seating capacity of 25,000 people. Paul preached here. In the distance is a fertile valley, but it was once the Aegean Sea, which is now some 5-7 kilometers from here. Silting of the delta, and a growth of the Christian population caused a decline of the prosperity of the town. (It relied heavily on contributions to the pagan shrines here.)

In the Ephesus Museum, located in the town of Selçuk, are artifacts excavated from Ephesus and the nearby Temple of Artemus, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Above is the goddess which was once in the temple.