Ephesus

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:1)
After the boat stopped in Izmir, Turkey we took a bus to the ruins of Ephesus where according to Ephesians, Paul planted a church. There is even archeological proof that there were Christians living in this city. When Christians wanted to tell other Christians that they were living there, they would mark a fish on stone. The first Jesus fish!



Only about 15% of the city has been excavated so there are archeologists still working there.



The city of Ephesus is actually three cities founded by three different people groups, the Amazonian, the Greeks, and of course the Romans. You can see evidence of all three throughout the city. There are statues of some of the Greek gods and goddesses. The Greek goddess Nike is the base behind the Nike brand. You can even see the swoosh in her dress!



While excavating, the archeologists uncovered some of the most advanced work.



This is a fountain that still has part of a statue of a foot on top of the world. The neat part is that the world is round! Europeans didn't even figure that out until they ran into the Americas.
The mosaic work in the street is absolutely beautiful. Imagine the time it would take to lay all those tiles!



We also got to see the city's amphitheater and library!






After we left Ephesus, we went to a little shop and got to see weavers making the famous Turkish rugs and silk thread.
Ephesus was my favorite city yet. It was so cool to go to a place where Paul preached to some of the first Christians!

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (Ephesians 2:19-20)

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