IZMIR, TURKEY

Our port of call in Izmir Mom and I also decided to have a guided tour of the location. First stop consisted of "Mary's house" or what is believed to be the last home of the Virgin Mary. We walked in and around the sight and had to quickly board the bus. Our guide, this time her name was Rose, told us about writing down your wishes and putting them on the wall and they will be fulfilled. She also said something about the water and having something special but I cannot remember exactly what is was supposed to do. All I remember was watching my Mom about gag from tasting the water and I laughed because I was taking her picture first. That's why I love my Mom! When we watched people putting the water from the "facets" onto their hands and touching their necks or foreheads we thought maybe it wasn't for drinking afterall :)

Some interesting facts: The house of Mary is a place of pilgramage not only for Christians, but also for Muslims who use the room to the south as a prayer room. The resolutions of the council of 431 held that the Virgin Mary came to Ephesus 4 to 6 years after the death of Christ with Saint John and in 1979 Pope John Paul II declared the House of Mary to be a place of pilgrimage for Christmas.

So in hindsight, it would have been much more interesting to spend the entire time we had at the ancient ruins of Ephesus, but it was interesting to see none-the-less. 

Then just down the road we came to what was known as the 3rd Ephesus in ancient days. Everything was made out of marble, even the streets. It was white and you could almost imagine what this city could have looked like a very long time ago.

The first is part of the archway of the Temple of Hadrian.

The second picture with the masses of people crowded in the street must have been our entire cruise ship! We couldn't believe how many people there were and it was not peak season. The pillars on each side of this walkway mark where there would have been statues all the way down what is called Kouretes Street. And at the bottom you can see the facade of the Library of Celsus, situated in the center of town, built to honor the proconsul Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus after he died. There are four female statues in the niches on both sides of the gateway and they represent wisdom, knowledge, thought, and virtue. This was considered one of the four most important libraries in the area. The others located in Alexandria, Pergomon, and Nysa.

*Interesting to note that a brothel faced the Library of Celsus on the side where the photo was taken from. Our guide mentioned that if men were in the brothel and they saw their wife or girlfriend on the main street, they could use "I was in the library" as their alibi... maybe...

One of the particular sights Rose took us to in Ephesus was the Men's toilet house. This too was made out of marble slabs with holes every few feet for them to take care of their business. In the center it was believed there was a running fountain (good background noise) with frogs living in there as well (again to cover up any "noises" from the men) A slave would first sit on the seat to warm it up-- it was cold marble afterall, and then the master would replace him on the spot and take care of his business. Sorry I was took entertained with the story to take any pictures, but thought I would share the information with anyone who really is interested in that sort of stuff :)