Gobble Gobble

Our day in Turkey was a pretty long one, with lots of walking! I had already gotten used to my 2 nap days, so I was tired! Our first stop was Ephesus. For those of you who are Christian or are familiar with Biblical stories, you will know Ephesus from the book Ephesians. Ephesians was Paul's letter to the people in Ephesus. (Which he wrote from this prison we saw in Rome!)

The first part of Ephesus wasn't all that impressive, but it certainly improved the further you went in to the ruins. The ruins themselves are some of the largest of their kind. They think only a quarter has been uncovered so far, and are still excavating today.

The beginning...


The main promenade in the off season believe it or not. Can you imagine the place when it's busy?



The library and the theater were the most impressive ruins by far. Even knowing they were partially remade, it was pretty awe inspiring to think of the place in Biblical times.

I promise I didn't photo shop us into this one!



A few more of the library...





The theater was pretty incredible. The acoustics are so good, they still use it today for concerts. In Biblical times, this was the place where Paul spoke out against the idols of Artemis being sold and worshiped. Because of this speech, he was put in prison. From prison, he wrote 1 Corinthians.





A few other shot from Ephesus...



*Laura- Please notice that I am wearing pants.






After that it was on to a rug shop (AKA- The Turkish version of used car salesmen), and then back to Izmir. Once in Izmir we headed to the Bazaar with our dinner friends. We took a taxi. Ahhhh! I think the driver went to driving school in Rome.

The bazaar was its own experience for sure! It was miles long and miles wide! You walk down row after row of shops selling anything you can imagine. Puppies, fish heads, wedding dresses, fake Converse shoes, etc. The wedding dresses were in abundance. And they were skanky. As you walk, the shop keepers yell at you and follow you to try to get you in their store. Who knows what they were yelling. It could have been "kill the Americans," who knows. Anyway, I was too afraid to take a picture in the midst of all the debauchery so I jacked/borrowed one from another site...



I purchased 2 pashminas at the least scary store I could find. You will see one in the Santorini pictures.

And here are two more photos from the town itself...





The next day was SANTORINI!!!! My favorite by far! You should hold your breath for that post, because when you see the pictures you will want to pass out anyway.

Tschuss!