Day Six

Today was another most amazing day!! We spent the morning in lecture hearing about the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, as the site remains are scarce and generally under water or too marshy at this time of year. Afterwards, we walked over to the Artemision site, and found that it was dry enough that we could walk around in the "footprint" of the temple. As I've mentioned before, this temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world--a huge, huge site. However, not much remains there now for us to see. 

After viewing the Artemision, we quickly took the bus over to the ancient city of Ephesus, on the other side of Mt. Panayr Dag. There, we discussed the Serapion (Temple of the Egyptian gods), including all of the implications of an egyptian cult in Ephesus. A really great site presentation and discussion.

From there, we hiked up Mt. Bulbul Dag to see the Cave of Paul and Thecla. Although the name is misleading, as this was not an actual cave where Paul was likely ever present, it is named for one of the paintings inside: the earliest known drawing of Paul!! Again--the earliest know depiction of Paul! This is so incredibly significant. We felt so lucky to even see the site, as it is both a hike away from the city and we only gained entrance thanks to our local connection, Gingas. The image was underneath another layer of plaster inside the cave, so it has been extremely well preserved and is in astounding condition. We were in awe. There were other paintings/drawings and graffiti in the cave, as well. But the depiction of Paul (and Thecla, and her mother) really captured our imaginations. I've included a pic of me with Paul below...

We had a quick lunch sitting half way up the mountain, as students took turns going inside the small, dark cave. I've included a pic from lunch, so you can (sort of) see how high up we were, and the amazing view that this hike afforded us of the ancient ruins at Ephesus!

On the way out of Ephesus, my classmate Chris spotted some icecream, which we felt obligated to try out (lol). As an expert, I can say that it was very good :)

Then, to our delight, we got the afternoon off! Thank you, James :)  I'm headed now to another city with a few of the other students, for walking around/exploring and dinner. We've nearly tapped out all the restaurants here in Selcuk, so we thought we'd venture out a little further for tonight's meal.

But again, what an amazing day. We are all so appreciative to James for organizing this trip, and getting us in to all these "insider" sites. Unbelievable!

my love to all,

Krista