Mediterranean Cruise - Ephesus, Turkey

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed Ephesus.  It was pretty much lagniappe for me as far as our itinerary because I really had no desire to visit Turkey.  It turned out to be one of, if not the best day of the whole trip.  We all loved it!!  I booked a private tour through Ephesus Tours instead of doing an excursion with the cruise line.  It was awesome and cheap to boot!  Our tour guide, Zeynep was fabulous!  She was extremely knowledgeable and very accommodating.  She even stopped at a pharmacy for me to pick up baby formula.  It really made our tour that much better.

She picked us at the port in Kusadasi in a very nice and spacious van.  We definitely toured in style that day!  Our first stop was the House of Virgin Mary.  It is believed by some that Mary was brought here by Saint John and this is where she spent her last days.

This was a cistern of some type.  It may have been used by Mary and John as a baptismal. 

The scenery around the site was absolutely beautiful and so, so peaceful!

This is the front entrance to the house.  No photography allowed inside :(

Lighting candles after walking through the house.

Tap to receive water from the spring.  It is believed to have healing properties.  Our guide said it is also widely believed that drinking the water will bring fertility to women.  I was NOT drinking that water!  No way, no how!  I stayed far, far away...just in case ;)

The "wishing wall".  People write their personal intentions on paper, tissue or fabric and tie them to the wall.  I wish we would have known about this ahead of time so we could have been prepared to add to the wall.

Beautiful views on the way up to and down from the house.

Statue of Mary on the way up to the house.

Ephesus!  This was awesome, awesome, awesome!  I honestly think our tour guide made all the difference.  It was super cool to walk through this ancient city while learning about how they lived.  And supposedly only something like 10% of the city has been excavated!

Marble streets.

I know one of these is the sign for medicine.  I think the other may be for pharmacy.

Nike, the Goddess of Victory.

Ancient board game.

These are the floors of the houses that once stood here.  The tiles were laid in such as way that it looks like carpet.

Public toilets.  Clean water would run through the trough in front of the toilets.  They would dampen a sponge or towel there and use it to clean themselves.  When it was cold, those that had slaves would send them to the bathroom to warm their seat before going in.  The toilet area was actually a popular spot to socialize!

The Library of Celcus!  Wow!!!

I don't know why I was surprised, but it seems like every ancient city had a brothel.  The heart symbolized the brothel, while the foot showed the direction to go and that it was on the left hand side because it is a left foot.  Your foot had to be as big or bigger than this one to enter.

The amphitheater.

Going through one of the tunnels in the amphitheater.

So cool to imagine people in ancient times walking these same streets.

Better view of the amphitheater.  Zeynep told us that Elton John and Sting have both performed here!  She said that the Sting concert was actually the last concert it held.  They put a stop to the concerts because the noise level was starting to destroy the theater.

Old dog just hanging out in Ephesus!

Of course there are tons of little shops when you leave the city.  Our tour guide is very good friends with one of the shop owners.  He played checkers with Connor on this handmade checker board.

This single column is put together from fragments of what is left of the Temple of Artemis.  It is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  Behind the temple, you can see a castle, Isabey Mosque, and St. John's Basilica.  

Next we had a traditional lunch.

After lunch we had a carpet demonstration.  This lady was in the process of making a carpet using the pattern in front of her.  So neat!  Of course they wanted you to buy a carpet from them, but they weren't pushy at all.  Their government actually pays them to continue the tradition so they get paid whether they sell one or not.

She even let me try a few strands.  So someone somewhere out there will have a carpet that I helped make :)

Getting the silk from the silk worm cocoon.

They took us into a room to show us a bunch of carpets.  We were offered drinks and I chose an apple tea.  BEST HOT TEA EVER!

They said it was okay to let the kids play so Jameson just crawled all over the room.  He loved being out to explore!

Connor sipping his Sprite.

The people working there had fun playing with the kids.

Crashed out on the way back to the ship!

It was a GREAT day!

Harry spotted this on the elevator in the ship.

That night we sent Connor to kids' club and Jameson to the nursery so we could attend a murder mystery dinner in one of the specialty restaurants on the ship.  It started off with champagne and hors d'oeuvres followed by a fantastic meal and a very entertaining show.  What a great way to end one of the best days of the trip!