Ephesus, Selçuk, Turkey

What can I say about Ephesus? It covered a huge area, requiring a lot of walking, up and down slopes/stone steps. It was very impressive, lots to see and to take in. It was awe-inspiring, just imagine how the city, with its massive pillars, was built without modern technology. It was also very, very crowded. I won't go into detail, as this article from Wikipedia has a great description of the place and structures. I was very glad I had my umbrella with me, as it was hot and there was very little cover.

Below: the crowd of visitors walking down the main "road" towards the Library of Celsus

Close-up of the amazing carvings

The section with bath houses and toilets

Houses of the rich, with mosiac sidewalk. Part of the houses were reconstructed and can be viewed under a tent, but we did not have time to go through that section.

Temple of Hadrian

The Library of Celsus

The Theatre of Ephesus

Re-enactment of Roman court, with the King, Queen, attendents and gladiators fighting, with music.

Below, a short history of Ephesus, in the digital immersive museum. 20 minutes long, it was interesting, but I did not find it satisfying. It may have been better if there was more context and/or narration to go with the creative 3-D visuals.

Finally, here's a cat basking in the sun. Throughout our tour, we saw a lot of cats and dogs out in the open, like they were strays. We were told that the animals were well taken care of, people feed them and some of them spot a tag on their ears to indicate that they have been spayed and vaccinated.