^{Revelation 2:1} “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lamp stands. ² “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Today we saw the place in the road where the lamp stands would have been placed. A larger hole in the middle, and four minor holes forming a square around it. The lamps were placed in the holes and used to mark the way for the pagan festivals of the gods. Amazing to see exactly what this letter was referring to.

Being at Ephesus was something both of us have been looking forward to for months. And it did not disappoint!

Ephesus has a history dating back to 700BC. But of course for the two of us, our interests are mainly in its 1st century history. Ephesus was transferred from Greek to Roman rule by bequest along with the rest of the empire around 133BC. It even has been visited by Marc Antony & Cleopatra while they organised one of their war campaigns. It was great to have some detail pointed out to us that showed the Roman ‘signature’ – the lion’s foot on the stair guards going up the small theatre.

We saw and learnt so much today, but again, to see the remains of this place where we know that the Apostle Paul spent nearly 3 years, and had such influence, was another awesome experience.

Paul disrupted much of the industry and market in Ephesus, which was based around paganism and the worship of the goddess Artemis. He taught about a Messiah who had come among the people, and about the one true God, and about the grace this Saviour Jesus brings. This meant that those people profiting from the market based around idols were losing trade, and so a riot erupted and there were many public meetings to try and solve the issue. And yet, through faith and perseverence, Paul also planted a church, taught them, fellowshipped with them, and made such good friends, that we read in Acts 20 as he was leaving Ephesus … “he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.”

Paul preached publicly and privately in Ephesus … we saw the small theatre and the large theatre [incredible!] … likely places where Paul would have preached.

We saw the remains of terraced houses alongside the main colonnade … possible homes where Paul could have shared the gospel of grace with the people of Ephesus.

We saw the road leading to the port where Paul would probably have had his final conversation with the Ephesian elders.

But, the archaeological piece de resistance today was undoubtedly the Library, which was the third largest in the then known world. It’s height, stature, detail and imposing structure was hard to take your eyes off.

It is quite amazing that now Ephesus is about 6km from the coast as the silt buildup over the centuries has changed the coastline to such an extent.

Being in this place, was truly an eye-opening experience. But we feel blessed because we get to return to Ephesus in 2½ weeks, and can hopefully catch things we missed today.

We then had another great Turkish cultural experience by visiting a carpet manufacturer. We learnt the unique method of carpet knot used by the gifted Turkish craftspeople in their handmade work, and saw the fine result it gives. Seeing silk cocoons being spun, and the method used to find the end prior to spinning was incredible.

Other Turkish cultural firsts today was Chris trying Raki while I had my second Turkish coffee, and then moving on to try some Turkish wine – both a local red, and a mulberry wine as well. Verdict – pretty good on all counts.

Visiting a quaint old village which used to be Greek prior to the population exchange, but is now inhabited by Turks, with its narrow stone streets, and local produce markets was a beautiful way to end a beautiful day.