Epistle to the Ephesians

I was so super excited to go to Turkey/Ephesus. To be where Paul walked and stand in the grand theater where he preached! (Plus it was the closest to Iraq that I hope to ever be!)

So Turkey gave me the welcome that I was hoping for! A big banner and everything! :) I felt very welcomed! (And there's the red and black outfit again! For your viewing pleasure!)

Kusadasi was our port town that we stopped at. Is this not the coolest picture of our ship framed by the sign? Pretty amazing photography by Larisa.

Right outside of Ephesus they have a lot of shops- this one caught my eye and made me laugh...

Genuine fake watches...love it! At least the Turks are honest!

Thankfully it wasn't too hot as we walked along the road, listened to our guide and learned about the Ephesians. Basically its one long road with a lot of ruins! (Hallelujah for guides that can explain what you are looking at and paint the picture of what it looked like long long ago!)

As we started the decent down toward the library- I could almost imagine how grand this street was at one time! It mean was "The Street". I almost walked down it like Royalty and decided that maybe I would look a little weird. (I mean would Royalty really be wearing the same pants 5 days in a row?! :) )

This street was lined with statues and buildings. Ephesus in only 20 % excavated! I wonder what other hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered!

Listen up all the pharmacist in the family- I took this for you! This was the sign out in front of the pharmacy!

You're welcome.

And here she is the "just do it" girl herself...the Goddess Nike.

The Nike "swoosh" sign was designed from the shape of this stone.

I just like these ruins--nothing significant- just cool!

Here is one thing that I am thankful we don't have anymore are public toilets like these. I think its funny how Nate and Larisa just plopped down for a picture (They looked quite comfortable)...

Tiffany and I were a little more hesitant to touch them! Just the thought that they were at one time every single person's toilet in the town- kinda grossed us out! :)


Kinda interesting tidbit that I learned... the wealthy had slaves that would come and warm up the seats before they sat down. Wouldn't that be a fun job?!

And here we are at the library- which I am sure was amazing in it's time...Because it was amazing at how it is now! And see mom and dad I do read! I just have to find a library outside the country to do it! :)

Then there she was- the greatest of all- the Grand Theater where Paul preached. And by looking at it- I can't imagine how he did it! It seemed so intimidating to me! Just think of how many people were there listening...and I'm sure not all agreed and I'm sure they weren't a quiet crowd!



Here I was trying it out myself- I am sure I look just as Paul did "Repent Ye Repent Ye!"

(You can see the lady behind me trying to show me up by going down to where Paul probably really stood! How rude! )

I learned a super amazing fact while in Ephesus. Well I learned a lot of facts. But one that was super cool! You want to know? Okay then- keep on reading!

This road you see below was the road that Cleopatra and Mark Anthony rode on as they entered Ephesus. As they rode in people poured red wine on the road in front of them to welcome them in(why? Wealth I guess)- and from that we have the red carpet rolled out in front of people today! Did you know that? Because I did not!

Now, this is a multi purpose photo. I know! Not only does it show the road, but if you can see on the top of that hill, oh so far away,- is the prison that Paul was put in. Unfortunately this was as close as we could get to it! :)

So I zoomed in so you ( and I ) could see it! You can thank me later!

Now the fun doesn't stop there. Nope. Royal Caribbean Cruises also pays for people to put on a little play for you. Its about 7 minutes and includes Gladiators, Kings, Dancers etc... You laugh, You cry, You cheer... Best 7 minutes of your life... kinda!

Camel.

We also went to another town (which I can not for the life of me remember the name!) and saw the Temple of Apollo. Now never in my life have I seen such HUGOMUNGO pillars! Again- I cant imagine what it looked like in all its glory!

The oracles that told the future were kept in this temple. Unfortunately, they are not still there. I was kinda hoping for a little fortune telling!

Another lesson I learned... Medusa is outside of these temples in order to keep evil away. Did I sleep through all my history classes because none of this sounded familiar!

Here she is- a little falling apart- but here none-the-less!

From there our tour bus took us to a Turkish Restaurant free of charge. There was a big buffet style of Turkish sides. I ordered the chicken and had yummy BBQ chicken brought out to me! Tiffany on the other hand ordered the fish.

HaHa! I laughed so hard when I saw Tiffany's face as they brought out her plate. I had plenty of that on my mission. I had served my time. I am happy that Tiffany had that experience as well! :) I did teach her a trick or two that I learned-- cover the face with a napkin so you can't see the eye and keep talking while you eat so you don't think about what you are eating! She got through it. She did well. I was proud!

The last stop before the bus was a Turkish Rug shop. Really incredible...expensive...but incredible.

Turkey was all that I hoped it would be. Not a let down at all. Exceeded expectations!

One more stop- Crete!

Bring on the Greeks!

(Before I begin- I know that there are some of you who are just dying to know if and when I got my luggage back- well ... I wanted to give you a part of the experience that I had as each day I wondered the same thing! :) enjoy! And dont worry you'll find out soon enough!)

So one of the places I was most excited to see was Greece! Athens was so intriguing to me! I was hoping to see a big sign that said "WELCOME TO GREECE" when I got off the boat. However, I got a "Welcome to Piraeus" which was the name of the town that we were in! I'll take it!


Our first stop was to the very first Olympic Stadium! This is where it all started folks! Thanks to this place- every 2 years I become anti-social and never leave the couch as I watch every competition! I loved being here!

I decided that I missed my calling in life and that I should be an Olympic runner- Here I am trying it out! I look like I fit in there huh! Just move that gate and I'll be on my way!

One thing that was very funny about Athens were the stray dogs. Now, Nicaragua had a lot of stray dogs, but they didn't just lay around EVERYWHERE- and they were little dogs. These were full grown- some german shepard size- all around. They didnt beg for food or get in your way. They were simply there. This picutre makes me laugh because you can see Nate is standing right by it and it could care less.


From the Olympic stadium you can see the Acropolis. Such an awesome sight! Which is where we went next!

Here we are outside waiting for our guide to get our tickets. I had my water and headset! I was set to walk up and up and up!

So turns out- just like Rome, I really knew very little about the history here! Good thing we had a guide and also Tiffany teaches 6th grade so she was able to fill me in a lot! This is one of the original theaters that is still used today! Plus, it gives you an awesome view of Athens!

From here we reach the Parthenon. It really is so weird to see something in person, when you've seen it so many times in books! We just kept looking at each other and were thinking- look! Its the Parthenon- right there in front of us! How crazy!!! Especially since I had seen some many parts of it when I was at the British museum last year! Wo- crazy to see where it had all come from!

One thing that I wasn't quite prepared for was how many millions of people (seemed like) that were there! But I am sure that in the ancient times there were Millions of Greeks everywhere too! :)--- at least thats what I told myself so that I could get the full experience!

I thought that I would practice my Vanna White skills! "And over here, we have more of Athens"

Some nice lady took some pics of Tiffany and I (which shockingly looks like there aren't as many people there! This picture is quite deceiving)

One of the things I loved was looking out over Athens! What an incredible site! If you like views- this is the place for you! -- I was thinking about what all those people were doing in those houses down below! So many stories and so much history!


We tried to get pictures where we were gazing out over the city in a "contemplating" type of way- but Tiffany kept making me laugh...so it didn't work so well.

The architecture was also really incredible! (Can you tell I'm holding the lady in my hand?!)

At times I wondered how safe we were! --Does this not look like at any moment it could topple over?! I knows its been up for quite some time, but you never know when it will just give out! Kinda like Jenga- BOOM- when you least expect it! :)

I was happy to share this experience with 500,000 of my closest friends!

(It also makes me wonder how many other people's pictures I am in the background of!)

They did say to wear good walking shoes- I of course had my trusty flip-flops...which did surprisingly well. However, I figured out why they suggested it. Not because you needed support- no-- its because it is SO SLIPPERY! There is still marble on the walk ways- and even the rocks were slippery from the many people who have walked on them! I almost fell twice. One of which I would have taken out a whole group of people in front of me! Thankfully Tiffany grabbed my arm at the last second! Thank goodness for friends! (Even though that would have been really funny and embarrassing!:) )

One time Tiffany slipped and we heard this man behind us say to his wife "See. She slipped. Now be careful!" We are great examples for others huh! No need to thank us sir. We know!

After all the walking and site seeing- we were starving. Good thing there were lots of yummy Greek restaurants around- willing to serve us Gyros and Greek Salads! Plus some Baklava for desert! YUM!


After lunch- we hit the shops in the plaka!

After a fabulous day in Athens it was time to head back to the ship. But what direction do we go?

Its all Greek to me!!
(haha.. I know. Cheezy. But it made you smile right?! I used that phrase AS MUCH as I could while I was there!)