Day 11 – Thursday, June 18: Izmir, Smyrna – Agora, Miletus, Ephesus, Kusadasi
Today was our last full day here in Turkey. Before we fly home early tomorrow morning, we connected with the Bible at three sites. The weather changed a bit today, with overcast skies and some rain in the morning (most of which when we were driving), but with mostly sunny skies in the afternoon, with highs around 80. We left the hotel at 8 a.m., reading 2 Corinthians 11 about Paul’s trials) as we drove to our first site.
Smyrna
Our first of the day was ancient Smyrna. Located right in the heart of modern Izmir. While the site has limited archaeology, we saw the agora, impressive arches, and part of the water system. Read from from Revelation 2:8-11. We considered John’s word of commendation for the Christians in Smyrna who were persevering in the faith despite persecution.
Miletus
We drove about about 70 miles south to Miletus. The last 10 miles or so was flat farmland with many cotton fields. In Paul’s day this was all under water (the Aegean Sea). The most impressive thing at this site is the theater originally built in the Hellenistic Period. It was later expanded to hold about 10,000 people. Some of the marble “reserve seats” had Greek inscriptions. We read from Acts 20:15-38. Paul met the elders of Ephesus here en route to his travels to Jerusalem at the end of his third mission journey. It was a tender and emotional “farewell” for Paul and his friends from Ephesus.
“What a great day we had today as our last day of the trip. It began with visiting another “7 churches of Revelation” and it ended with a spectacular ‘sunset dinner’ on the Aegean Sea! What a wonderful way to end our trip together!”
Ephesus
We drove back north to the area of Ephesus. We first visited a Turkish Delights store (really fun!) before arriving in Ephesus at about 3:15. Ephesus was a massive port city back in the days of Paul. Today the water’s edge is about 4 miles away! Paul spent about 2.5 years here during his 3rd mission journey. He also visited the site at the end of his 2nd journey (Acts 18). In the days of Paul, this would be been a major harbor used for commerce and trade.
Starting from the upper part of the city and walking on the ancient 2nd century BC stone pavement (used by Paul later) towards the port, we past by a vast number of archaeological ruins. This included the odeon (small theater), statues, pillars, arches, inscriptions, public latrenes, and the Celsus Library (which dates to the early 2nd century AD). Sitting together in the agora, we read portions of Acts 19 about the dramatic event that took place in the grand theater. People gathered in the theater “confused” and “not knowing why they were there” (although they no doubt anticipated being treated to food and wine, as was the custom). Unfortunately the theater has been closed for over 8 months for renovation. While the top level of this theater dates to a time period after Paul, about 20,000 people could have fit in here. However, upon leaving the site we got great pictures of the theater from a distance.
Upon leaving the main area of excavations, we drove to the Temple of Artemis (Diana) that once stood here. All that remains is one pillar (of a total of 127 in this massive temple). Indeed Paul was challenged in sharing the kingdom message here at Ephesus. Here, we read John’s letter to the church of Ephesus from Revelation 2:1-7.
Kusadasi
From Ephesus, we drove a short distance (20 minutes) to the coastline of the Aegean Sea and to the city of Kusadasi. This is where Isa lives. After we arrived at our hotel, we enjoyed the wonderful view of the sea. Some even went swimming! We enjoyed a spectacular “sunset dinner” at 7:30 outside overlooking the water! We all then retired in preparation for our early departure (4:15, 4:45, and 7:15 departures) for the Izmir Airport. We all fly home tomorrow morning.
Day 12 – Friday, June 19 – Departure for Izmir Airport (Early morning flights)
