Ephesus 3

 Here comes the hordes of visitors. Later that morning the tour buses startd arriving. By noon it was packed and people were fainting from heatstroke. Bring your own water, the concession stands are at the entrances and they are far away. There is nothing inside the ruins. Wear a wide brimmed hat, walk slowly.

 This is the goddess, Nike.

 More people heading for the library, the library area is jammed pack with people.

 A young archaeoligist at work.

Here is another view of the Celsius library, where the parchments and papyri were preserved against mold, rot and vermin but not against earthquakes. The ruins are the result of earthquakes over the centuries. This is the fate of a lot of monuments in Turkey. 
Ephesus is one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelations and all seven are in Turkey. They are Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Philadelphia (Alasehir) Thyatira (Akhisar) Bergama, Sardis and Laodicea. The three with Turkish names are still living cities, the rest are ruins. The Bible is not just a historical book, it also reflects ourselves in it. Sometimes we are David, great in some ways but totally flawed, sometimes we feel we are Job. The address to the seven churches are not just for the seven churches only, encouraging them to continue in the faith even while under extreme persecution. John wrote in Revelations to the church at Ephesus, 'you've forsaken your first love'. Our first love is the love of Jesus Christ, have we forsaken our first love? Revelations goes on.... 'repent and do the things you did at first'.
Most people identify Jordan as 'the other Holy land'. Others feel that Turkey is 'the other Holy land'.