"Talking Turkey"

While on our cruise, one of my favorite destinations, was Turkey. We were able to spend the whole day there and I loved everything about it. Mitch and I are talking about going back for a longer stay. Turkey is where the six churches were located, that are mentioned in the first few chapters of book of Revelation.

We started out with a drive to the ancient city of Ephesus. The ruins of this city were an awe inspiring sight to behold. We were able to walk about on cobblestones of marble that have been there for ages. We saw the ruins of the Roman baths and saunas, and even the marketplace. I wondered if one of the stalls was where Paul worked making tents to sell. We were able to see where archaeologists were in the process of excavating the areas where the general population lived. One of the largest buildings still standing was the city's Library. It was a beautifully sculpted, palace like structure and we were able to stand on the steps and take photos.

My favorite part of our visit there was Bible study in the Amphitheater. We are told in Acts that through Paul's preaching, many turned from the worship of the goddess Artemis (Dianna), to the worship of God. This made the idol-makers mad, and they caused the people of Ephesus to drag two of Paul's companions to this very same Amphitheater for trial. The Bible records for us that the whole city came to the Amphitheater for the trial, and that they rioted and yelled for two hours, "Great is Dianna of the Ephesians." The Amphitheaters of the ancient world are huge, and yes, this one was large enough to accommodate all of the citizens of the city.

After our time at the site of Ephesus, we went to lunch at a family owned and operated restaurant that was situated in the middle of an Olive Grove. It was a beautiful setting and we had a delicious lunch, under a vine covered pergola. Mitch and I tried our first taste of Turkish coffee, very strong and sweet, and we both really liked it!

After lunch, we were off to a Turkish Rug Weaving School, where we learned how silk, from silk worm cocoons, is turned into beautiful hand made Turkish rugs. Some of the rugs that we were shown, took 4 women a whole year to weave!