Ephesus, an Ancient City in Asia Minor
Inspired by a reader's reference, we'll visit a huge excavation site located in present-day Türkiye today
This posting is a wee bit unplanned, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea—first of, a huge shout-out to the long-time reader and frequent commenter who goes by the pen name
. Although ostensibly from literally half-way around the world, his (presumably) asking made me look the Erich Sonntag Postcard Collection for specimen from Australia:
(This was a three-part series, and both other parts are linked in this posting.)
When I posted the second instalment about Ankara, Türkiye, he said he’d been to Ephesos, hence I looked for postcards from this place—not merely because he “enquired” about this place, but also because he perused his contacts in Australia to get me the translations of Mandarin captions of a few black-and-white photographs from Mao’s China (which I shall post in due course).
So,
, this is my way of thanking you for going that proverbial extra mile or twenty thousand, and I hope you enjoy these postcards from Ephesus.Three Postcards From Old Ephesus
“New excavations—the market place” (above), and the “ancient theatre” (below):
“St John’s, now a Turkish mosque” (below):
A bit of Ephesus’ History
The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.
Ephesus was a recipient city of one of the Pauline epistles and one of the seven churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written there, and it was the site of several 5th-century Christian Councils (Council of Ephesus). The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263. Although it was afterwards rebuilt, its importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River. In 614, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake.
The above paragraphs are from Wikipedia (references omitted), and I would recommend you click on it to learn “more” about the city, incl. lots of pictures.
Ephesus—or rather: its ruins—are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015, and if you’re considering a visit, here is its official website, appropriately entitled “Visit Ephesus”.
Finally, “much more” information may be obtained at this travel blog.
Mary’s House in Ephesus
As it happens, Ephesus is very important for Christianity, and since Erich Sonntag was a deeply faithful man, it’s hardly surprising that there are several postcards that reflect these sentiments. I shall reproduce them here and save the equally awesome images of some of the main sights for another posting.
The location itself, a shrine, has its own history (and Wikipedia entry), and this is what it looks from the outside:
Inside, an altar with a statue of the Virgin Mary is found:
And here’s a close-up of the statue:
Oh my goodness....thank you so much.
Any idea about a timeframe for those postcards?