Marble and more marble

I promised you a city of marble and here you go. Ephesus, Turkey. Apparently, when Rome conquered Greece and Turkey, they devastated Ephesus but ended up rebuilding it. All in marble. Completely in marble.

We pulled into the port of Kusadasi, Turkey and traveled to Ephesus which is 12 miles away. Ephesus was once a city port but silt began pour into the bay and the land became swampy. Because the passageway to the sea became blocked and disease was rampant due to the swampy land, the city was abandoned and moved closer ot the water. Earthquakes and other forces of nature have lay the city in ruins. Given only 18% is excavated (about 1 square mile), you get a feel for how large and beautiful this city was in its prime.

When the Apostle Paul visited Ephesus, it had about 250,000 to 500,000 people. The amphitheatre that Paul spoke in has been excavated and what a treat. The Apostle Paul stood in front of the Ephesians and shared the gospel. It landed him in jail for 18 months in Ephesus. Interestingly, most of Ephesus became Christians over the years, and signs of their faith was evident through carvings in the marble streets. The Greek symbol of Jesus (a spoked wheel) was found all over the streets carved into the marble.

By the end of the day, I was dragging. I had caught a chest cold so my energy level was not its normal level. I was thrilled when we were able to head back to Kusadasi so we could get some painting in.

It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the port, but we found this great seaside restaurant that welcomed us in to paint. So we painted, drank some wine and had the best lamb chops I have ever had. Despite my cold, I was able to get a couple of paintings done of the boats that were floating nearby. It was almost dark by the time I got my next painting going. thus a night painting. Loved the shape of the boats and the contrast of the light shape against the dark shape.

Next stop, Bodrum, Turkey-my favorite port.