day V: of ephesus and meryemana

On the 5th day of our journey across Turkey, we went to the great ruins of Ephesus. I bought some postcards while in Troy and I was excited because I saw this place of attraction in the postcards and there was some really beautiful architecture.

#10: GREAT RUINS OF EPHESUS

The pillars I saw at the entrance

This site is so huge, we didn't have the time to walk the entire site. There are much more we didn't see.

Some creatures I saw at the walls

Much of the city is in ruins, by earthquakes and wars. But there are still some interesting parts left.

At the smaller scale amphitheatre

Spotted a very funny tourist doing funny poses for the cameras. LOL~

Curacles Street

The roads are all made of marble but to prevent people from slipping during rain back then, they cut lines onto the marbles to make them less smooth.

Latrines

Ephesus had their own advanced water system. This is what their public toilets look like back then. Pretty cool huh?

I like this accidental shot

I wanted to take a shot but realized the camera was against the sunlight, hence the dark photo. But somehow, I like the silhouette of the ruins and the bright sky as the background.

Just do it!

I don't know if this is true or not - My tour leader said this is how they got the idea for Nike symbol. Haha~

Temple of Hadrian

There are some wonderful and beautiful design on the walls of this temple. Mostly Greek gods and warriors.

Great Library of Celsus

Finally, the place I wanted to view. I spend so much time here, I took so many photos. This place is so lovely. It reminded me of St. Paul's at Macao but this one was just so amazingly beautiful it took my breath away.

Magnificent view

I wished this place was not in ruins. I would so love to see this place when it was in its original splendour and all.

#11: VIRGIN MARY'S COTTAGE

The small cottage opened for public view

After going to few shops for Turkish products, we arrived in the town called Selchuk. Here, we visited Virgin Mary's cottage or Meryemana as they called in Turkish. We can still see some old bricks from the original house together with new bricks to preserve this cottage.

Virgin Mary or Meryemana

It was said that Virgin Mary spend her last years here, taken care by John, hiding from the Roman soldiers. We are not allowed to take photos of the inside, but we can light candles inside.

We can put messages here

Outside, there is a huge wall where visitors leave their blessings and messages to their beloved.

One of the message I photographed

Looks unflattering right? LOL~

It is not actually paper or plastic, but napkin paper so from far it looks unflattering...haha:)