The day began a bit later than some of the others, which meant that we were able to have breakfast in the main dining room, which was delicious! After this, we met in the Royal Theater to be dismissed into our tour groups for our one day in Turkey.
Our first stop on the tour was Miletus, the ruins an ancient town mentioned in scripture. Here, we got to go inside the ruins of a huge Roman-style theater, which was so cool! There were so many tunnels that ran through it, which Kate and I particularly enjoyed. Next, we traveled to the ruins of a temple of Artemis, the main goddess worshipped by the citizens of Ephesus back in Biblical times, and its surrounding areas including a library. This area was very cool as well.
After this, we arrived in the ruins of Ephesus, where we know Paul spent over two years teaching. We saw the remains of the ancient road leading to the famous library ruins, which were so elaborate and impressive! This was my favorite part of Ephesus. We also saw an intricate archway which marked the entrance into the temple of Hadrian. Finally, we saw the gigantic Roman theater where the riot in Ephesus in Acts 19 took place. We didn’t get to go inside this one, but it was still incredibly impressive, and it was especially amazing to be at one of the sites where we’re confident that a scriptural account took place!
After our Ephesus tour, we drove to the resort area of Kusadasi to stop for lunch, which was served in a buffet style and was great! After this, we drove to the bazaar in Kusadasi and entered one of the shops to see a presentation of how Turkish rugs are made. I very much enjoyed the presentation! The aggressive marketing afterwards, however, led us to leave quickly afterwards. This is part of the culture in Turkey, but it’s definitely not something I’m used to.
We then boarded the ship once again to get cleaned up for dinner in the main dining room. This time, I ordered a a ricotta and spinach quiche, a filet mignon with a baked potato and vegetables, and Italian chocolate hazelnut cake, all of which were wonderful! After this, we went to the headliner show for the evening called “Music in Pictures,” and the singers and dancers were very talented! We then went back to the room to turn in for the night and prepare for the following day in Mykonos, Greece.
