Sunday, April 10, 2005

History rises from Turkish ruins

"History rises from Turkish ruins
Rome, Greece, St. John, Virgin Mary all tied to Ephesus
By Betsa Marsh
Enquirer contributor

From the top of the Street of Curetes, named for a college of priests, it's easy to imagine some of the 250,000 toga-clad citizens of Ephesus crowding the streets. You can still see ruts from chariot wheels scored into the stone.
Photos by Betsa Marsh
For more information on Turkey: www.tourismturkey.org.
The colossal ruins of Ephesus, Turkey, once the mighty Roman capital of Asia, are famous for grand temples and a 25,000-seat amphitheater. Yet it's the small things that make the Ephesians come alive to me.
I spot the secret emblems that brave Christians carved into the marble walkways; Christians were fed to the animals in the arena until the fourth century. Climbing down the grand staircase of the Library of Celsus, I see a menorah a Jew scratched into the marble step. "

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