Ephesus
Saturday, September 16, 2023
|
T |
he Celestial Cruise line took us from Mykonos Island in Greece to Turkey. I woke up feeling better with no more symptoms of pain throughout my body. I was determined to get ready for the trip to Ephesus to see Mother Mary’s house.
We have a new tour guide in Turkey named Can (pronounced John). He started making everyone feel comfortable the minute he held the microphone in the tour bus. He revealed funny things about himself and his wife by explaining how he ended up being 70 lbs heavier after he got married. He said that was the only way his wife will stop feeling jealous. He quipped in the end, “happy wife, happy life.”
Ephesus is the former site of the temple of Artemis, proclaimed as a pilgrimage site, and famous for its archaeological ruins. It is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Ephesus plays a vital role in the spread of Christianity through the preaching of St. Paul and St. John. Many believed that Ephesus is the place where Mary (Theotokos or God bearer) lived. During Jesus’ crucifixion, He entrusted Mary to John as his mother and of course, this is extended to all of humanity.
Mother Mary’s home at Ephesus is only 1 main room and at the center is a shrine. It is made of solid brick but it does not have partitions for bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms like we enjoy now. It is a small house. We were not allowed to take pictures inside so the best photo was the one displaying the shrine outside. I took a photo of that photo.
After the uplifting trip to Mother Mary’s home, we proceeded to the local school for Turkey’s craftsmanship at carpet weaving. The carpets were all beautiful. We were shown how the silk from the silkworm’s cocoon is farmed and harvested. It takes 300,000 cocoons to make 1 square foot of carpet. An elaborate hand woven carpet may take many years to complete depending on size and complexity of pattern. This arduous task requires skill, artistic vision, and patience. It also costs a lot of money to create from start to finish. One of the tour members bought one for EU 8000 and it will be shipped to the home within 6-8 weeks.
“A thing of beauty is joy forever.”
Comments