Ephesus

Here are some pictures from Ephesus. It was really hot the day we visited. I didn’t think I could sweat so much or so well…

Greek writing outside the main amphitheater

The amphitheater from afar

From the top of the amphitheater. Off in the distance is the sea. Ephesus used to be on the water, but it has receded since then

Another shot of the theater

Underneath the theater

Ancient columns

One of my favorite things was walking on the road. It made me feel like I had some tangible link

to the past - walking a marble road in an ancient city.

The are ruins of what was once houses for the rich. Some of the paintings are still intact.

A shot down the path

A different, smaller amphitheater

Bull-headed statues outside of the smaller amphitheater

Matt made the comment that this is what one’s view would have been from Ephesus. 

I thought Ephesus was until Matt and I spend 45 min to an hour in the front seat of a minibus with the sun beating down on us. By the end, I don’t think our thumbs would have been up had I taken a picture.

Well, we’re flying back tomorrow. Thanks for following some of our trip through pictures. See you soon!

Selcuk (outside of Ephesus)

From Izmir, Matt and I took a bus to Kusadasi. From there, we took another bus back (yes, we passed the town we wanted to get to on the way there) to Selcuk. Selcuk is outside of Ephesus. Here are a few pictures from before we went to Ephesus.

St. John’s Basilica

(some believe that the apostle John is buried here)

Stones at St. John’s

Ruins at the basilica

More ruins

More ruins

Columns at the basilica

A shot from on top of the basilica

(Ephesus is on the short dried up hill in the background, the mosque is Isa Bey Mosque)

What’s left of the temple of Artemis

(one of the seven wonders of the ancient world)

From front to back: Temple of Artemis, Isa Bey Mosque, St. John’s Basilica, ancient fortress

Old Christian graffiti (I think)

These next couple of pictures are from Izmir. They are from the Church of Saint Polycarp. Matt and I tried to visit but they wouldn’t let us in.

Izmir (ancient Smyrna)

Here’s some pictures from Matt’s and my travels.

 

Izmir

The Agora

Ruins at the Agora

Stone at the Agora

Fortress above Izmir

Ruins at the ancient fortress

Matt walking on the fortress wall

More ruins at the fortress

Handmade bags at the fortress

 

Istanbul In Pictures

Here are some pictures I took around the city. Enjoy!

Boat on the Bosphorus

City Skyline

Ferry boat on the Bosphorus

Seagull

Sailboats on the Bosphorus

Leaving Kadikoy

Feet on the ferry

Ferry docked

Near the Kadikoy Iskelesi (boat docks)

On the ferry

Construction. It’s everywhere.

Cirigan Palace

Inside the ferry

Pigeons

Super pigeon

Besiktas Iskelesi

Besiktas Iskelesi from the ferry

Gemiciler (sailors)

Ship on the Bosphorus

Another skyline shot

Abnormally Normal

The reindeer is still on the door. 

The Christmas of 2005 I hung a little cork reindeer on the front of our apartment door. It’s still there. Walking up the stairs to the apartment, the little reindeer was the first thing that I saw that was exactly the same as I had left it. The inside of the apartment was the same: the same furniture, the same decorations and the same smells. 

The one big difference was the circle of people doing a Turkish dance. It was great to see good friends again, to reconnect and share stories. Coming back was a little different that I expected it to be. 

If you have ever lived somewhere, left and then gone back, you know that returning to a once familiar place is a unique experience. This wasn’t such a unique experience. 

Everything seems intensely normal in an abnormal sort of way. It’s as if I had never left. Time has had somewhat of an impact on this place that I left, but it is a very subtle difference. Some of the shops are the different (or gone completely), but that is normal here. Shops change constantly. That’s normal.

We’ll see how things progress down the road, but, for now, the reindeer is still on the door.

Quote of the day: “If you walk in the snow your footprints will look like a casket or a cardinal’s hat”

Back to the ‘Bul

Kim and I are hours away from flying across the Atlantic. Check back for updates and get your dose of tryptophan. 

Coming Soon…

102 days and counting.

Home?

I’m sitting on the ground in the apartment that I used to live in.

It’s almost right below the spot I would be sitting if our couch was still here. Our stuff is strewn about, reminding me that we have too much stuff. Most of it is packed away in storage already, the few odds and ends we have left will soon follow.

It’s a little darker in here, our standing lights are gone. Everything is in disarray. Everything but our coatrack, however. It’s still hanging above the usual pile of shoes - a monument to Kim’s and my first home together. The Imai’s.

It makes me sad to move. I really don’t like it. It’s not the apartment so much, the things in it, the complex or the rent price. It’s something somewhat intangible. There’s nothing wildly remarkable about this place. Yet, it is (or was, rather) home. I don’t think I’ve sensed home before quite as much. Being a single guy and not staying put is easy. Pulling shelves down that I hung on the wall of our apartment to make it inviting and homey is not easy.

It’s good to feel a little sad, I think. Being “home” is a good thing. Enjoying being home is a good thing. Liking coming home is a good thing. But it’s not the whole thing.

I’ve been trying to thank God for the home he allowed Kim and I to have here. I’m grateful for the ability we had to show hospitality. I grateful for the taste of home that God allowed us to have. 

“Now I know in part; then I shall know fully”

Link!

I’m linking my blog to my sandals groups page. If you go to Sandals, get on Sandals Groups. It’s cool.

On Modesty

I read this short article today on modesty. It briefly addresses the heart issues behind selecting clothes. I appreciated the article. I despise our society’s objectification of women as much as I despise my buying into it. I don’t want my students (or any other women for that matter) to buy into the lies. It’s a battle for both genders, but one that I believe is worth fighting.

[ht: girl talk]