19 May 2011

I had a very interesting shower experience this evening. The shower curtain was about one-third the actual length of the shower itself; the shower-head was unattached and most definitely had a mind of its own. I think more of the bathroom got wet than myself. It was festive. I was also attacked by a spider. It will be a shower I’ll never forget.

After another delightful breakfast of food I didn’t want to eat, we drove to the ancient city of Ephesus, the Roman capitol of Asian Minor. Ephesus remains to be the best preserved ancient city in the world and is one of the Seven Churches of the apocalypse. During the Golden Age of the Roman Empire, Ephesus was an important commercial and cultural center. The protector of the city was Artemis (Diana), the Goddess whose temple was one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” Today, the majority of the ruins are beautifully restored, and one can visit a complete city including the Arcadian Way, the Great Theater (which holds up to 125,000 people), the Marble Road, the Celsius Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Trojan Fountain, and the Gymnasium. The Ephesians were still worshipping Artemis when the Apostle Paul came to the city to establish the Church of Christ. It was in the Grand Theater that Paul preached the gospel, only to receive angry shouts of “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” multiple times from the Ephesian audience. This was my second trip to Ephesus. It was just as good, if not better, as the first time.

Miletus came next. Outside the bounds of the city was the sound of many baby birds. The trees were covered in birds’ nests! There was even one on the wall of the women’s W.C. Each time the mother bird swooped in, we all ducked for cover; it was hilarious but fun! When you first arrive at the ruins, the magnificent theater of the city appears in sight at first. The theater had been constructed during the Hellenistic period, and it acquired its present characteristics by means of the annexes made during the Roman period. The walls of the front façade of the theater are 140 meters long and 30 meters high and are an interesting example of stone workmanship. The theater was large enough to hold 24,000, but a fortress was built upon it during the Byzantine period seizing its capacity down to 15,000 people. The building and temple ruins of Miletus were amazing to wander through when I was there with my family two years ago. This year, however, the entire area was covered by a large swamp. We scampered across stones to make it to a temple where we discussed the role of Miletus in Paul’s journey through Asia Minor. Miletus was the site of a Regional Conference, one held for the leaders of the church. Brother Muhlestein shared this brief history inside an ancient temple. Upon finishing, we took group photos among the columns and headed back to the bus.

We stayed overnight in Pamukkale, but first we had to get there. The bus ride was awful, but a swimming pool was there to greet us at the hotel. It was nice to swim with everyone and just sit and talk! I love swimming. We also played Phase 10, and I got my butt kicked! I swear that I have the worst luck when it comes to games. It’s ridiculous. The most eventful part of my evening was the 5.9 earthquake. I was sitting on my bed reading at 11:15p at night when my bed started shaking! At first, I wondered if there was a heffalump or a woozel underneath my bed trying to steal my honey…but then I looked over at my water bottle and realized that I was in an earthquake! Everyone stormed into the halls to discuss the earthquake. It was awesome.