Day Five - Ephesus

One of our group commented at dinner this evening that today really seemed to be the start of a pilgrimage, and I think I can agree with her. Before today, most of our daily outings were to see places or objects of great historical or cultural significance, but without a direct connection to the reason for our pilgrimage, or any pilgrimage. This morning's visit to Patmos and this afternoon's visit to Ephesus most definitely were pilgrimages.

This afternoon, our cruise ship docked in the port of Kusadasi, where we met our local guide and driver for the bus ride to Ephesus. We first went to the top of Nightingale Mountain to visit the House of the Virgin Mary. According to tradition, Mary lived in Ephesus with John the Apostle after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension. A 19th century german nun and mystic, Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich, had a vision of the location of the house where Mary lived outside of Ephesus, and explorers later found a house exactly as she had seen. There is no concrete evidence that Mary lived here, but it is a beautiful tradition. The house itself is very small - two tiny rooms - and we were just able to walk through it. Since today is Sunday, it was a very busy day at the House of Mary, which was filled both with people from several cruise ships and people from Turkey on summer holiday. Most of our group was surprised to learn that Mary is also revered in Islam, and so many (at least half) of the people at the House of Mary today were Turkish Muslims. There was definitely an air of pilgrimage about the place, and it was a moving experience.

We then traveled by bus to the ancient city of Ephesus, the second largest ancient excavation site in Europe (after Pompeii in Italy). St. Paul spent around 3 years living and preaching in Ephesus, and the city became the recipient of one of his letters. Historically, Ephesus was one of the most important cities in the ancient world, home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (the Temple of Artemis) and the second capital of the Roman Empire at one time. The ruins of the city are magnificent. We were able to walk the very road that St. Paul walked - the paving stones of today are the same stones of the ancient city - and see the squares, markets, and theater that St. Paul would have frequented. The two best-preserved sites in Ephesus are the facade of the Temple of Celsus and the great Theater of Ephesus, which is spoken of in Acts 19. Upon reaching the Theater, we stopped to read selections from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. When St. Paul wrote his letters, there was usually only one copy, and very few people could read. So someone would read the letter aloud to the rest of the Christian community, either in small or large groups. It was quite a moving experience to read the very words that St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians while standing on the ground where he walked, in the shadow of the Theater which he lived near.

This evening, we celebrated Mass back on the cruise ship and especially honored Richard and Laverne Smith, two of our pilgrims, who today celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary. Dinner followed, and now we are getting ready to pack in preparation for leaving the ship in the morning. Tomorrow, Monday, we will spend part of the day in Athens before flying to Rome for five nights. As the sun set on the Aegean Sea this evening, we thank God for the blessings of this portion of the pilgrimage, especially today's moving visits to Patmos and Ephesus as we truly walked in the footsteps of the apostles.