Mediterranean Iconic Shores Ocean Cruise

Day 8: Thursday, November 06, 2025 - Ephesus, Turkey

The day's statistics:
-  Weather: upper 40s, overcast
-  Steps: Linda: 10,381; Steve: 12,127

The alarm was set for 6:30 to make sure we weren't rushed.
After our World Café breakfast routine, we returned to the cabin, brushed, grabbed the requisite items for our excursion - Ancient Ephesus - and headed out for an 8:15 departure.
We started on the pier.

Our guide was Oz.
On the way to our destination, we learned some things aobut Ephesus.
In addition to trying to teach us a couple common words: hello, yes, no, and thank you; he told us about the weather and that it was hot in the summer; and that there are only 100,000 residence during the winter but jumps to over one million during the summer.
We boarded the buses and headed into the hills.







The bus arrived near the entrance to the site. Around the roadway and near the entryway were a number of shops selling souvenirs. And... genuine fake watches.

After rolling through the turnstile, we net near the 3D map of the city and were pointed out the route we were taking and some of the history of the city.

Displayed out of order a little, on the other side of the "street" were more ruins - that were believe to be old residents.

The first area visited was the Roman Baths.


The baths were adjacent to the first agora (market) - for the state - as well as the Bouleuterion (not an ampetheater, but a meeting "hall" for meetings with politicians that could hold about 1,400 people), and other structures.






Some of the stones that we walked on were a little challenging. While it is true that the landscape may have been impacted / altered by time, it wasn't THAT much and we had difficulty walking - imagining what it would be like in leather sandal.






Cats. There are a lot of cats about. But they are treated well as residence put out bowls of food and water for them. But they are also spayed, so they don't proliferate. They just aren't euthanized.


Continuing on, the arch at the right end of the first shot is the same arch we saw above from the other side.





This is a relief of Nike.

The story we were told was that the Nike sneaker company was looking for an idea for a logo, and a woman named Carolyn Davidson came up with the idea based on / inspired by the curve on the statue, as shown in the overlay here with a side-by-side for comparison.

And then we moved on we came across more ruins. I know, right?!!?


We began to move on and into the next agora: the public one.
The pictures are generally top to bottom, but also left and right from the perspective of the arch.







One area had an original mosaic on the entryway.



The exact business that was conducted at each shop isn't exactly known, but there is obvious evidence that there were residents above the shops, and or some of the shops were two story.








Then we came across the public bathroom.
This is how it was: no modesty walls here. I'm sure it smelled lovely. Supposedly, the slaves would go here first to warm up the seats before their owners arrived. Also, there was a band that played in order to provide "alternative sounds".


And then a little further on.




At the bottom of the hill we came across the pièce de résistance: the Celsus Library.
The library is about 1,900 years old, and once held 12,000 scrolls.


Inside the library.



And the statues in the alcoves on the front.




Etched into the marble almost at the top step was this menorah-like carving.

I did the best I could to take a selfie.

After 10 minutes of free time - primarily so we could explore the library - we gathered by the archway to head out of this area.

On the other side of the gate we arrived at the last agora: the commercial one.
Along one walkway - on the right when passing through the gate - was a long series of stores.


The perimeter of the field had a number of ruins.




As we moved on to the next area, we came across a cat - as we have elsewhere, having explained how they are treated. However, this cat is different. His name is Garfield. Garfield of Ephesus, to be precise. And he actually has an Instragram® (Insta, if you prefer) account too. His handle is Garfield_of_Ephesus. Mm hmm.

We entered a plaza with a large quantity of marble on the ground.
Oz pointed out that etched into one of the stones was a pizza looking symbol, and then he told us what it meant. It was a way to indicate that this is where it is OK to observe Christianity without actually saying so.

But there is more to this symbol too.
The design is made up of four letters (the colors have no meaning, just used to show the letters): I (blue, Jesus Christ), X (green, God), O (mauve, Son), and Y (orange, Savior) - making up the stigmata shape.

There was another marble etching that Oz pointed out. This was essentially the one immediately above, but with an additional circle, and connecting arches. Here's the original design.

The mauve inner circle is the outer circle of the previous design. The outer red circle has been added, as well as the arcs in light seafoam.

Then the mauve inner circle is removed, and the segments connected with yellow lines, and the middles filled with yellow too.

The reason of this exercise is to show how the basis for the modern day cross came about.
And then we moved on.
We turned to behold the massive amphitheater.
The sun was in a horrible spot for us to get a decent shot at this time of day. The cranes didn't do the view any good either...


And continuing on.



There was a collection of pillars that had writing on them. The writing is no longer discernable because the written text language changed so much over time that it was no longer readable.

After our nearly two hour visit to the ruins, we were given a little free time at the shops at the exit.
Shortly thereafter, we boarded the bus and headed out.
We had to drive past some more ruins too.

As we proceeded back through the city (and elsewhere), we saw a number of these devices. With 300-plus days of sunshine in the region, it is no wonder that there are solar water heaters all over the country.










We stopped in town and visited another (to us, as not everyone was in Cappadocia) carpet manufacturer.
We began upstairs and were given another (see the comment above) silk spinning demonstration.
Admittedly, the sales push wasn't quite as aggresive here as it was at the first location. The roll-out showroom presentation was pretty much the same as the first location too.




We were - I think - permitted to take photos of the carpets. Even if we weren't I did anyway...



As we had no interest in buying a carpet, we casually roamed the facility - that also had a jewelry shop on the first floor - before heading out to the bus.

The tour was just a handful of blocks away from the port.
Oz told us we were free to stay in town and continue to tour on our own, or to head back to the ship. We chose the latter, and bid Oz "güle güle", and headed to the ship.
We showed our room keys to get past security, then started a maze walk past a whole bunch of shops.
Someone may have said "that's a funky looking jacket" within ear-shot of a salesman. And that salesman may have dragged us into the store pronouncing he was in charge and can get us a great deal. We may have been seated in comfy chairs and may have been given glasses of white wine. Then the real guy in charge then may have picked a number of different jackets off the rack for Linda to try on - each fitting perfectly. However, the very first one (not the one in the window) Linda tried on she may or may not have liked the most. After a half-hour push, and some significant negotiations, a jacket may or may not have been purchased for less than one-quarter of the starting price.
Just before getting on the ship, we saw this fort across the inlet.

After stopping by the cabin to drop off our excursion related items - camera, VOX - we stopped by the World Café for lunch.
Linda had a croissandwich with some salad; and I had chicken cordon bleú with mushrooms and carrots. Of course I returned to the buffet for more or something else, but I just didn't take a picture of all of it.


I visited the desserts, and brought back a small fruit tart for Linda (about the size of a US half dollar), and I had a chocolate mousse cup and a small slice of a cake. Probably. (I didn't get any pictures of the dessert nor did I take any notes about it either.)
Our route from the World Café took us past the pool, which had the roof closed.

This afternoon was spent mostly in the lounge, relaxing and playing cards, both Dominion and Pinochle.
While we were there, I got a couple shots of the port before the ship departed - which also happened while we were up there.

Not before too long, it was time for dinner already.
Tonight was the first night of our specialty dining as we had a reservation in Manfredi's, the Italian specialty restaurant. When the reservations were made, the earliest table that was available was at 6:30 - which was just fine - and at a table for six - which was also fine. This was a closer proximity to what we usually have on the rivers as those seatings were usually at 7:00 and at a table for six too.
We sat with Rudy and Tom from SC, and Karen and Scott from Costa Rica.
The menu is fixed, though there is a pasta of the day, and a fish of the day.

Much like everywhere else on the ship (except the Chef's Table), you can eat however much you want just by getting more at the buffet or ordering more off the menu. At Manfredi's, you can order as much as you want, but essentially the menu is designed to provide up to five courses. Off the primary menu, there is antipasti (appetizers), zuppe (soup), primi piatti (first course), and secondi piatti (second course).
Linda had the Insulata Caprese, and the Ravioli Freschi alla Caprese e Pesto al Basilico (though because she only had two courses, they served five ravioli instead of three).

I had the Fritto Misto Amalfitano (crispy shrimp and calamari), Linguini ai Frutti di Mare, and Brodetto all'Anconetana. Yes, the second and third courses look VERY similar. I like seafood... But I will admit that having to deal with the langoustine was a little too messy and a little too much work for the "reward".



There was a separate small menu that listed the few desserts that were available, though I didn't get a picture of it like I try to do.
Linda had the Mille-Feuille (vanilla mascapone between layers of puff pastry), and I had the Tiramisu Classico.


The meal was a two-hour production. We chatted with our tablemates for a little too, and then headed to the atrium for a little music - the ladies were in red tonight - and a litle more wine.

Under the grand staircase is design with what I thought were rocks, but I think they are different material. When walking up the staircase, at least for the first few steps, the design shows through.

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