Ephesus is the first church in Revelation 2; it was the third we visited. It was an all day visit, followed by a drive to Denizli for the day at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Ephesus is well excavated at this point, although more is going on. The stadium/amphitheater where the riot took place in Acts 19 over the loss of business to the silver trade is being reconstructed, hence the cranes in the photos.
To know one is standing where Paul, Timothy, John, and perhaps Mary walked is pretty heady. Ephesus was originally on a coast but is now 5 kilometers inland, give or take, which led to its downfall over the centuries.
I call Ephesus the mother church because none of the other churches in Revealation 2 and 3 are mentioned as being started by Paul, but Paul was in Ephesus at least two years. The others were likely started as mission churches, along with Colosse, which is very near Laodicea.
I do not hold to the "churches represent eras of the church over the last two thousand years" theory. It just doesn't work for me once you get past Pergamum.
The Library of Celsus is prominent. It was the second or third largest (by number of volumes) in the ancient world. At a different site is the St. John's Basilica, which sits below a Crusader castle. A student of history has no reason to overlook Turkey.
Me from top of hotel in Kusadasi; Samos, Greece, in the background.
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