As I looked through my photos from last year, I realized I completely forgot to publish a series of stories from last summer’s European trip. So in the next few weeks, I will be doing some wanderlusting and sharing some incredible locales from my family’s adventure.
This unforgettable journey is means the world to me, as it was the last time I saw my family right before I moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco. See, we are all scattered around the world, and since I live on the West Coast, I miss a lot of the gatherings. My family likes doing it big, so every few years we all get together and travel — the only word I can use to describe this is: Magical, because I am so blessed to have such an active and adventurous clan.
One of the stops our Celebrity Cruise ship made was Kusadasi, Turkey. This port is near the ancient city of Ephesus and we had the opportunity to visit incredible ruins as well as the Artemis Temple and the home of the Virgin Mary.
Though Ephesus was a thriving society over three thousand of years ago under the Anatolian Greek rule, the ruins serve as a glimpse of the life that was. Remnants of public bathhouses, temples and even the Celsus Library are still ‘somewhat’ standing.
Not far from Ephesus sits the Temple of Artemis, built in 356 BC to pay homage to the goddess of fertility and the hunt. What makes this landmark even more special is that it’s one of the original seven wonders of the world.
So many wonders, so little time! There are so many places I look forward to visiting like beaches, jungles (whether their canopies are made of leaves or steel, glass, and concrete)…but there is something so special about an archeological site. I often wonder about their daily lives, how they perceived their experiences, and, mostly, how these places have managed to bear the wounds and scars of wars of conquest and liberation, natural disasters, and drastic societal and cultural changes, the questions on the great test of time.
The builders of the Temple of Artemis truly honored their goddess with one of the most beautiful temples of the western world, and still, she stands: proud, though weatherworn, beautiful, though she shows her age, a testament to the creativity of humans.
Ryzenberg On, is Signing Off
Celsus Library and Medical School in Ephesus
Ephesus ruins in Turkey
Artemis Temple
