The Ruins at Ephesus 2011

Closer look at the Library's facade.

The Library of Celsus, originally built ca. 125 AD in honor of an ancient Greek who served as governor of Roman Asia (105-107) in the Roman Empire. The library used to house nearly 12,000 scrolls, and faces the east so that reading rooms could make best use of morning light. (wikipedia)

Ancient Christian icthys, carved into a marble slab. According to creationtips.com, the word means fish in Greek, but the letters are also the initials of 5 Greek words that mean, "Jesus Christ Son of God Savior" (Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter).

Mama and Papa in our tour bus. This tour around Ephesus was one of the most interesting along the Mediterranean, especially for history lovers like us. 

A family picture outside Mother Mary's house on Mt. Koressos, near Ephesus. This was taken after hearing mass, concelebrated by Msgr. Text Legitimas, whose birthday is also on Dec 8.

Gladiator actors playing out what could have been a common scene during the Roman period.

Ancient Roman latrine.

The Odeon, 

What's left of the Temple of Hadrian. Hadrian was Roman emperor in 117 to 138 AD.

The terrace houses, which according to wikipedia, shows how the wealthy lived during the Roman period.

The road leading to the Library. Our guide said that Mother Mary and St. Paul had most probably walked these streets sometime in history. It took a while for me to process this, aka my mind was blown.

Our tour guide, a certified archaeologist, who is involved in the excavations in the area. Ephesus, which began in 10th century BC and abandoned in 15th century AD, is now an active excavation site and it is said only 15% of the ruins have been unearthed.  

My Tita Mimi with an ancient version of a Nike billboard. The stone carving is of  Nike (or Victoria in Roman), the winged goddess of victory and daughter of the Titan Pallas and the goddess Styx.