Cruising in Europe: Basilica of St. John in Ephesus, Turkey

I know bloggers like to apologize when they take a hiatus from writing, but what about when they take a break from a particular series? I’m so embarrassed to say that it’s been almost two years since I last wrote about this particular cruise with you, and a whopping three years since I actually went on the cruise. I was doing so well, too. Oh well. Better late than never, right?

I never, ever, ever though I’d visit Asia. It’s just one of those places I never thought would be attainable, but then we found a cruise that stopped there, and we said, “why not?” I only saw a small portion of this country, but I was blown away by it and really, really enjoyed my time there.

We had an amazing tour guide, Gül (pronounced: “Gool,” like “cool”, but with a “G”), and I owe a lot to liking the area to her. Up until that point, all of my travels have been to places where I felt relatively comfortable and safe, and I think it’s because I knew the language, or could at least fake it really well. Turkey was completely out of my comfort zone, to be totally honest, but Gül was amazing at making us feel like we belonged there. She explained things so well and was patient with us, taking the time to show us little details wherever we were, and never letting us feel rushed or overwhelmed.

I apologize that this won’t be the best travel recap, because I honestly don’t remember all of those details anymore—this trip was three years ago, after all.

We started our Turkish adventure at the Basilica of St. John in Ephesus, Turkey. This is where John the Apostle (as in: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) and was buried. The mere fact that I was standing where a disciple of Jesus stood blew my mind.

It was just an unbelievable experience to walk around the ruins and imagine what it was like back in the day. I’m always amazed at the intricate details that went go into building something back then. 

And just for scale, so you can see what I mean by the architecture, look at this next picture. My mom is standing in the middle. It was so large, and I’m impressed at how much of it is still standing after all these years.

I think part of me didn’t realize—before I visited Turkey—just how much history the country held. This was just the tip of the iceberg for my adventure in Ephesus, and I’m excited to share more of it in the next few weeks.

Catch up on the other posts from this cruise series:
Venice, Italy
Bari, Italy
Corfu, Greece
Santorini, Greece
A Santorini Sunset