An Unexpected Experience

Ephesus - As a Christian, I was anticipating that Ephesus would be one of the highlights of my trip. I was surprised to find this was not the case, but my experience there was a mixed one. When we visited the site, I was first struck by the contrast between this excavation and previous archaeological sites. The increase in visitors was surprising. Clearly the site itself was not what drew most of the crowds to Ephesus but instead the religious significance it held for different Christian denominations. It was a tangible picture of the dramatic effect an ideology has on people's actions.

It was quite an experience to see the dedication some of the religious groups had to two sites near Ephesus. Our tour guide took us to the House of the Virgin, purportedly the last residence of the mother of Jesus. The site was treated with reverence and its discovery was back-dropped by a miraculous vision. But the actual structure was more than six centuries older than Mary! While the foundations of the building may have dated from the first century, I found the quantity and dedication of visitors to the building to be saddening. Likewise, we learned from our tour guide that Mary's Church, where it is believed the fourth ecumenical council was held may not actually be the correct spot. According to archeologists working on the site, who have since been removed, the building most likely dates from a time period after the date of the council.