The Grotto of Paul and the Terrace houses of Ephesus

After our walk through Ephesus, Jim took us up a mountain side that overlooks Ephesus.  You see, apart from the Great Theatre, there is one more site related to the Apostle Paul here. It is the Grotto of Saint Paul which is located on the north slope of Panayir (Bülbüldag) mountain. There is a cave where one can see Christian frescoes and inscriptions that depict Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus and Thecla (a disciple).

View from beginning the climb up the mountain side.

Unfortunately, the Grotto of Paul is not generally open to the public but Jim was able to get special access for us.

                                                       Huff, huff, puff, puff

Ephesus 

 The harbour where Paul sailed into.  Today is mostly silted in and of course, not usable.

Tucked away in the mountain side is this cave.

 The caretaker unlocked the gate and let us in, a few at a time.

 Making a point.

 Heading back down.

 The next stop was the Terrace houses that give us information about family life during the Roman time period.  They were built according to the Hippodamian plan of the city, in which roads transected each other at right angels.

 These terrace houses are built against the mountainside opposite the Hadrian Temple that I posted about in the other blogpost.   They have been opened up to the public as a museum.

From the time of Augustus, these 6 residential dwelling units were the homes of wealthy Ephesians.  The oldest building dates to 1C BC and they were in use until 7C AD.  The roof of one house would form the terrace for the house above it.  They were decorated with beautiful frescoes and mosaics. The houses had luxurious bedrooms, bathrooms, triclinium (dining table with couches along three sides used in ancient Rome), and kitchens.

  They had interior courtyards in the center, with the ceiling open.  The rooms had no window, only illuminated with light coming from the open hall, so that most of the rooms were dim. 

   The excavations of the terrace houses started in 1960. 

Painstaking work!

The heating system of the terrace houses were the same as that in the Roman baths.

 Clay pipes beneath the floors and behind the walls carried hot air through the houses. 

The houses also had cold and hot water. 

In these homes, Gentiles would practice infanticide - abortion.  The babies would be flushed out pipes or put in dumps outside the city.  If the father didn't want a girl, he would just take the baby to get rid of her.  A child was not a part of the family until the family decided they wanted it.  If a child would get ill and they didn't want them, they could get rid of them.  There was no law about those things.

The Christians would take care of the abandoned babies/children.  People thought Christians to be rather odd.

They were mostly two-storied, although upper stores have collapsed over time. On the ground floor were the living and dining rooms opening to the hall, and upstairs there were bedrooms and guest rooms.

I found this place fascinating.  I wonder what it really was like living back then?  Jim joked that it was the lifestyle of the Rich and Famous - remember that tv show? 

These people were rich!  Wealthy!  And what does Paul keep saying in the book of Ephesians?  He emphasizes the riches of Christ!  That is the theme of  Ephesians.  The riches of  being in Christ.