Miletus & Cute Sheep

Ancient Miletus. Many of the archaeological sites in Turkey are still used by shepherds and sheep.  This herd of sheep seemed almost planned for us.

Paul gave a speech in Miletus to the elders of the Ephesus church before leaving by ship for his last visit to Jerusalem (Acts 20: 17-38).

The site is now about 5 miles from the coast due to silting and upheaval from earthquakes over the centuries.

This site was a scramble through thistles/thorn trees/marshy areas/flies and sheep (including waste).   But lots of fun!

The remains of harbor buildings are still evident. The Roman baths along with a sculpture of the Greek god of rivers, Meandros, are still somewhat intact (Miletus lies at the mouth of the Meander River). The stadium is well preserved and has carvings on a few of the seats - sort of a “reserved“ seating - including an inscription that means “place of the Jews and God fearers”. The stadium stage has a deep area that looks like an orchestra pit but was actually filled with water so that gladiators could act out ship battles.