Over its long and varied history Ephesus has been home to numerous civilizations, from its role in founding the Ancient Greek Ionian League in tenth century BCE, to its prominence second only to Constantinople fourteen hundred years later under the Byzantium Empire, Ephesus was long important to the region while it was a port city.
Such accessibility to ships could only have been attractive to the Apostle Paul when he travelled with his congregation to Ephesus in 50 CE during his second missionary journey. Despite being established under a Roman Empire …

After the destruction caused by the Goths in 263 CE the city lay in ruin for over a hundred years. Not until the reign of emperor Constantine I in 395 would Ephesus see any effort to rebuild, but from this point would enjoy numerous renovations and additions under successive emperors and even rise to prominence as the second most important city in all the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople.
Unfortunately after the earthquake in 614 partially destroyed the city again, Ephesus slid further into decline as the harbor filled with silt and …

Incorporation of Ephesus into the Roman Republic proved tumultuous as taxes rose and the treasures of the city were systematically plundered – a practice that would contribute to the Vespers of 88 BCE, an infamous episode responsible for starting the First Mithridatic War, when the king of Pontus, Mithridates the Great, used local discontent with the Romans and their taxes, to orchestrate the execution of some 80’000 Roman and Italian citizens (effectively anyone who spoke with a Latin accent) across Asia Minor.
Having heard word of the massacre at Chios by …

While the more common founding of the Doric colony of Byzantium by the Greek city-state of Megara in 660 BCE is typically cited as the original establishment of Istanbul, recent construction in the undersea Marmaray railway has unearthed evidence of a Neolithic settlement dating back to as early as the seventh millennium BCE.
Believed to have been built over seven hills – each bearing a historic mosque – Istanbul has been referred to as the City of Seven Hills, and was even called New Rome by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. …

While many go to the Ayasofya to take in its majesty, some go with the sole purpose of sticking their finger in the building’s “weeping column” in hopes that their prayer for healing or other such miracles might be heard.

Taken from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus it now stands in the northern corner of the museum. Made of white marble with a bronze belt that circles the lower part of the column, a hole toward the base and the water which drops out of it are associated with …

While Ephesus’ history as a city is usually traced back to its founding as one of the twelve ancient Greek cities which comprised the Ionian League (circa 10th century BCE), its first inhabitance actually dates back much further to the Neolithic Age – some time around 6000 BCE – after nearby excavations discovered the artificial mounds (hoyuk’s) of Aryalya and Cukurici.
Even five centuries earlier in the Bronze Age before the arrival of the ancient Greeks, a burial ground from the Mycenaean era (circa 15th century BCE) was discovered close to …

During our visit to Istanbul this past November, we had the opportunity to visit the largest and oldest of the cisterns that lie beneath the city. As Nic mentions in the video, the camera was having a lot of trouble focusing in such lowlight, but is good at showing you just how many fish seem to be living down there, and how ethereal the columns really do look. The video’s short as a result is just over 40 seconds.

Originally constructed between the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Early Roman Age as a commercial, legal, and artistic centre, the Basilica derives its name from the large public square it was constructed beneath.
The Stoa Basilica stood on the First Hill of Constantinople, and was said to contain gardens enclosed by a colonnade that faced the Hagia Sophia, before later being converted into a cistern – reportedly requiring the manpower of some 7000 slaves. This allowed for the buildings of the First Hill – including the Topkapi Palace – to …

During our visit to Istanbul this past November, we had the opportunity to visit one of the oldest mosques in the city.
The video’s about three and a half minutes long, and gives you an idea of what the interior of the Blue Mosque looks like, and the impression it left on Nicole. If you’re interested in what the last of the great imperial mosques erected by the Ottomans looks like, and the sheer magnitude of that undertaking given it was built over five hundred years ago, it’s definitely worth a …

The design of this mosque must be accredited to the culmination of over two centuries worth of Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church architecture. Merging elements from the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic design it is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical period with construction being completed in June 1616.
However some of the glass panes used within the mosque for the dome windows were received as a gift from the Signoria of Venice. And in present day all of the coloured glass has been replaced by …