Ancient Ephesus Surprised Me

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Hey friend, it's Lunell. I'm here in the ancient city of Ephesus taking a tour of where the Apostle Paul had his scuffle over in Acts chapter 19. And this was the excursion that I chose because it's near and dear to my heart. And there was a lot of stuff in this excursion. I'm here on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas. And it was out of Rome. Well, out of Silvcia, which is a little port city out of Rome. And this excursion was like three and a half hours long. So, of course, I can't bring you all the things that I saw, but I walked the streets of where Paul walked.

[00:00:41]And so, in this video, I'm going to give you a few clips of what I saw, what we were the information that we were given about little just little tidbits of things that I found was interesting. Not everything was interesting, but I'm going to show you all the stuff that I thought was the most interesting. So, this right here is the theater here in Ephesus, and we'll talk more about that in the video. So, if you are interested in seeing just the highlights of what this tour is all about, that's what this video is about. I'm here living my best life and get getting ready to head back to Odyssey of the Seas. So, if you want to see more about that cruise ship, the different places that we're going, and the things that you can see on this ship, make sure you subscribe to the channel and stay tuned because I'm going to bring you all that content. Let's go take a look at ancient Ephesus.

[00:01:38]I took this tour because I wanted to walk in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul and I wanted to see the visible ruins that are still around today. What I got was a whole lot more. And in this video, I'm going to share the things that I found to be the most interesting and impactful. I originally intended to share direct clips from my ancient Ephesus excursion on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas, but unfortunately, the tour guide is also an instructor and he wasn't comfortable with his lectures being used publicly. So, today you get me. I hope that's okay. Here are 10 things that I found very fascinating during my tour of ancient Ephesus.

[00:02:20]Number one actually has nothing to do with Ephesus. The tour started with facts about Kushidasi and Turkey in general. There were little tidbits of information here and there about things like population growth and historical facts. I am not going to bore you with those. You can look those up on your own time if you want. But the thing, the first thing that completely threw me off was when the guide said that Istanbul is the only city in the world that sits on two continents.

[00:02:51]I was so confused because in my mind that couldn't possibly be. I already knew that Turkey was entirely in Europe.

[00:02:59]So I thought, friend, apparently I've been misunderstanding Asia my whole life. I went back to my cabin and looked it up myself cuz I need to make sure.

[00:03:10]And sure enough, oh my goodness, Europe and Asia are commonly divided by the Euro mountains, the Caucasus mountains, and the Caspian Sea. Everything east and south of that land mass is generally considered Asia, while the areas north and west are considered Europe. Mind blown. I'm still in all of that. And guess what? Istanbul sits right on that dividing line. I am 55 years old and I am just finding out that most of Russia is actually in Asia. So yes, before we even got to Ephesus, my mind was already blown. Let's move on to number two.

[00:03:53]One of the most surprising things that I learned is that there were actually five different cities of Ephesus throughout history. I always thought it was just one. The ruins that we visited were the third version was from the third city of Ephesus. It was rebuilt during the time of um Alexander the Great between two mountain ranges. And here's the wild part. Only about 1/8 of the city has been excavated. The other 7/8 are still buried underground. Think about that for a second.

[00:04:27]What we're seeing today is only a small fraction of what once existed.

[00:04:35]Number three, ancient Ephesus was basically politics on steroids. The upper part across the way was considered sort of like their Senate where their senators were and then the area that we're standing in was more like a house of representative. and they kind of combined them as far as making rules and it was kind of like our US modern-day Congress. Apparently, politicians have always been politicians.

[00:05:02]One of our first stops was at this theater called an odon, which was later converted into a senate house that could hold around 1,400 people. The guy pointed out two passes ways called vom vomittoriums.

[00:05:17]And no, they're not for vomiting.

[00:05:20]what they are what they were um is architectural exits where crowds would pour in and out. According to the guide, this was also where political whispering and lobbying would happen before the votes. In other words, ancient politicians probably wasn't any different than the modern politicians today. Bribes, influences, backroom conversations, political strategy.

[00:05:42]Apparently, some things never change.

[00:05:45]Number four, one of the strangest things that we learned had absolutely nothing to do with the Bible or the ruins. Near the side of the Odon, the guide pointed out a Loria plant that ancient Ephesians supposedly used as a form of birth control. Yes, birth control. According to the guide, women would make an extract from the plant and they would give it to their husbands before bedtime and some kind of tea or some kind of drink that they had. He joked that either it made the men immediately fall asleep or it affected their verility.

[00:06:19]Either way, the end result was apparently fewer babies. Now, friend, I don't have any idea whether this is actually true, whether it actually worked or not scientifically, or if this was just folklore, but I thought it was fascinating that people from thousands of years ago were practicing forms of birth control.

[00:06:41]Number five, the plumbing system in Ephesus completely blew my mind. The guide was showing us sections of ancient water pipes that are nearly 2,000 years old. And apparently Ephesus even had public officials whose job was just to walk around and they were checking the pipelines with wooden hammers. What they would do was tap the pipes and they could supposedly hear the difference between the pipes that were empty, the ones that were damaged, or the ones that were clogged. If they found a problem, the damaged sections would be broken apart and repaired. Some of the pieces that we saw had actually been restored, and you can still see finger marks in the ancient mortar. The guide was explaining that the mortar mixture included things like marble dust, volcanic ash, water, and lime. And one of the craziest things was you could still see the thick calcium buildup inside the pipes from the hard water in Ephesus. Yes, hard water with all that stuff inside of it. And just think about what their drinking water was like. Ew.

[00:07:42]But think about this for a second. These mineral deposits have been sitting inside those pipes since the second century. Meanwhile, half the stuff in your apartment back in the US barely lasts 10 years.

[00:07:58]Number six, walking where the Apostle Paul actually walked was the most powerful part of this entire experience for me. It was the thing I was most looking forward to. During the tour, I asked the um tour guide. I asked him, "Are these is this where Paul would have been walking? Is is this the actual place where Paul would have been at when um he was in Ephesus?" And he said, "Yes, the marble streets that we were walking on, the marketplaces that we're that we saw, the gathering areas, these are the same places where the Apostle Paul would have taught and ministered during his years in Ephesus." And subtly for me, the Bible stopped feeling distant and symbolic and it started feeling real. One of the most fascinating moments for me was realizing that the massive theater in this Ephesus is likely the very place described in Acts chapter 19 when a riot broke out over Paul's teachings. This is where crowds would have been shouting greatest Artemis of the Ephesians.

[00:09:02]Standing there with confirmation that this wasn't just a Bible story, but an actual historical location honestly gave me chills. Whether you're a Christian or not, there's something powerful about standing in a place connected to events that people have read about for thousands of years.

[00:09:21]Number seven, the people of Ephesus were far more advanced than I expected. One thing that really surprised me was learning that some people in the ancient world already understood that the earth was round. That's crazy. the I just don't picture that they you know because we hear the stories about people saying that the earth was flat back in the day.

[00:09:43]So for me to hear that it was a possibility that they I I don't know if they knew the earth was round but anyway it was just fascinating to me because the guide had pointed out that this globe symbol was found in the ruins and he was explaining that it represented the world which honestly caught me off guard. I tend to think that the ancient civilizations were primitive compared to modern society, especially all the science technology that we have today.

[00:10:14]But walking through Ephesus completely challenged that assumption. These people had politics, they had public debates, they had plumbing systems, they had libraries and medicine and birth control methods, philosophy and massive architecture thousands of years ago. We even talked about the philosopher Heracletus who famously said, "You cannot step into the same river twice."

[00:10:38]Meaning, life is always changing and moving forward. In other words, ancient people were out here deep thinking about life while I'm over here trying to figure out airline baggage policies.

[00:10:52]Number eight, one of the eeriest moments of the tour was when the guy pointed toward what is believed to have been an ancient prison area. And if you look there out in the distance, that is the prison that Paul was in when he was here in Ephesus.

[00:11:08]He said that Paul was imprisoned there.

[00:11:11]But after I went back and did my research and I thought about, you know, everything that I had learned, I personally couldn't find any clear biblical references um confirming that Paul was in prison in Ephesus, at least not the way that the scripture clearly describes imprisonments in places like Philippi. Maybe he was. I just didn't find it. Anyway, standing there, it was impossible not to think about the persecution early Christians faced during that time. And seeing these ruins in person made me realize that these weren't just stories floating around in scripture. These were real cities, real governments, real prisons, and real danger. It adds a completely different layer when you can physically stand in places connected to the biblical account.

[00:11:57]Number nine, the Library of Celsius was probably the most visually stunning place in all of this area here of Ephesus. And no, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Celsius temperature scale. And I asked about it because that's what I thought he had said.

[00:12:14]The library was actually named after a wealthy Roman senator named Celsius. And it was built by his son to honor him after his death. At its peak, it was one of the largest libraries in the Roman world, and it held thousands and thousands of scrolls. What made it especially unusual is that underneath the library was Sel's actual tomb and sarcophagus. So, imagine building a massive library and also burying your father underneath it. The guide explained that for a time people didn't realize what was below and they would throw trash and debris into the openings near the structure, which means people were accidentally tossing garbage on top of an ancient tomb for years.

[00:12:55]Eventually, the government found out and they sealed it off.

[00:13:01]Number 10. The marketplaces of Ephesus made me realize this wasn't some tiny ancient village. This was a massive international city. Ephesus actually had two separate what they call agoras, what we would call a marketplace. One was for government and public affairs and another one was dedicated to commercial trade. According to historians, the commercial agora alone may have had over around 250 indoor shops plus hundreds of additional vendor stalls. Think about it for a moment. Thousands of years ago, people were already shopping, negotiating, arguing over prices, networking, and trying to make money just like we do today. Goods from all over the ancient world would pass through Ephesus because it was a major port city. Walking through these ruins make me realize ancient civilizations were far more sophisticated, connected, and economically advanced than I ever imagined. Honestly, parts of Ephesus felt less like ancient ruins and more like walking through the remains of an ancient New York City.

[00:14:05]So yeah, ancient Ephesus ended up being far more impactful than I expected. What started out as a simple excursion turn into history, philosophy, politics, biblical connections, engineering, and honestly a few surprises that completely changed the way I think about the ancient world. And believe it or not, this was actually the only port stop where I got off the ship during my sailing on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas. And for me, it was absolutely worth it. I highly recommend this tour.

[00:14:34]If you like to see more from my first European cruise on Royal Caribbean, including my cabin tour, the chaotic embarcation process that I went through taking the train from Rome to Civotvecia, and more videos from around the ship, check out the playlist linked at the end of this video. Thanks so much for watching. Hope you have an amazing day and I hope to see you on the next cruise.