Ephesus library

Ephesus was one of the largest cities in antiquity, and its stunning library facade can still provoke astonishment. Sadly, not a single one of the texts once stored here survived. Interestingly, the library faced the brothel (!), a true diversity of pursuits. One of the most haunting things we have found at these sites is ancient graffiti -- even in the super-serious walls of the Aya Sofya, there are, dug into the marble, ancient doodles, some quite intricate (like a ship with oars or the leavings of one marauding Viking who took the time to leave his name). Here, Frances and Ray showed tremendous stamina, avoiding getting "ruined out" by climbing the chunks of masonry, peeking into the caves and generally using every sense to explore...