The second stop on our first day tour in Kusadasi, Turkey was the trading center of Miletus; about 20 minutes drive from our first stop at Priene.  It is said that 75 colonies were founded by the merchants of Miletus.  The city was the capital of the Ionian civilization.  It was taken by the Persians in 494 BC and recovered by Alexander the Great.

The Cretes who established the city built a huge theater, evidence of their prosperity.  It was later adapted by the Romans as an amphitheater for their contests and games.  It is the largest in Asia Minor and unlike most theaters which were built out of a hollow in a hillside, the Miletus theater was created in an open field.

The Apostle Paul visited the city twice.  It was amazing to be in Malta where Paul was once shipwrecked and now to be in a city where the great apostle walked and preached was really incredible.  The harbour at Miletus that was the source of its trade and prosperity silted shut some time after the 8th- century and the city faded into oblivion.

Miletus was rediscovered in the late 1800s.  The city streets were built on a grid system designed by the architect Hippodamos which is a model for many of our modern-day cities.  Less than 5% of Priene and Miletus have been excavated and studied.          Reserved seats.  Just etch your name into the stone.         Now that is some amazing stone cutting and construction.  One of the ship’s photography staff. She was on several tours with us                                    Tiers and tiers and tiers of seats.                    Must be my seat.  My birthday is in November.                      A couple of interesting lizards basking in the sun.               The view out the back from the top row of seats.                        Spring flowers were beginning to bloom. Another bus ride took us to the final stop of the day, the massive Temple of Apollo at Didyma – considered to be one of the great monuments of antiquity.