Who has never dreamed of strolling through the streets of an ancient city?
Emerging from a beautiful mountainous green setting, Ephesus is a true open-air museum.
Founded by the Greeks in the 10th century BC.
BC under current Selçuk, the city shines for its commerce and its religious life concentrated around the temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Moved to the current site after the first siltation of its port in the 3rd century BC.
BC, Ephesus soon became the capital of the Roman province of Asia and reached its golden age in the 1st century BC.
JC, rivaling the ports of Alexandria and Rome.
The so-called “bank of Asia” then had more than 200,000 inhabitants and was adorned with prestigious monuments, temples, villas and streets, whose romantic ruins are today listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
But this exceptional archaeological site, one of the most important in Turkey, receives nearly 2 million visitors each year.
So you won't be alone there!
Can we still see the Artemision of Ephesus?
The surviving Temple of Artemision (or Temple of Artemis), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is approximately twice the size of the Parthenon of Athens, a modest archaeological site in Ephesus.
The monument was in fact destroyed in 263 AD.
BC by the Goths.
However, we can get an idea of the beauty of the monument in Istanbul's Miniatürk Park, where it has been recreated in miniature.
The largest amphitheater in the ancient world
The elegant Acadian way, which leads to the imposing theater leaning against the mountain.
Aygul Sarvarová
To avoid the crowds of cruise passengers stopping over, visit at opening time or at the end of the afternoon.
From the northern entrance, an avenue of pine trees leads to
the amphitheater
,
built under Lysimachus, one of the heirs of Alexander the Great, and then embellished under the Romans.
Leaning against the mountain and 38 m high and 145 m long, it accommodated 24,000 spectators for concerts, theatrical performances, sports competitions and gladiator fights, but also for philosophical, political and religious meetings.
Moreover, preaching Christianity after the death of Jesus, Saint-Paul started a riot there, like a plebiscite of the inhabitants to their tutelary goddess Artemis!
From the top of the 66 rows of stands, which always vibrate during contemporary theater and opera festivals, the view of the city is magnificent!
It also reveals the contours of its
ancient port
,
at the end of the elegant
Acadian Way
,
once lit at night between two flights of porticos housing shops.
Very active and a driving force behind the power of Ephesus, the port still suffered from progressive siltation which precipitated the abandonment of the city from the 4th century.
Today it is nothing more than a swamp, 5 km from the sea.
The Library of Celsus, an architectural masterpiece
The library of Celsus (background).
muratart
From the theater, the prestigious
Rue de Marbre
,
marked by Roman chariots and lined with a ruined colonnade, joins the sumptuous
library of
Celsus
.
Built in the 2nd century, its two-story facade is flanked by elegant columns, friezes and niches containing allegorical statues honoring Celsus, Roman governor.
With its 12,000 scrolls of manuscripts, it rivaled the great library of Alexandria!
Because Ephesus established itself very early as a major intellectual center of the Eastern Mediterranean, guided by great scholars like Heraclitus.
Opposite the library, the prestigious
rue des Courètes,
the flamboyant heart of the city, climbs to the top of the site.
Past the
brothel
and the astonishing
public latrines,
a row of seats with holes where these gentlemen discussed business and politics, the
temple of Hadrian
dazzles with its graceful columned facade, decorated with mythological reliefs.
Luxurious Roman houses
Patrician villas.
Gagarin Iuri
Then, suspended footbridges take us through several adjoining patrician villas, called
Terrace Houses
because they were built on different ground levels, after disbursement of the mountain.
Well preserved, they project us into the daily life of the Roman elite!
Each villa is organized around a peristyle patio, bringing light to the different rooms.
Comfortable, they had running water, a heating system and private latrines.
But above all we admire their rich decoration: omnipresent marbles, superb mosaic floors and wall frescoes recounting mythological episodes.
Dazzling!
Still going up the street, more prestigious monuments, such as this
two-story
Trajan fountain
,
the
Hercules gate
and its figure pillars, before reaching the
upper agora,
an immense commercial center and economic heart of the city, anchored on the top of the hill.
Now destroyed, it is flanked by a charming
opera house,
a small, intimate theater dedicated to the arts and local political life.
The Ephesus Museum
Established in the village of Selçuk, 3 km from the archaeological complex, this museum contains magnificent Greco-Roman artifacts unearthed
in situ.
Sublime marble statues which once adorned the city's fountains;
rich common, religious and decorative objects, coming from patrician houses;
model of the famous temple of Artemis, now disappeared, but associated with two rare statues of Artemis
of Ephesus
,
a curious “multi-mammary” goddess, absolute symbol of fertility.
Of all the temples of Artemis in the Mediterranean basin, that of Ephesus was the most famous, attracting crowds of pilgrims and stimulating an intense local religious life.
Later, the city also played a key role in the expansion of Christianity.
Because Christian tradition says that Saint Paul founded one of the seven churches of the Apocalypse there.
And that the Virgin ended her days in a modest house near Ephesus, after having been taken there by Saint John, himself head of the local Church.
Then the two great councils which were held here in 431 and 449, made Ephesus one of the main dioceses with Jerusalem and Antioch.
Should you visit Selçuk?
The ruins of the Saint John Basilica.
nejdetduzen - stock.adobe.com
The tomb of Saint John would also be located under the
basilica of Saint John
(4th-6th centuries), perched on one of the hills of Selçuk and whose ruins are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, just like the
house of the Virgin Mary.
Surrounded by green hills, Selçuk is an old village with an authentic atmosphere, which offers the most curious to explore some picturesque streets with old houses, its
Ayasuluk fortress,
of Byzantine origin and surrounding the Saint John basilica, its
Isa Bey mosque
from the 14th century, of Seljuk influence…
Go
The main gateway to Turkey,
Istanbul
airport is served by numerous regular flights from France.
From there, daily connections with
Izmir
airport
, located 70 km north of Ephesus, then rent a car to reach
Selçuk,
the small town on which the archaeological site of Ephesus depends, 3 km away.
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