Ephesus travel tips

Travellers with plane tickets to Turkey should make sure they arrange to see the majestic ancient Roman city of Ephesus near the Aegean coast south of Istanbul.

Pictured below is the great Theatre of Ephesus with the Marble Road in the foreground.

The uppermost row of the horseshoe cavea, which has a shape of 220 degrees, is 30 metres above the orchestra in the Theatre of Ephesus.

Ephesus requires at least half a day of sightseeing and summer tourists should try to begin at dawn as the heat is oppressive by midday.

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Myth has it that Ephesus (pron. Efes) was originally founded in Turkey by the Amazon female warriors.

In reality, Ephesus was founded by the Greeks in the 11th or 10th Century BC.

Ephesus had its origins in the Bronze Age and was once called Ionia, a flourishing centre of culture renowned for its wealth and beauty during the Greek Empire.

The city changed its location several times for different reasons and at the time of Christ reigned as the second largest city in the Roman Empire.

The city once flourished as a commercial and export centre for Asia and had a population of 250,000.

Ephesus stood at the mouth of the Cayster River in Turkey on a gulf of the Aegean Sea.

However, silt from the Cayster River eventually closed its harbour and the city is now several kilometres from the sea. Close to the ancient harbour is an amphitheatre that can seat 25,000 people for the occasional concerts that are still held there.

Also on the lower site near the harbour is the Library of Celsus, which is the most impressive ruin at Ephesus. The library was originally built from 110AD to 135AD and housed as many as 15,000 scrolls. The library facade has been restored to its original condition.

Other ruins include the Odeon, a small theatre built around 150AD which hosted concerts and plays for up to 2000 people. One of the more beautiful ruins of Ephesus is the Temple of Hadrian on Curettes Way, built in the second century. Inside the temple is a relief of Medusa and a frieze depicting gods and other mythological figures.

Ephesus was also a cult centre for thousands of pilgrims who worshipped the female, first Cybele and then Artemis.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and for many it is a highlight of their travel in Turkey, even though only a few of the original columns remain.

The ruins of Ephesus are the best preserved of any Roman site in the Mediterranean and create what is probably the most realistic surviving example of life in a Roman city.

Ephesus has been excavated since the 19th century and most of its stunning ruins are from the later Roman period.

However, only about 15% of the city has been excavated, indicating there'll be plenty of new sights for tourists to explore in coming years.

Of all the ancient cities you might see during your travel in Turkey, Ephesus is the most noble and best preserved. There is probably nowhere else in the world you can so completely experience the true sense of living within an ancient Roman metropolis.

Scholars believe the Virgin Mary lived her final years in Ephesus, along with St John.

Another biblical visitor for three years was St Paul, who was eventually expelled from the city because his teachings of Christ threatened the income of silversmiths who made icons of Artemis.

The silversmiths led their revolt from the Theatre of Ephesus pictured above, which is where St Paul regularly preached.

Also pictured above leading away from the theatre is what's called the Marble Road, which was originally part of a processional thoroughfare leading to the Temple of Artemis.

Marble Road still bears the pits of wheeled vehicles, as well as what's believed to be the first etched graffiti advertisement for a brothel.

Travel to Ephesus is usually via the town of Selcuk, which is just three kilometres away and about an hour's drive south of the city of Izmir.

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