"Diamonds in the Rough" a Selcuk Travel Page by nicolaitan

The drab and surprisingly unattractive town of Selcuk is inextricably associated with its most famous touristic site, the ruins of Ephesus, but is also home to several other features of great historic and religious significance. Over 1.5 million visitors per year invade this village of 25000, staying locally or arriving on tour busses or by private guide from Izmir 75 km north or from the cruise ship and resort city of Kusadasi 15 km to the west. Current plans call for an increase in local hotel facilities by a factor of three to over 30000 rooms with spas and golf courses. It features an art and tourism festival annually in May and a Camel-Wrestling festival each January.

Among the many ruling nations to control Ephesus-Selcuk over several centuries were the Selcuk Turks who gained control of the city in 1304 naming the city Ayusuluk. Under their rule, Ephesus again became a city of major commercial and religious importance.
The Selcuks ruled until the 15th Century when the Ottoman Turks displaced them. Under the Ottoman rule, the city went into a long decline as the harbor became unusable. Poverty and malaria steadily decreased the population and by the mid-19th Century the area was essentially deserted and overgrown.
Resurgance began in the 1860's when British archaeologists discovered the remains of the Temple of Artemis. Austrian archaologist beginning in the 1890's unearthed the first ruins of Ephesus which even today is no more than 25% uncovered. With the certifcation of the House of Mary by the Vatican and the remarkable Roman ruins, Selcuk was reborn by the early 20th Century and has prospered as a touristic center. In 1912, the city was renamed Selcuk in memory of the rulers under whom the city had flourished centuries earlier.