"Ephesus" a Ephesus Travel Page by buraque

The town, located on the western edge of the Aegean Region of Turkey lies 73 kilometers south of Izmir on the Izmir-Aydin highway and 9 km.east of Pamucak, which is on the seashore and has clean natural sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Selcuk has an area of 295 square kilometers. In the region Mediterranean climate is dominant. The cultivation of cotton, olives, grapes, citrus fruits is the driving forces in the economy in addition to the tourism industry. The town can house about 10.000 visitors.
The town can be reached by air via the Adnan Menderes Airport at Izmir or by the Selcuk - Efes Airfield. The ports at Kusadasi and Izmir faciliate sea travel. Because of it is location on a major highway, the bus connections are frequent and direct. Selcuk has rail connections to the neighbouring cities and towns. Selcuk, the beginning of whose history dates back to 6000 B.C., is an important center for three religions, all of which spread throughout the world.
It was first a center of pagan worship in the polytheist world of antiquity. The Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the world is a good example of this. Christianity was disseminated from Selcuk by St. John and his disciples. The Church of Virgin Mary and the tomb of St.John are important buildings from this period.
The Isa Bey Mosque is a significant example of architecture from the Islamic era. The famous Camel Wrestling Festival takes place on the third weekend of January each year.

Ephesus, one of the most famous cities in antiquity , was founded on the harbour where the Kucuk Menderes(Kaistros) River flows into. Selcuk grew to be an important city because of its fertile fields well-suited to agriculture, because of its location at the center of an important commercial crossroads with connections to the east. And because it was a significant religious center both in the polytheist period and the Christian era. Many famous historical figures lived in Ephesus such as; Artemidorus, dream commentator poets such as Kallinos and Hipponax, the philosopher Heracleitus, the painter Parrhasius, the grammarian Zenodotos, the Physicians Soranus and Rufus. The artefacts recently found at the hoyuk (mounds) at Arvalya and Cukurici Mounds have revealed that the history of Ephesus dates back to 6000 B.C.The excavations carried out on Ayasuluk Hill reveal that the history of Ephesus goes back to 6.000 B.C.,the Chacolithic Period. Excavations at the Ayasuluk Hill brought to light a settlement from the Early Bronze Age. Thus ancient Ephesus was first located on the Ayasuluk Hill. It was first settled by Anatolian tribes and Hittites, for Ephesus is mentioned in the Hittite cuneiform tablets under the name of Apasas. The ancient geographers Strabo and Pausanias, the poet Kallinos, and the historian Herodotus claim that Ephesus was founded by Amazons and that the native tribes of the area of the area were the Carians and the Lelegians. Like colonists elsewhere in the Mediterranean basin, Androklos and his men arrived in Anatolia around 1050 B.C. and settled at Ephesus and its vicinity. Destroying the Temple of Artemis, the Cimmerians attacked this colony in the 7th century B.C. In the 560 B.C. under the sovereignty of Lydia the Ephesians began to inhabit in the area around the Temple of Artemis. The ancient city of Ephesus whose ruins visible today was established by Lysimachos, one of the generals of Alexander the Great,
THE HOUSE OF VIRGIN MARY
The House of Virgin Mary is settled on the peak of the Bulbul Dag? (Nightingale Mountain), 9 km away from Selcuk. According to the records of the Christian Council, Virgin Mary lived in this house until she died at the age of 64. It is widely believed that she left Jerusalem with St. John four or six years after the crucifixion of Jesus. John wrote in Bible that Jesus himself before crucifixion entrusted Virgin Mary to him. After Jesus' death Mother Mary and St.John According to legend, St.John came to Ephesus, St.John took Mary to a house he had built on Nightingale Mountain. This house where Mary is thought to have spent her last days was forgotten in time and fell to ruin. In the Middle Ages it was often claimed that the house was found but to no definite result.
In 1878 German nun Catherine Emmerich talked about the location of the house in a book by Clement Brentwood and interest was revived. In 1891 the Lazarus priest Eugene Pauline, who was head of Izmir College, sent a group under priest Young to find out if what was being claimed was true. The group explored the mountains south of Ephesus and came upon the house now known as the House of Mary.
Catherine Emmerich (1771-1824) had never left her hometown in all her life, was in a trance when making her explanation of the house's location. After this discovery, Eugene Pauline printed a number of things to increase interest in the find. The event was heard around the world. Many religious investigators shared the same conclusion. Izmir Patriarch Monsignor Tomin visited the site and gave permission for conducting services on the site in 1892. Pope John XXIII proclaimed the house a pilgrimage site, quieting all controversy over the site. The visits which Popes Paul VI (1967) and John Paul II (1979) paid to this building strengthened the belief that Virgin Mary lived and died at Ephesus.

THE AQUADUCTS
The aqueducts, which have been used to carry water to the Ayasuluk Hill from the water sources on the slopes of lying to the east of Ephesus, have been preserved from the Byzantine period. The aqueducts reach a height of fifteen meters.
GATE OF PERSECUTION
This gate forms the entrance to the walls of the Byzantine fortification, and is decorated with reliefs depicting scenes of the pursuit from the life of Greek hero Achilleus. It probably dates to the 6th or 7th century A.D.
THE St.JOHN CHURCH
This church was built over the tomb of St. John. The presently-visible church is cruciform and roofed with six massive domes, and was built by the Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. The capitals facing the nave (central aisle) bear their monograms.

THE CASTLE
The castle, located on the highest point of the Ayasuluk Hill and was constructed by Aydinogullari (The Aydin Emirate).It has 15 towers, a mosque and cisterns, and is entered through the gate on the west.
THE EPHESUS MUSEUM
Founded in 1929 it is one of the finest museums in Turkey which houses the artifacts discovered at the ancient site of Ephesus and its vicinity. The present museum building was in 1964 and underwent restorations in 1992. The objects on display dated to all periods of history: Mycenaean, Archaic, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Turkish
THE SAADET HATUN BATH (BATH MUSEUM)
This structure, built in the 16th century and later restorated, is located within the Ephesus Museum complex and is the first 'Bath Museum' in Turkey.
THE CAVE OF THE SEVEN SLEEPERS
During the reign of the Emperor Decius, Christians in Ephesus suffered from persecution because of their faith. Seven young Christians escaping from the cruelty of Decius took a shelter in a cave, which lies on the slope of Panayir Mountain. Falling into a deep sleep that lasted 200 years, they awoke in the reign of the Emperor Theodosus II, and saw that the Christianity had become the official religion. Because of this miraculous event, the seven people were considered to be sacred,, and were buried in the same grotto after their natural lives had passed. A church was built to mark the site.
THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS
Measuring 125 by 60 meters, the temple of Artemis is counted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The ancient author Pliny writes that the temple was destroyed and rebuilt seven times. The worship of Artemis is a continuation of the worship of the Anatolian mother goddess Kybele. The Lydian King Croesus donated columns carved with reliefs to the temple. One version of the temple was set on fire in 356 B.C. by a certain Herostratus, who wanted to make a name for himself in history. Although ancient writes claim that the name of Ephesus derives from an Amazon Queen's name, the archaeological finds reveals that The Carians and Lelegians, the native peoples of Anatolia, had settled here long before the Ionians' arrival. Ephesus was first established in 6000 B.C and grew up around the Temple of Artemis. The Ephesians started to move to the new city built by Lysimachos in the 3rd century B.C. The following is the list of the various ruins of Ephesus as they appear from the upper gate, which leads to the House of Virgin Mary, to the lower gate.
THE MAGNESIAN GATE
This is the only city gate that survives up to the present day. There is not much thing to see today.
THE EAST GYMNASIUM
The East Gymnasium, one of the monumental structures of Ephesus, the gymnasium, is a complex that includes baths, palaestrae (exercise fields), study halls, and imperial cult rooms. According to an inscription it was built by famous sophist Flavius Damianus and his wife Vedia Phaedrina.
THE VARIUS BATHS
The Varius Baths were constructed in the 1st century B.C. During the excavations, parts of a bath and a roman latrine came to light. These structures next to the bath might belong to a gymnasium that may have been part of the complex.