Even with over 80% of the ancient city yet to uncover, Ephesus is one of the most extensively excavated Greco-Roman sites in the world. It’s located in western Anatolia (Asian Turkey) about 5 miles in from the Aegean coast.
The town of Seljuk is about 2 miles away and the larger port town of Kusadasi is 12 miles away. The closest airport is 25 miles away at Izmir
The area was continuously settled by various groups from the 7th millennium BCE, but urban development began with migrations of Ionian Greeks in the 1oth century BCE. By the Roman period, Ephesus was the 2nd largest port in the eastern Mediterranean, after Alexandria, Egypt. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world but only the foundation remains today.
If you have seen pictures of Ephesus, chances are they’re of the elegant Library of Celsus. In its day, the 2nd-century CE, it was the 3rd largest library in the world, after Alexandria and Pergamum. The library was destroyed by earthquakes in the 3rd century and lay in total ruin until the 1970s, when the façade was reconstructed. Beyond the library, marble roads lead to temples, a beautiful theater, an odeon, houses, mosaic floors, mosaic streets, public toilets, fountains, monumental gates and more.
For Christians, Ephesus is an important site. Paul the Evangelist spent several years preaching there and wrote many of his epistles to other churches from Ephesus. Eventually, he was driven out by a mob of craftsmen who feared his message would impact their sales of Artemis figurines. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians was written to the church at Ephesus, although probably by a disciple and not Paul himself. That church was one of the 7 addressed in the Book of Revelation. The Apostle John is also believed to have lived in Ephesus and his tomb and the remains of a basilica dedicated to him are there. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is believed to have spent her final years near Ephesus and her house can be visited on a shady hill a few miles from the archaeological site.
Check out two of our Turkey tours that visit Ephesus: Classical Turkey and In the Footsteps of Paul.
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