When you want to go on holiday in Turkey, but you are not sure where you want to go to, Ephesus could be a great option for you! Ephesus used to be a port and was a big commercial centre in Turkey. It has a strategic location, which is why it was so important during ancient times and it has very fertile ground as well. It also used to be the centre of Christianity in the early beginnings, but now it is a spot in Turkey where many tourists go to every year. You can find Ephesus about 30 km from Kusadasi in a small town called Selcuk. It’s even listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List!

What is Ephesus exactly?

When you go to visit Ephesus you can see the archaeological remains of the city it used to be. Here you can get a great view of how the architecture and culture used to be in this city. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city and was even the greatest seaport of its region! It was located near a spot where the Greek Artemis was worshipped and around 550 B.C. they built a large temple in Ephesus. The man who had captured the city, Croesus, even contributed as well.

Ephesus used to be attacked by the Lydians as well, but in order to defend themselves, they tied a rope from The Temple of Artemis, but this didn’t work. Croesus of Lydia captured Ephesus and led them into the ‘Golden Age’. It was full of culture and art as well. Croesus also respected Artemis so much that he donated 36 sculptures to his temple. After being controlled by the Lydians, Ephesus was passed on to the Persian Empire. Although it endured many wars and fires, Ephesus survived and many remains of it can still be seen today.

What is so special about Ephesus?

Ephesus is an ancient city of which there are many, so why is Ephesus so special? Unlike other ancient cities, Ephesus existed for a very long time. Despite all of the wars, fires and earthquakes, Ephesus last from the 4^th century B.C. until the 15^th century A.D. This is longer than most other ancient cities. Ephesus is also older than other ruins you can visit. We believe there have been 5 cities in Ephesus and the first one dates back all the way to the 10^th century B.C. The Ephesus we can visit however is from the 4^th century B.C., which is still extremely old. When you look at the world history, Ephesus played an important part. Not only did it have visitors like Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, but it was also once the home of Virgin Mary for example and served as the capital city of Asia Minora Neokros two times! Ephesus also has better guides than most other ruins, the ruins are cheaper to see than others and the ruins are better, because you can even still see the interior of some of the greatest houses from back then. Book your trip in advance here.