The city of Ephesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Selcuk in western Turkey. Of Greek and Roman origin, the port city was founded in the 10th century BC and flourished as a commercial hub between east and west and as the capital of Roman Asia Minor.
The city housed the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, alongside iconic ruins like the Library of Celsus and the 25,000-seat Great Theatre. Ephesus also served as an early Christian centre, associated with St. Paul.
Over the last two thousand years, the coastline has extended a staggering 2 km out to sea through a combination of river silting and earthquakes. As a result, the harbour city was abandoned in the 1400s and its materials were cannibalised to build a new nearby hilltop city fortress.
Ephesus was rediscovered in 1863 by British architect and engineer John Turtle Wood. After six years, the ruins of the Temple of Artemis were also found under six metres of silt. To date, only around 20 per cent of the site has been uncovered, leaving plenty of scope for discoveries by future generations.
A site loved by Sarah and Mia.
Photos: CM, October ’26.
Bouleuterion, meeting place of the city councilBouleuterionBouleuterionBoulteuterionBouleuterion Bouleuterion Bouleuterion State Agora, hosted official and public meetings and an open-air space for teaching Monument to Mercury – god of commerce and communicationMemmius Monument, once hosted a statue of the dictator and general Lucius Cornelius Sulla. His army defeated a local protagonist king, Mithridates VI of PontusNike, goddess of victory holding out a laurel wreathHercules, the part human/part god mythical hero, wearing a lion skinGame board carved into marble steps Public toiletsPublic toiletsThe Library of Celsus adorning statues of the Four Virtues (wisdom, bravery, knowledge and thought)Gate of HadrianLibrary of CelsusLibrary of CelsusLibrary of Celsus Stone pipe blocksCommercial Agora The Great Theatre of Ephesus, seating 25,000 spectators it hosted theatrical performances, religious and philosophical discussions, political assemblies and, later, gladiator and animal fights. (Contrary to cinematic representation, gladiators were deliberately beefed up in order to protect their organs and muscles from permanent damage)Great TheatreGreat Theatre Ruins of the Temple of Artemis, on its original site, discovered in the late 1800s and reconstructed in the 1970s
