Didim Live - Sightseeing Ephesus (Efes)

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Sightseeing - Ephesus (Efes)

Definition of Ephesus

An ancient city of Greek Asia Minor in present-day western Turkey. Its temple, dedicated to Artemis, or in Roman times Diana, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Saint Paul visited the city on his missionary journeys.

Ephesus History

In the year of 10 BC, Androclos, the son of King of Athens-Kodros, searched a location for establishing a site. Androclos belonged to Akhas, was running from the Dor invasion in Greece. He was leading one of the migration convoys. An Apollon oracle predicted that a fish and a boar would show the location of the new settlement. Days later, parallel to the oracle's prediction, while frying, a fish fell down from the pan, irritating a hiding boar behind the bushes. The feared boar escaped immediately. Androclos followed the boar and established the city of Ephesus, where he had killed the boar. When Androclos died in the wars with Carians, a mausoleum was built to the memory of the first king of Ephesus. The mausoleum is considered to be placed around "The Gate of Magnesia".

Ephesus was ruled by the Lydian king, Kreisos, in mid 6BC. The city reached the "Golden Age" and became a good model to the Antic World in culture and art, as well. As the detailed excavations haven't been completed yet, apart from the Artemis, the remains of that age haven't been revealed. Later, Ephesus was dominated by the Persians. As Ephesians did not join the "Ionian Rebellion" against Persians, the city was saved from destruction. The rebellion resulted in the loss of Persian.

Alexander the Great won Persians and the Ionian cities became independent in the year 334. During the times of Alexander the Great, Ephesus was in great prosperity, until the arrival of Alexander the Great. Ephesus was consisted of two governing systems, democratic and oligarchic. But the oligarchic system was violated with the arrival of a new ruler, and a rebellion existed in Ephesus.

In 356BC, the Temple of Artemis was burned and destroyed by the supporters of oligarchy. It is believed that a madman known as Herostratus set the fire to the temple in order to make his name immortal on the same night in Macedonia as Alexander the Great was born. As the temple became incapable of being used, Alexander the Great proposed to repair it. But the Ephesians delicately refused and said "A God can not build a temple for another God" as a reason for the refusal. So, Alexander whom was a proud God gave some special privileges to the city. An Ephesian architect named Dinocrates restored the Temple of Artemis.

After the death of Alexander the Great, Ephesus was ruled by his general Lysimakhos in 287 BC. Lysimakhos decided to change the prior location of Ephesus to the further west. Due to the destruction of the port by the alluviums the inhabitants were forced to settle in the new place named "Arsinoeina", which was the name of Lysimakhos' wife. The city was surrounded by wide stone walls which measured 10 metres in height and 9 meters in length. And "Arsinoeina" was changed into "Ephesus" once again, to be forgotten eternally.

In 190BC Ephesus was controlled by the Romans. The city was given to the Bergamian kings for some time. With the death of King Attalos III in 133BC, the city was re-ruled by the Romans. Between the years 1-4 AD, Ephesus reached its height and was notorious for its wealth and luxury, especially during the reign of Augustus. During this period, the population of Ephesus increased to 225.000 people and the city became the capital of the new Asia. By cleaning the river Caystros from the alluviums, which was a great trade port of Ephesus and a gateway to foreign countries, the prosperity of the city was enriched and continued to thrive with commerce and culture. The city was constructed and was added new models to the former magnificence of Ephesus. The "Celsus Library" clearly exemplifies the perfecta of the era, with the delicate details of the construction.

Ephesus has played significant roles during these dates and in the early Christianity as well. The prestige of Ephesus increased with the arrival of Saint Paul, for spreading Christianity to the Ephesians that worshiped Artemis. St. Paul and the disciplines of Christianity were strictly refused by the elderly Ephesians. Christianity was accepted by most of the population around Ephesus with the long and tiring struggles of St. Paul. During this time period St. Paul had sent one of his most famous letters to the church in Ephesus. Furthermore, St Jean and Virgin Mary visited Ephesus and Virgin Mary settled down the Mount Bulbul, located close to Ephesus, around the years of 42 AD.

Ephesus became a Seljukian state in the year 1090 and for a certain time period was held by the Byzantine. In 1307 the Seljukians controlled the city again. However, years later, the River Caystros was silted up, leaving the site far inland. And unfortunately, due to the development of the ports of Izmir and Kusadasi in sea-trade the city of Ephesus lost its significance.

Excavations in Ephesus

Great effort is and has been devoted to excavating this almost 5000-year-old site, and the uncovering the history of the ages through its ruins.

The British engineer J.T. Wood directed the first archaeological investigations from 1869 onward, under the auspices of the British Museum. From 1904 onward D.G. Hogarth continued the excavations, and Wood's quest for the Temple of Artemis.

The excavations of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, which continue to this day, began in 1895 under Otto Benndorf. He received permission to excavate from the Ottoman Sultan, and contributed greatly in revealing a good part of Ephesus in the course of his research. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the government transferred everything to state ownership. Except for the two world wars, the Austrian excavations kept on and have continued uninterrupted since 1954.

Since 1954, excavations and restorations have been carried out not only by the Austrian Institute, but also by the archaeologists of the Ephesus Museum. In their intensive work since 1954, they have uncovered and restored important structures. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism accelerated this cooperative work in 1979 through its program "Selcuk-Ephesus Excavations, Restorations, and Systematization of its Environs."

In recent years, new perspective informs the project. The main emphasis no longer lays so much on the excavation of further buildings and public spaces, but more on the care and preservation of buildings that have already been discovered. As a result, the project has restored important structures and monuments in the past fifteen years.

In the course of the excavations, which have now lasted over a century, only ten percent of the ancient city of Ephesus has been unearthed. Excavations will go on for many years along with restoration works.

About Touring Ephesus

Ephesus is the best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean, and among the best places in the world enabling one to genuinely feel the atmosphere of Roman times.

When starting your tour from the lower entrance of the archaeological site of Ephesus you will first pass through a beautiful road flanked by rows of centenary eucalyptus trees.

Soon after, you will find yourself on the Marble Sacred Street connecting the Great Theatre with the Library of Celsus, the facade of which has been fully restored. To the right of the Library is the Commercial Agora, connected to the Library Square by the Gate of Augustus. From the Library heading eastwards is the Curetes Street, also paved entirely with marble.

Along the Curetes Street you will notice that it had magnificent side walks for pedestrians paved with mosaics. On the right hand side there are narrow little streets heading to a private hill of houses, which are excavated and partially restored. On the left side of the Street there were official monuments (i.e. Temple of Hadrian), fountains and other fascinating buildings like the baths, the brothel and the public toilets. To reach them you'll have to take a small picturesque street.

Continuing up the Curetes Street you will reach, almost on the top, the Domitian Square on the right. Continuing further east you'll find yourself in the State Agora which is a large rectangular esplanade (Definition of esplanade: A flat open stretch of pavement or grass, especially one designed as a promenade along a shore.) During ancient times the esplanade would have been full of life with little shops and people everywhere. Around the State Agora were the most important buildings of the city: the city hall, fountains, temples, baths, and as you go further along the Odeon.

How To Go To Ephesus

Didim is 81 kilometres (50 miles), 1 hour 30 minutes from Selcuk. From Selcuk to Ephesus it is a 3 kilometre (2 mile) and 10 minute journey by minibus to Ephesus. During the high season there are local coaches that go to Selcuk and there are travel agencies that have tours to Ephesus quite frequently.

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