Ephesus and the Terrace Houses Almost Every Tour Skips

The single most photographed facade in Turkey is a library built as a tomb. Celsus Polemaeanus, Roman governor of Asia, is buried in a vault directly beneath the reading room his son built for him around AD 117, which is a striking way to be remembered and explains why the building faces east to catch the morning light. Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean, and the Library of Celsus is only the part that ends up on the postcards.

The City That Lost Its Sea

Ephesus was a port, and its wealth came from that. The Cayster river, which gave it access to the Aegean, also carried silt, and over centuries the harbour filled in faster than it could be dredged. The city is now some five kilometres inland. That slow strangulation, rather than any sack or catastrophe, is why a city of perhaps two hundred thousand people was gradually abandoned. It is also why so much survives: nobody built a modern city on top of it.

Ephesus was a major centre of the Roman province of Asia, and later a significant early Christian one. Paul spent around three years here and wrote to the Corinthians from the city; the Book of Revelation addresses it first among the seven churches; and the Third Ecumenical Council met here in AD 431.

What to See, in the Order That Works

The site runs downhill from the Upper (Magnesia) Gate to the Lower Gate. Enter at the top and walk down. Almost everyone does the reverse and climbs a hot marble street for no reason.

• The Odeon and Upper Agora, the civic and administrative quarter.
• Curetes Street, the marble spine of the city, lined with column bases, fountains and the Temple of Hadrian.
• The Terrace Houses, which need a separate ticket and are the single most under-visited highlight in Turkey. These are the homes of the wealthy, preserved with wall paintings and mosaic floors in situ under a modern roof, arranged over several terraces with walkways threading between them. Most tour groups skip them to save time and money. Do not.
• The Library of Celsus, reconstructed from its fallen elements in the 1970s, holding around 12,000 scrolls in its niches when it functioned.
• The Great Theatre, seating in the region of 25,000, where the silversmiths’ riot in Acts 19 took place.
• The Arcadian Way, running from the theatre to what was once the harbour, now a green plain.

The Wonder That Isn’t There

The Temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, four times the footprint of the Parthenon. What survives today is a single reassembled column standing in a marshy field on the way to Selçuk, often with a stork nesting on top. It is worth the ten-minute stop precisely because of the contrast: this was among the most celebrated buildings on earth, and it is now one column in a wet field. Many of its stones went into Hagia Sophia and the local basilica.

Nearby are the Basilica of St John, built by Justinian over the traditional burial site of the apostle, and the House of the Virgin Mary on Mt Koressos, a pilgrimage site visited by several popes.

Practical

• Base in Selçuk, three kilometres away, or Kuşadası if you want the coast. Ephesus is also the standard shore excursion from the Kuşadası cruise port, which is why late morning is the worst time to be there.
• Go at opening or in the last two hours. This is one of Turkey’s busiest sites and there is almost no shade on the marble streets.
• Budget three hours, or four with the Terrace Houses.
• Buy the Terrace Houses ticket separately at the entrance. It is the best value on the site.
• Ephesus was inscribed by UNESCO in 2015.

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Where to Stay

Selçuk is the practical base and has the Ephesus Archaeological Museum; Kuşadası and Şirince are the alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & Further Reading

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Ephesus
• Britannica — Ephesus