Selçuk Ephesus

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Selçuk Ephesus

Friday 28 January 2022

Afew miles outside of Selçuk is the ancient city of Ephesus. One of the largest Roman archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean. Visitors can walk up Harbor street from the old harbour to the Great Theatre and try to imagine a twenty-four thousand capacity crowd sitting on the marble seats entertained by performers on the stage.

Then, perhaps, meander through the shops at the commercial agora before exiting through the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithradates (Gate of Augustus) and passing through the courtyard of the Libray of Celsus before heading up Curetes Street, passed the posh terraced houses to the public toilets nearby.

These places are there to be seen today and are a marvellous sight to see. But it is the history of this great city that makes it such a fascinating place and the people who are associated with it.

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great, the Greek King of Macedon, entered Ephesus in triumph after defeating the Persians.

Between 263 and 197 BC, the Egyptian fleet of Pharaoh Ptolemy III swept the coast of Asia Minor, and Ephesus came under Egyptian rule.

In 129 BC, Ephesus became part of the Roman Republic. Apart from a brief spell between 88 to 86 BC, when the King of Pontus orchestrated the massacre of eighty thousand Romans (Asiatic Vespers), Ephesus remained part of the Republic until it was dissolved in 27 BC.

Mark Antony and Cleopatra were welcomed by Ephesus in 33 BC when Antony gathered his fleet of ships before the battle of Actium. Three years later, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in Alexandria after being defeated by Octavius at the battle.

From 47 AD, the apostle John lived in Ephesus and was believed by some to have travelled there with the Virgin Mary. Both remained there until their deaths. John wrote his Gospel and letters at Ephesus and Revelation at Pátmos after being exiled there by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus for eight years before being pardoned by Emperor Nerva, who succeeded Domitianus.

From 52–54 AD, the apostle Paul lived in Ephesus and is believed to have written First Corinthians there.

Susan and I decided that we would walk to Ephesus from Selçuk. The hotel and Tourist Information centre staff couldn’t understand why anyone would want to walk so far, but to us, it made perfect sense.

Our route would take us past the Temple of Artemis on the way to Ephesus and the Ephesus Museum on the way back. As we left Selçuk, one of the many stray dogs decided to join us and stayed with us all the way to Ephesus. These dogs don’t seem to want food; they seem to want some company or to play for a while. Our four-legged companion eventually found a hole in a fence that it could not resist and was last seen bounding across a restricted part of the ancient city.

After a long day at Ephesus followed by the Musem, we eventually returned to Selçuk. We had walked ten miles and were famished. We were delighted when we found the pizza and pide restaurant Efes Pidecisi. The staff were charming and made us fresh vegetarian pizza. Probably the best pizza we have ever had!

Overlooking the commercial agora of Ephesus

Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates at Ephesus

Decorated walls in the terraced houses at Ephesus

Mosaic floors in the terraced houses at Ephesus

Relief of winged Nike, the Greek goddess of Victory in Ephesus.

Probably the best pizza ever from Efes Pidecisi

David Welch – View Profile

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