Ephesus, with its inspiring vistas along colonnaded streets, possesses the strongest Roman character. The ruins allow us to visualize this vibrant metropolis’s grandeur and vitality; they show the citizens’ wealth and convey imperial ideals. Arches, which played no role in Greek architecture, span generous openings. Ornate and symbolic sculpture enriches many surfaces to proclaim Ephesian values and desires.
The Neolithic Era and the Bronze Age Ephesus lies only 500m. outside the eastern walls of the city. The recently excavated tell of Çukuriçi Höyük dates back to the seventh millennium BCE.
In the fifteenth century BCE, the fertile land near the Kaystros River’s mount, on the western edge of the Hittite Empire, attracted Minoan and Mycenean colonists. The Myceneans left evidence of their Bronze Age occupation on Ayasuluk Hill, to the North of the classical city. Following the collapse of both the Hittite and Mycenean cultures in about 1200 BCE, the Strabo as Carians and Lelegians lived in Ephesus.
Roman Era in Ephesus
After the Pergamon King Attalos III’s death, who willed his empire to Rome, membership in the Roman Empire brought peace. Under Augustus (63-14 BCE), Ephesus entered a Golden Age; it became the Roman Province of Asia’s capital and the second-largest city in the Empire. An invasion of Asia by the Pontic King Mithridates completed in 88 BCE briefly interrupted Roman control, but the Roman General Sulla drove him and restored Roman rule. By the year 100 BCE, the population reached at least 200,000. The fame and status of the rebuilt Temple of Artemis increased, enriching the goddess’s silversmiths who produced and exported effigies.
When you visit Ephesus ancient city, you will see; The Roman Bath, Necropolis, State Agora, Basilica, Odeon/Bouleuterion, Prytaneum, Pollio Monument and Fountain of Domitian, Temple of Emperors, Nike Relief, Memmius Monument, Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, Trajan’s Gate House, Nymphaeum Traiani, Bath Street, Temple of Hadrian, Varius Bath/Scholastica Bath, Academy Street, Latrines, Mosaics, Terrace Houses, Celsus Library, Forum, Marble Street, Theatre, Arcadian Street, Gymnasium.
You can book Ephesus Tour with Romos Travel.
ISA BEY MOSQUE
Isa bey Mosque was built in 1375 and represented the transition from Seljuk to Ottoman traditions. Designed by Ali, an architect from Damascus, it shows influence from The Great Mosque in Damascus.
The skilled Syrian artisans who built it used materials from the ruined Basilica of St John and the Temple of Artemis; indeed, the decaying classical city provided plentiful antique marble to adorn its walls. However, avoiding any show of Roman ornament, the details are entirely Islamic.
It was the first mosque in Turkey with a courtyard.
VIRGIN MARY HOUSE
The belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to Ephesus with St John is credible. Still, the House of Virgin Mary building on the slope of mount Koressos is a small Byzantine chapel probably dating from the thirteenth century.
The conviction that Mary lived and died on this site is based solely on the visions, in the 19th century, of the German nun Anna Katerina Emmerich. The Catholic Church has not made any pronouncement on the claim’s authenticity, but several popes have visited the site and given papal apostolic blessing there.
Visitors witness the peaceful, spiritual quality of the place as well as the devotion of many pilgrims.