Things to do in Ephesus (Efes)
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Ephesus Ancient City
The best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean is Ephesus. Note that there are two entry points to the ancient site, roughly 3km apart. You may prefer to be dropped off at the upper entrance (the southern gate or güney kapısı) so that you can walk back downhill through the ruins and out through the lower main entrance.
To avoid the heat of the day, come early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when it's less crowded with tour groups. If you can, avoid public holidays altogether. Note that the terrace houses cost extra (and take about an hour) to visit. If your interest in ruins is slight, half a day may suffice, but real ruins buffs will want to m…
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Library of Celsus
Celsus Polemaeanus was the Roman governor of Asia Minor early in the 2nd century AD. According to an inscription in Latin and Greek on the side of the front staircase, his son, Consul Tiberius Julius Aquila, erected this library in his father's honour after the governor's death in 114. Celsus was buried under the western side of the library.
The library held 12,000 scrolls in niches around its walls, making it the third-largest library in the ancient world after Alexandria and Pergamum. A 1m gap between the inner and outer walls protected the valuable books from extremes of temperature and humidity. The library was originally built as part of a complex, and architectural s…
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Sacred Way
From the Great Theatre, walk south along the marble-paved Sacred Way, also known as the Marble Way, noting the remains of the elaborate water and sewerage systems beneath the paving stones, and the ruts made by wheeled vehicles (which were not allowed to drive down Harbour St). The large open space on the right was the 110-sq-m agora (marketplace) dating back to 3BC and once the heart of Ephesus' business life. It would have been surrounded by a colonnade and shops selling food and craft items.
Note the fine carvings of gladiators that survive along the Sacred Way.
On the left as you approach the end of the street is an elaborate building, which used to be called a brothe…
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Great Theatre
At the eastern end of Harbour St is the Great Theatre, reconstructed by the Romans between AD 41 and AD 117. The first theatre on the site dated from the Hellenistic city of Lysimachus, and many features of the original building were incorporated into the Roman structure, including the ingenious design of the cavea (seating area), capable of holding 25,000 people.
Each successive range of seating up from the stage is pitched more steeply than the one below, thereby improving the view and acoustics for spectators in the upper seats.Among other modifications, the Romans enlarged the stage, pitched it towards the audience and built a three-storey decorative stage wall behind…
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Upper Ephesus
Like any city in the ancient world, the first structure to welcome visitors was always a bathhouse; in Ephesus' case it was known as the Varius Baths. Baths were placed at all of a city's main entrances, as it was customary to wash oneself clean of any harmful agents acquired during the arduous journey. But baths were also a social place, like a hamam, where friends and new acquaintances would hang out, scrub themselves clean and even get massages.
Fresh as a daisy? Good. Now it's time to move into the city's legislative district, which was anchored by a large square known as the Upper Agora. It was here that politicos would get together to share the latest news and spread…
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Church of the Virgin Mary
The Ephesus car park is ringed with çay bahçesis (tea houses), restaurants and souvenir shops, and to the right of the road are the ruins of the Church of the Virgin Mary, also called the Double Church. The original building was a museum, a Hall of the Muses - a place for lectures, teaching and debates. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt as a church in the 4th century. Later it served as the site of the third Ecumenical Council (AD 431) which condemned the Nestorian heresy.
Over the centuries several other churches were built here, somewhat obscuring the original layout.
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Harbour Street
Ephesus' fourth and final grand boulevard, Harbour Street, also known as Arcadia, was once the grandest street in Ephesus, a legacy of the Byzantine emperor, Arcadius (r AD 395–408). In its heyday, water and sewerage channels ran beneath the marble flagstones and 50 streetlights lit up its colonnades. For many, this vast marble avenue was their first vision of the lavish capital after getting cleaned up at the Harbour Baths. Today, an extra-high column marks what would have been the water's edge at the end of the arcade.
After exiting the Lower Gate, you'll see the remains of the Gymnasium of Vedius (2nd century AD) on your way back to the main road. The vast gymnasium o…
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Terraced Houses
Across from the Temple of Hadrian is the entrance to the magnificent Terraced Houses. It's a crying shame that the off-putting admission fee will deter many people from visiting, because we highly encourage you spend your time and dime to check it out. A walk through the covered complex will offer visitors a chance to appreciate the luxury in which the elite of the Roman world lived. Seven homes are currently on display, and the first – measuring over 900 square metres – is the largest. All of the homes had running water (hot and cold!), not to mention lavish mosaics and frescoes adorning almost every flat surface. At the time of research, twenty-two types of marble had b…
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Temple of Hadrian
You can't miss the impressive Corinthian-style Temple of Hadrian, on the left as you head up Curetes Way, with beautiful friezes in the porch and a head of Medusa to keep out evil spirits. It was dedicated to Hadrian, Artemis and the people of Ephesus in AD 118 but greatly reconstructed in the 5th century. Across the street a row of shops from the same period are fronted by an elaborate 5th-century mosaic.
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Stadium
A bit further along from the Gymnasium of Vedius is the Stadium, dating from the 2nd century AD. The Byzantines removed most of its finely cut stones to build the castle on Ayasuluk Hill. This 'quarrying' of pre-cut building stone from older, often earthquake-ruined structures was a constant feature of Ephesian history.
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Gate of Hercules
Curetes Way ends at the two-storey Gate of Hercules, constructed in the 4th century AD, with reliefs of Hercules on both main pillars. To the right a side street leads to a colossal temple dedicated to the Emperor Domitian (r AD 81-96), part of which serves as a rarely accessible Museum of Inscriptions.
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Gymnasium of Vedius
As you walk along the side road from Dr Sabri Yayla Bulvarı, the first ruin you will pass on your left was once the Gymnasium of Vedius, from the 2nd century AD, with exercise fields, baths, toilets, covered exercise rooms, a swimming pool and a ceremonial hall.
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Gate of Augustus
As you leave the Library of Celsus, the Gate of Augustus on the left leads into the agora (marketplace). This monumental gateway was apparently a favourite place for Roman ne'er-do-wells to relieve themselves, as a bit of ancient graffiti curses 'those who piss here'.
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Roman Toilets
As you head up Curetes Way, a passage on the left leads to the famously communal Roman men's toilets. The much-copied statuette of Priapus with the penis of most men's dreams was found in the nearby well. It's now in the Ephesus Museum in Selçuk.
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Fountain of Trajan
Further up Curetes Way on the left is the Fountain of Trajan. Of the huge statue of the emperor (AD 98-117) that used to tower above the pool, only one foot now remains.
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Marble Street
The city's third main street, the Marble Street, carved a wide artery from the library to the theatre, though at the time of research this road was closed to visitors due to continuing excavations. Instead, tourists must walk through the city's Lower Agora – a 110-sq-metre space that once had a massive colonnade and functioned as a textile and food market.
After exiting the agora you'll reach the Great Theatre, reconstructed by the Romans between AD 41 and AD 117. The first theatre on the site dated from the Hellenistic city of Lysimachus, and many features of the original building were incorporated into the Roman design, including the ingenious shape of the cavea (seati…
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Curetes Way
Named for the semi-gods who helped Lena give birth to Artemis and Apollo, the Curetes Way was the Champs Élysées of Ephesus, with rows of popular shops selling incense and silk, and pedestals displaying statues of honoured citizens (usually doctors). Be sure to pause at the top of the street before walking down – this vantage point clearly illustrates how much excavation has been done, and how much there is left to go (the entire Curetes Way was once buried under six-metre mounds of earth). Now is a good time to imagine the throngs of surrounding tourists in white togas and leather sandals that clicked on the marble floors as they walked by.
The Trajan Fountain, halfwa…
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