Oglin' old stuff

I have a terrible imagination. So when it comes to visiting ancient ruins, it's rather difficult to envision a great civilization from a couple of rocks strewn across a field. But wandering around one of Turkey's most famous sites required no imagination. Located only a couple kilometres from Selçuk, in south-west Turkey, are the wonderful ruins of Ephesus.

While some excavations have shown the area to have been inhabited 6,000 BC, the city that is visited today came into prominence around 1,000 BC. While being a major trading post, Ephesus prospered for centuries and was still inhabited up to 1,100. But with constant attacks by foreign invaders, a few devastating earthquakes and, most importantly with the harbor slowly silted up by a river (despite repeated dredging during the city's history), Ephesus's time was always limited. But it was around long enough and in a vital region for the time, to leave it's unmistakable mark on the history of the world long after the last citizen deserted the city.

With regards to religion alone (particularly Christianity) many of the most famous names from the Bible visited Ephesus. From around 50 AD, Paul lived here, writing Acts 19:23–41 and 1 Corinthians. John was also in the area and Gospel of John might have been written in Ephesus, c 90-100. Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation (2:1–7). And that's not even mentioning The house of the Virgin Mary, about 7 km from Ephesus, which is believed to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus. Which is now a major pilgrimage site. But the city was more than a stop off for biblical celebrities, it was also a major centre of learning. In 125 AD the library of Celsus was built. It is said to have been one of the largest libraries in the ancient world. It's wonderful facade (picture left and title picture) is one of the most commonly seen images of Turkey. Heck, it was even on the money of Turkey for a while!

The site itself is large, but easily manageable. The central "road" is still paved with marble, hemmed in by numerous fountains, old shops, houses and normal city life type stuff. The most popular way to enter the city is from the upper gate (there are 2 entrances). Entering this way, you pass through the political part of the city. While there is one of the two theatres and a few cool statues (the one of Nike being the best preserved) the upper part of the city is generally less spectacular. It is the lower part with the communal toilets (right), library, larger stadium and terraced houses (15 Lira extra) that is the crowd pleaser. And when I say "crowd" i mean CROWD. To the south of Ephesus is the modern port of Kuşadası, is a favourite port of call for tourist cruises like Princess cruise lines. If there's a ship in town, upwards of 5,000 tourist descend on the unexpecting Ephesus. I arrived at 8 am (opening time) and was pretty much all alone (picture left). But within 30 minutes, you couldn't see the road anymore (picture right). The moral of the story? GO EARLY!!!!

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Getting to the site couldn't be easier. From Selçuk, it's only 3 km. Many of the guesthouses in Selçuk provide free rides. Alternatively, countless mini-buses pass the site on the way to Kuşadası. But I think the best way is to walk. There is a beautifully tree-lined walkway all the way from city-to-site. Locals all come out in the morning for a little early morning exercise. Tickets are 20 Lira and the site opens at 8 am with different closing times for summer and winter. Without question, even with mass tourism, Ephesus is one of the highlights of Turkey. It's rare to find a place that transports you back to a distant time. Ephesus does, and does it well!