Ephesus

🏛️ Ephesus: the ancient metropolis between marble and memory

📍 Location

• Ephesus is located at 3 km from the city of Selçuk, in the province ofIzmir, on the west coast of Turkey.
• Formerly located on the seaside, the city is today deep inland due to the sedimentation of the Caystre River.

🧬 Origins and influence

• Founded in 10th century BC by Greek settlers on the ruins of the ancient Hittite capital Apasa, Ephesus quickly becomes a major city of Ionia.
• She was successively Greek, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine, and reached its peak under the Roman Empire, with nearly 200,000 inhabitants.
• Capital of the Roman province ofAsia Minor, she was renowned for her harbor, her Temple of Artemis, and his cultural and religious influence.

🏯 Iconic monuments

📚 Library of Celsus

• A masterpiece of Roman architecture, built in the 2nd century AD.
• A funerary monument and public library, it housed more than 12,000 rolls.
• Its two-story facade, decorated with allegorical statues, is one of the most photographed of the ancient world.

🎭 Roman Theatre

• Able to accommodate 24,000 spectators, it served to plays, to political assemblies, and to the gladiators.
• Its semi-circular structure offers a remarkable acoustics and a view of the Arcadian Way.

🏛️ Temple of Artemis

• One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, dedicated to the goddess of hunting and fertility.
• Although few remains remain, its religious and economic importance was immense.

🏺 Curetes Street

• Main axis bordered by columns, of temples, of fountains, and of luxury houses, including the famous House of Pleasures.
• There is also the Temple of Hadrian, with its mythological reliefs finely carved.

⛪ Basilica of St. John and Christian churches

• Ephesus was a center of early Christianity : Saint Paul preached there, Saint John wrote his gospel there, and the Council of Ephesus was held there in 431.
• The city is mentioned in theApocalypse as one of the seven Churches of Asia.

🌿 Atmosphere and experience

• The site is vast, well preserved, and immerses the visitor in the grandeur of the Greco-Roman world.
• We walk on marble slabs, between broken columns, silent statues, and remains bathed in light.
• The atmosphere is both intellectual, spiritual and sensory, conducive to contemplation.

✨ Why Ephesus is Unforgettable

It is a city where the stone becomes memory, where the sacred and the profane coexist, and where each ruin whispers the stories of a vanished world. Ephesus is grandiose, refined and deeply alive — a journey into the beating heart of Antiquity.