Ephesus is one of our world-famous archaeological historical artifacts, it was a great business and trade area in its time, it was the crossroads of silk and royal roads.
As the most visited historical work in Turkey, Ephesus, Turkey has been introducing a door to the world. Every year, millions of visitors meet in Ephesus to experience the wonderful atmosphere that reminds the past. During the visit to Ephesus, one of the 7 wonders of the world, Artemis temple, Saint John church, seven sleepers cave, Virgin Mary house, Isabey mosque and Selçuk archaeological museum can be seen. In fact, Ephesus was a port city, but due to the slippage of the Menderes river, the city was 5-6 km away from the sea.
The House of Virgin Mary, hosted on Bülbül Mountain near the ancient city of Ephesus, is 9 km from Selçuk. away. According to the legend, it is claimed that St John and Mary, who came to Ephesus 5-6 years after Jesus was crucified, spent their last years in this house close to Ephesus. This house was found in 1891 by a group of German priests led by a German nun. This house, which is the main religious haunt of the Christian world, is one of the most important places that hundreds of thousands of Christians visit every year to become pilgrims. House The house with a small dome was restored. This house is typically a Romanian historical monument and the fact that it was built only with stone is a symbol.
Meryem Church (Consul Church) is to the north of the harbor baths. Its main entrance is at the Koressos Gate in the direction of Ephesus's Selçuk-Kuşadası road. The church, which has a historical importance in Christianity, is the first church built in the name of the Virgin Mary. In addition to this, another important aspect is that it is the place where the 431 Consul meeting was held, where the outlines of today's Christianity were determined.
Building M.S. 260 m. long and 30 m. It was built as a wide Museion. Higher education, medicine and other sciences were read and discussions were held in the Museion. In addition, various priests, who had important duties in Ephesus, specialized here.
First, a warehouse was created in Selçuk in 1929, and the artifacts found during excavations and collected from the surrounding area were brought here. In 1964, the construction of the section to the south of the present museum was completed and the works were started to be exhibited. Since the museum, which consists of several halls, is not sufficient for the artifacts discovered during excavations every year, the southern part of the museum was built in 1976 and the exhibition areas were expanded. Selçuk-Ephesus Museum is the most important and richest museum in Europe with only local artifacts it owns and exhibits.
Today, most of the excavations in Ephesus, St. John Church, Belevi Tomb Monument and other archaeological sites in the vicinity, is a rich local museum with very important works for Ephesus and Anatolian archeology. Among the works belonging to the Mycenaean, Archaic, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Turkish periods, most of them are Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine works.
In the first hall of the museum, artifacts, most of which belong to the Roman Period, were found in the Hillside Houses that were excavated and unearthed in the last 50 years. On the left are the plans and excavation photographs of the houses, and the first showcase contains artifacts related to medicine and cosmetics. The second showcase contains house cult and utility items. The glass tray is the most interesting of these. In the niche on the frescoed wall brought from a house corner, the Hunter Artemis Statue and the Socrates Head and Fresco are located on the left side. On the right side of the hall are the bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the statuettes of Priapos and Bes, the God of Fertility. Three of the museum's most important works are presented in the middle of the hall. One of them is M.S. It is Eros with Yunus, dated to the 2nd century. The other is the Egyptian Priest statue. The last one is the Roman period replica of the Eros statue head of the famous Lysippos.
The artifacts unearthed during the excavations in the Pollio, Trajan, and Laecanus fountains in Ephesus are exhibited in this hall. To the left of the entrance is the bust of the god Zeus and the statue of Aphrodite. In the middle of the hall, there is a statue of "Resting Warrior". On the left is the sculpture group "Odysseus-Polyphemos" decorating the Pollio Fountain. Statues across this group belong to the Trajan Fountain. The first of these is Dionysos leaning on a tree stump. Other statues are the reclining Satyr, the Aphrodite carrying an oyster shell on his belly, and Androclos and his dog. There are a series of busts on the right side of the hall. These are followed by sculptures in the Laecanus Bassus Fountain.
Some of the newly discovered works are exhibited here for one or two years. The showcase to the right of the entrance usually belongs to the Christian period. There are Byzantine finds. Coins and jewelry are exhibited in the right part of the hall. Until the Roman Period, Ephesus's symbol bee was depicted on the front and Artemis's sacred deer on the reverse. In the Roman Period, there are pictures of the emperor and his relatives or symbols on the obverse. Masks hanging on the left wall were found in the theater. The masks used in the theater are made of leather or wood. These stone masks were used for decorative purposes. The construction of an Ephesus oil lamp is illustrated on the same wall. Masked Eros, amphoras, Eros figure, Aphrodite statue, various busts and bust of comedy writer Menander are among the important works of the hall. The only unchanged work in the hall is the ivory frieze found in Yamaç Evler. In the frieze, Trajan's war with the eastern barbarians and his preparations are shown in three parts.
A beautiful garden was built for the museum, in accordance with the local architecture. There are sarcophagi, tombs, altars and inscriptions on the right side of the garden. Especially the decorations of the sarcophagus belonging to the 2nd century AD are very interesting. The sarcophagus is decorated with figures of Moses. According to the inscription on its cover, it was used again in the Byzantine period. Tombs and votive stones are displayed on the west wall of the garden. The sundial in the middle consists of a semicircular time scale.
In this hall which also has an entrance from the garden, grave finds are exhibited. Burial customs in Anatolia are shown in the drawings on the right wall. In the first display case on the left, St. Small items unearthed from a Mycenaean tomb in front of the Church of St. John, BC. It is dated to the 14th - 13th century and is important as it proves that the history of Ephesus began before Androclos. In the other showcase, glass items extracted from the tombs in Ephesus and its vicinity are exhibited. Sitels are placed at the end of the hall where many sarcophagi and ostatek are located.
Artemis Hall: Artemis statues and finds related to Artemis are exhibited here. Two beautiful Artemis statues are presented to the audience in accordance with their fame; these were found by chance in prythaneion and M.S. They are dated to the 1st century. The statue on the left is called "Great Artemis" and the opposite one is "Beautiful Artemis". Findings from the Temple of Artemis are displayed in the showcases. One of the horses of the four-carriage that adorns the altar of the Temple of Artemis is in this hall.
In this hall, busts of the emperor and his families are usually seen. The most important point that draws attention is that some busts have crosses on their foreheads. The statue to the right of the entrance to the Artemis hall belongs to consul Stephanos. The original friezes of the same temple can be seen on both sides of the painting of Hadrian Temple on the left. The altar in the middle is part of the "U" shaped altar of the Domitian Temple. It has friezes on three sides. Fragments of the giant statue of the emperor Domitian can be seen at the exit of the hall. In addition, sculptures of Augustus and his wife Livia and some fragments of the Parthian monument decorate this hall.
It is at the beginning of the Selçuk-Kuşadası road. ARTEMIS TEMPLE, ONE OF THE SEVEN WONDERLANDS OF THE WORLD, BC. Between the years 334-250, it made its reputation known to the world. It was destroyed and built seven times due to reasons such as looting, earthquake and fire. While it is surrounded by large Ionic columns, today there is nothing left but the altar place. The temple was the world's first and largest building made of marble. Some of the ruins are in the British Museum in London.
The current temple belongs to the Hellenistic Period. Ephesians, who worshiped like the people of monotheistic religions believed that the powers of many gods were united in Artemis. 105x55 m. The height of the area is 17,65 m. The temple has 127 columns. You can climb the altar with 13 steps. The sculptures in the temple were chosen and put in competitions. The 36 columns on the façade were gifted by the Lydian King Croesus.
Several priests were responsible for the administration of the temple. The phallus of these priests and the high priest called Megabysos had been cut off. Being a megabysos was an honorable mission. Their helpers were virgins.
Another class of priests serving Artemis is "Kurets". According to mythology, Kurets are demigods who are close to Zeus. Just as when Zeus gave birth to Dionysus from his leg, the Kurets made noise so that Hera would not hear; While Leto gave birth to Artemis, they were present and made noise.
One of the interesting features of the Temple of Artemis was that it functioned like a bank. The High Priest Megabysos undertook the tasks such as accepting valuable items given to the temple or left as consignment, and extending loans from the temple budget. In the picture to the right you can see a beautiful drawing of the old temple. You can click on it to see it larger.
Artemis Temple had some privileges. The most important of these was the granting of immunity when taking refuge in the temple, as long as he stayed there. This situation caused many criminals to gather in the temple.
There are those who claim that the Artemis belief was established around the Temple of Artemis and the religious stage order. Bee is the symbol of Ephesus. It is widely used on Ephesus coins and statues.
7 km from Selçuk. Şirince Village is a settlement area that has the opportunity to come and go from the tourism centers in the region on a daily basis. The road is asphalt and 350 m from the sea. height.
The establishment of the village M.S. It goes down to the 5th century. Settling in the village, whose old name was Kırkınca-Çirkince, is based on several reasons. First, it protected the village from enemy dangers due to its mountainous and defensive nature; second, the people of Ephesus and Ayasuluk
is free from malaria (malaria) disease; The third is that its water is abundant, its soil is fertile and its air is beautiful.
In some sources the establishment of the village coincides with the Aydınoğulları period; According to another legend, it was in the time of the feudal lords. Its ugly name is said to come from a group of overlord people saying that they were freed from their lords and that they found a place to settle down, and the brain responded "ugly" to the question "Is your place nice?".
In 1924, Turkish families from Thessaloniki and its surroundings were settled in the village, which was emptied with the liberation of Izmir. When he greeted the Izmir Governor Kazım Dirik Pasha with the "village anthem" written and composed by the teacher of the village, Muallim Suat Bey, the Governor was very touched and told that the name of the village should be changed to Şirince from now on.
The architectural structure of the village is different from the other villages, and all houses have two floors with stone, multi-window and the same window sizes. The balconies were built as suspended balconies, and the basement floor was used as a pantry and kitchen. Window sides and eaves of the houses are decorated with painting and bird motifs. There are two churches in the village, an architectural primary school (restored today) and nearly forty monasteries with its fountain.
Tourism takes the first place among the income sources of the village. Every month of the year, thousands of local and foreign tourists visit and take pictures, eat specially prepared hair pies and drink house wine. The village's apple, cherry, peach and strawberry wines are very popular because they are specially made at homes. Other than tourism, the people earn their living by growing peaches, grapes and apples.
Çamlık Steam Locomotives Open Air Museum is 12 km from Selçuk by rail and road. away and within the borders of Çamlık Village. You can reach Çamlık Village by proceeding from Selçuk in the direction of Aydın road. It is built on 160 decares of land. During the Aegean maneuvers, the Great Leader Atatürk set up his headquarters in this station with the White Special Train, and followed the maneuvers by reaching the Aegean coast from here during the maneuvers. Here, 25 different types of Steam Locomotives serving in TCDD and ages 50-80 are exhibited.
The Dilek peninsula is a heavily forested region. It is the extension of the Samsun mountains to the Aegean Sea and has been protected as a National Park since 1966. The width of the national park is 11,000 hectares.
The asphalt road turning east by the Vedius Gymnasium reaches the Seven Sleepers Cave. The most important issue that Christians within the empire had a dispute with the Roman State is the Emperor Cult. According to this cult, when Christians did not fulfill their duty of sacrificing sacrifices to the Emperor Temple, they were deemed enemies of the emperor by the state. They were treated like enemies of the state.
Seven young Christians living in the reign of Emperor Decius escape from the city and hide in a cave here because they do not want to fulfill the sacrifice to be made in the Emperor Temple. Seven young people fall asleep after a while. When they go to the city to buy food after waking up, they learn that they slept not only one night but for 200 years, and that Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. The emperor Theodosius II, who heard about the situation, accepts this as an indication of the "Resurrection", that is, the belief that the human soul will be reborn after death. At that time, the discussion of this issue was held in churches.
After seven young people die, a great funeral is held and a church is built over the cave where they were buried.
During the excavations carried out here in 1927-28, a church and hundreds of graves were found. There are inscriptions addressing the Seven Sleepers, who are considered sacred, on the tombs and on the walls of the church. Seven The desire to be buried as close as possible to those who warn has lasted for centuries.
Saint Maria Magdalene is also buried here.
