Selcuk is the central town of Selcuk district, Izmir in Turkey and 1.2 miles northeast of Ephesus. Its original Greek name, Agios Theológos referred to John the Theologian. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Ayasoluk. In 1914, it was renamed Selcuk after the Seljuk Turks who first led incursions into the region in the 12th century.
Throughout its long history, the town has been rebuilt so often and has changed so much that it has lost its very name. The blue and white signpost indicates Selcuk, the yellow and black Ephesus.
Mounts Pion and Koressos, Greco-Roman remains, a Byzantine basilica, and a Seljuk mosque constitute a hodgepodge of history. In the village, on the road to the ruins, is the well-laid-out museum, whose pride are the two splendidly preserved marble statues, once gilded, of Artemis in the likeness of Cybele, patroness of Ephesus, Greek in name but unmistakably Anatolian in appearance. The triple row of breasts lack nipples and have, therefore, often been held to represent eggs, the universal fetility symbol. Only the archaic smile is Greek, while the headgear the signs of the zodiac and a strange assortment of monsters on the garments is purely eastern. There is also the famous Boy on the Dolphin and a beautiful Greek mask made familiar throughout the world through photography and travel posters.
For ancient paganism as for the beginnings of Christianity, Ephesus was an important center, second only to Athens, and later, to Jerusalem. The cult of Artemis changed into the cult of the Virgin Mary, as St. Paul and St. John both preached in the town. Up to the Middle Ages, Ephesus kept its standing, owing in part to its being a well-placed port. The world’s first bank, run on the lines of today’s banks, opened here.
Selcuk is one of the most visited touristic destinations within Turkey, known for its closeness to the Ancient city of Ephesus, House of the Virgin Mary , Temple of Artemis, Cave of the Seven Sleepers, and Seljuk works of art. The 6th century Basilica of St. John the Apostle, which, some claim, is built on the site of the Apostle’s tomb, is also inside the town. The old quarter of Selcuk remains generally retaining traditional Turkish culture and locality.
Selcuk / Ephesus
This is a great building with lots of interesting photos and exhibits.
This for me, was a nice sized town, with plenty to see & do, and it was easy to get around. I also found that it had a huge amount of reasonably priced outdoor Restaurants with excellent food.
I started off on the right foot, by being very happy with my Hotel. The Owner could not have been more helpful and friendly, and really made me feel at home. This was so nice as I was travelling alone.
I guess the main drawcard here, is Ephesus. Lucky the tourist season wasn’t in full swing, I imagine it would get quite busy. Also here, is an excellent Archelogical museum, as well as St. John Bascilica. Theres a Roman Aqueduct & interesting buildings to see on your roam around town.
Selçuk in the İzmir Province in Turkey derives its name from the Seljuk Turks who settled here in the twelfth century. It lies close to the resort town of Kuşadasi and the ancient town of Ephesus.
Selçuk has a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The average summer temperature is 30°C, and during winter, it can drop below 10°C.
Selcuk has a very pleasant shopping area which is served by pedestrian streets with metal arches. The town centre is very clean and well kept which probably is because of it being a tourist town where money rolls in from the nearby Ephesus ruins. There’s some nice restaurants, a few bars and shops selling carpets here along with banks, atm’s and such like.
There is a very nice place in Selcuk that every visitor comes to see here and that is the St. Jean Basilika. In front of this archaeological site are souvenir shops. Many of the shopkeepers approach the tourists to sell postcards, guidebooks and so on….nothing wrong with that.
But there are also several young guys who will try to sell you coins which usually are fake. I would like to warn everybody from even looking at those coins.
In addition to that I would like to warn you from one specific guy who sells those coins, because he is specialized in something even worse than ripping off tourist by selling them coins. He approaches young and not so young women and chats them up…short he is a beznesser of the worst sort. He offers sexual encounters for money and will also invite ladies (and men) for a friendly chat and tea somewhere and “cook them up” until they are ready to give him money. He is well-known in Selcuk and people say that he managed to get many thousand euros from several women. He is not very tall, with dark blond hair, speaks well English and his name is Aladin….beware of this guy and keep your mouth and pocket shut.
We ended up choosing Selchuk as our “base” simply because we didn’t like to be in a place as commercial as Kushadasi, and at the same time the closeness to Ephesus had its influence.
Selchuk is absolutely wonderful, I loved it since the very first walk, the night of July 22nd – there is a lot to be seen, there are tourists and this, as I mentioned in my pages about Turkey in general, has its influence on the daily life of local people, but at the same time it is nothing like the money-sucking machine called Kushadasi (yes, you can tell that it is a town which didn’t impress me).
It is a good location point from which many daily trips to other places can be made, so… in other words, I do strongly recommend this turkish destination.
Most people visit Selcuk on the way to Ephesus.
A stay in the town itself is not to be missed. I spent a marvelous week there in 2009. The people are friendly, there are good shops, much cheaper than in Izmir or Istanbul and lots of small bars and cafe’s where you can relax.
The ruins of the Roman Aqueduct which run right through the town are a marvel, there is a terrific castle whose presence dominates the town and the Byzantine Church of St John’s ruin is truly romantic.
I am 68 but managed to walk to Ephesus and back. On the way one old guy offered me a lift on the back of his moped and several families, picnicing along the way offerred me tea.
If you’re looking for nightlife in Selcuk then really all you have are a few bars which are aimed at tourists. There’s two next to each other along Siegburg in the town centre.
Selcuk is a quiet town with a few bars and restaurants. Many tourists spend their evening at their pension, which might have their own bar or special evenings.
For information about arriving in Izmir by plane and getting a bus to Selcuk, see my post under Hotel Bella Selcuk.
We also took buses from Selcuk to Bodrum and from Bodrum to Izmir. Key point: buy your ticket a day in advance, if possible. On long-distance trips, the seats are assigned when you buy your ticket, starting in the front of the bus. And these busses do fill up!
The Selcuk bus station (Otogar) is new and very nice. We were on a medium-size bus from Selcuk to Bodrum; it did not have a steward. It started with just a few passengers, but at the next large town if filled to capacity and even two people were not able to get on.
The Bodrum bus station is not so new, but it is convenient, in the tourist section of town. Again, buy your ticket as soon as you know what bus you want. The clerks in Bodrum may not speak English; be sure to request the bus by the 24-hour clock (i.e., 13 hours, not 1 pm). Next to the bus station is a farmer’s market, both outside and inside. Fascinating.
We had a large first-class bus Bodrum to Izmir — fabulous! New, built by Mercedes-Benz, comfortable seats, a driver, a ticket manager, and a steward. On the 3 1/2 hour trip, first hour the steward put on gloves and served us cups of water. The second hour he served us cups of ice cream. The third hour he filled up a cart with nice size packages of a number of varieties of cookies and crackers, of which you could take your choice. You also had your choice of coffee or tea or several other beverages. Really delightful!
Note: the Izmir otogar is a LONG way from the Izmir airport. No direct transport except cab — and that is relatively expensive. However, an enterprizing gentleman who needed to get from the otogar to the airport, like us, worked out a deal with the driver of a dolmus that if there were 6 people who wanted to go to the airport, he would make a diversion and take us there. There were 6 of us and he took us (and his other passengers, some of whom were not pleased at the diversion) to the airport. But it was all very entertaining as we bounced along and worked out a conversation with one of the other passengers. Because the driver was not allowed to take the dolmus up to the entry of the terminal, he dropped us all off about a block from the international terminal (we needed the domestic terminal). There were lots of cabs who showed up willing to take us the rest of the way. The Turks are friendly and honest; being adventurous is fun!