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Our detailed, interactive city map of Ephesus, plus hand-picked links to the best Ephesus map elsewhere.
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The most important commercial center of the western Anatolia in the 1st century BC. and one of the highlights of Turkey. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city. Ephesus was biblically very important.
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In ancient times it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but today the Temple of Artemis is represented by a single column standing in a swamp.
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House of Mary discovered in a vision by a bedridden German nun in 1812, this stone building is believed by many Catholics and Muslims to be where the Virgin Mary lived her last years. There is also a healing fountain.
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In ancient times it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but today the Temple of Artemis is represented by a single column standing in a swamp.
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The Basilica of St. John was built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century over the traditional tomb of John the Evangelist. The site became a major pilgrimage destination in the Early Middle Ages.
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According to legend, seven Christian boys were locked in this cave by the Romans in c.250 AD, fell asleep, and woke up in the 5th century. It became a place of burial and pilgrimage.
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The Isabey Mosque was built in 1375 at the direction of the Emir of Aydin. It incorporates columns and stones recycled from the ruins of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis.
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The facade of the Library of Celsus is one of the most spectacular sights in Ephesus. Built by a Roman in memory of his father, it faces east so the reading rooms receive the morning light.
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This magnificent classical theater is considered an important biblical site: the probable place where Paul preached to the pagans in Acts. It is still in use and can seat thousands.
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A very important civic building where the sacred fire of Hestia was tended, official visitors were received by civic and religious dignitaries, and where two statues of the Ephesian Artemis were found.
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This attractive Roman imperial temple was constructed in 118 AD and reconstructed in the fifth century. Its tympanum bears an interesting frieze that may depict Medusa.
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Foundations of a basilica-like building that may have been one of several synagogues known to exist in ancient Ephesus. A Jewish lamp was found on the site.
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The brothel and public latrine of ancient Ephesus are located directly across Marble Street from the Library of Celsus. Both date from the 1st century AD.
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Once lined with shops and inns, Curetes Street was a main city street and an important processional route in the cult of Artemis.
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Ephesus terrace houses are located on the hill, opposite the Hadrian Temple, also known as the houses of the rich.
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This was the building located at the beginning of the Harbour Street near the Theatre. The excavation is not completed. Gymnasium had a great number of rooms which were used as classrooms, dormitories and libraries.
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According to an inscription discovered in excavations this gymnasium was built by P. Vedius Antonius from the Vedius who were a well known family of Ephesus and his wife Flavia Papiana.
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The gate faced the Marble Street more than the Curetes Street and provided a passage, besides the Ortygia road, also to another road climbing up towards the Terrace Houses. It had three gateways and three storeys.
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Domitian Square was an important commercial centre. The existence in Ephesus ruins of shops of a density which would not be seen in other old cities is related to the overseas trade of Ephesus
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The gate was named after two reliefs on these lintels which showed Hercules draped in a lion skin. The gate was constructed with two tiers of columns.
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The part of the Sacred road running between the Library of Celsus and the Grand Theatre is called the Marble Street. The street was paved with large blocks of marble and had herring bone slopes.
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The partially repaired fountain on the right side of the Curetes Street was dedicated to the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. The dedicatory inscription is today on the cornice near the structure.
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Basilica of Ephesus is located between the Odeum and the State Agora. It had three naves and a two ridged gable roof. The roof was made of wood and no trace of it has been found.
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The most important places of defense in a city are certainly its walls and gates. Until the period which we call the Roman Peace (Pax Romana) (the 2nd-3rd centuries AD)
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The last monumental tombs found in the district of Ephesus, it belongs to the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries, hence to the period of the Principality of Aydınoğulları. It is not known to whom it belonged.
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In the 6th century a church was built at the corner of the building near the Magnesia Gate so, that corner was already destroyed by then.
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The building following this is a Byzantine fountain conctructed on top of a monumental tomb which lay in the same place. The outer side of the walls of the fountain’s pool have lozenge shaped decorations with crosses in the middle, a most significant element of the Byzantine period.
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On the fragment of the architrave lying today near the building is written “Caius Memmius, the Saviour, son of Caicus, grandson of Cornelius Sulla”. The monument was built in the 1st century AD.
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It is famous for being the first temple built for an emperor in Ephesus. In the Roman period the building of temples for emperors was made a matter of honour among similar cities.
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The Temple of serapis consisting of a naos and a pronaos was in the form of a typical prostyle. It was built of large blocks of marble of which the weight would be 40-50 tons at first sight. This is a most significant particularity of Egyptian religious buildings.
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Harbour of Ephesus which has today turned into a very small lake. In the Hellenistic period and at the beginning of the Roman period the harbour was the best protected mercantile port of the Mediterranean.
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The street constructed in the 1st century BC was repaired and widened by the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius (395-408) and made into a true ceremonial street.
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It was constructed together with the buildings around it during the reconstruction of that part of the city under the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138). Next to the Verulanus sports ground was the Harbour Gymnasium.
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The building following the Temple of Hadrian is a house with a peristyle known as the House of Love. The statue of Priapus, called the god Bes, on display in the Museum of Ephesus was found in this house.
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There are two agoras in Ephesus, the State Agora and the Trade Agora. The Trade Agora lies to the west of the city near the Celsus Library.
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This structure lies at the entrance of the city in the Kusadası direction. A good example of the stadiums of the period, it is 230 metres long and 30 metres wide. Its entrance is on the west.
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Standing near the library provided entrance to the Mercantile Agora of Ephesus and was known by the name of Mazeus Mithradates and Mithradates who were slaves under the Emperor Augustus were given their liberty
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The Odeum had the aspect of a small theatre. Its difference from a theatre was that it was once covered. The seating section of the building of which restoration is at present going on, was reached by stepped side streets covered by vaults on two sides
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Scholastikia Baths are one of the important buildings of the Curetes Street, located in the city centre, it must have been a bath where the distinguished famillies of the city, rather than ordinary people, washed and cleaned themselves and then talked about daily matters.
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The vestiges to the east of the Odeum belong to the building called the Varius Baths. The excavation of all the parts of the baths except the cold room has been done, however no restoration has yet been undertaken.
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Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.95 million as of 2010,making the city third most populous in Turkey.
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Sirince was settled when Ephesus was abandoned in the 15th century but most of what one sees today dates from the 19th century.
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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 and Seljuk works of art.
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Kusadası is a resort town on Turkey’s Aegean coast, Kuşadası caters to tourists, arriving by land, and as the port for cruise ship passengers heading to Ephesus.
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Ephesus, 100% based on 28099 ratings 
An incredible place with amazing views if you can climb to the top in the heat! Well worth it though
We didn't check ahead but disappointed to see the notice at the door showing that it's closed until September 2013. Can't really rate it. But heard from local that they have too many artifacts to display and they need to expand and refurnish the building. Interesting bath museum included. Read that it's first of its kind.
The Church of Mary (Marienkirche) not only counts among the most significant of the historical monuments at Ephesus, it is also visited by thousands of tourists and pilgrims annually. This church was the site of the Third Ecumenical Council, convened by Emperor Theodosius II at Ephesus in 431 A.D.
The Council was held to resolve a theological debate between two schools of thought about the nature of Christ and of His mother, Mary. One school, led by Nestorius, the Bishop of Constantinople, advocated that Christ was born human and became God, and that His mother should be called merely “Christ-bearer” or Christotokos (Χριστοτόκος). The more popular view, however, was that Jesus was the Son of God, was born God and, therefore, Mary was deserving of the honor of being called the Mother of God, (Θεοτόκος) or “Theotokos.” This view was led by Cyrill, Bishop of Alexandria, which united two natures human and divine in Christ.
Approximately 250 bishops journeyed to Ephesus from all over and took part in a heated debate over the divine nature of Jesus at birth. In the end, the Council concluded that Jesus was God, born God and Mary was rightly called “Mother of God.” Nestorius was denounced and excommunicated from the Church for his heresy. A torch-light parade exited the church proclaiming Mary as “Theotokos” and it is from this place that today Christians pray, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.”
A lesser Council was held here in 449 A.D. However, because of the controversial proceedings this second council was not accepted as ecumenical, and was labeled a “Robber Synod” and later repudiated at the Council of Chalcedon. From the 5th Century on, the Church of Mary served without doubt as the seat of the Bishop of Ephesus. Baptismal ceremonies were held in the polygonal Baptistery where thousands of Pagans were converted. This building is without doubt one of the most important testimonials of Early Christianity.
The Church of St. Mary, named for the Blessed Virgin herself, was discovered early in the 20th century and is believed to be the very first church in the world named for Mary. A passage in the synodal letter of the first Council of Ephesus reads: “Wherefore also Nestorius, the renewer of the impious heresy, when he had come to the city of the Ephesians, where John the Theologian and the Virgin Mother of God, the Holy Mary . . . from the assembly of the Holy Fathers and Bishops.” Since St. John lived in Ephesus and was buried there (according to Eusebius), it has been inferred that the ellipsis of the synodal letter means either, “where John. . .and the Virgin. . . Mary lived,” or perhaps, “where John. . .and the Virgin. . . Mary lived and are buried.” This passage gives witness to the oral tradition and belief held at that time that both St. John the Apostle and the Blessed Virgin Mary both lived and died at Ephesus.
The building received the canonical name of the “holiest church of the most holy, most honoured and eternal virgin Mary.” In later years, a complete alteration of the complex and a massive reconstruction was made necessary due to an earthquake which severely damaged the church. During this renovation, in the region in front of the apse, free-standing stone pilasters were erected instead of the columns; and the west part of the church was rebuilt as a vaulted dome church, with its own apse, using massive brick construction. The church was divided in two, with one part dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and the remainder to Mary, resulting in the name the “Double Church” by some. The Church of St. Mary served as a cemetery church until at least the 11th century, and many graves can be found at the entry plaza.
Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) visited ancient Ephesus in 1931 on the 50th Centenary of the Council of Ephesus, held in 431 A.D. as the papal legate in Bulgaria. During that visit, he toured the ruins of the Church of Mary, the site of the famous ecumenical council which declared Mary to be Theotokos, or “Mother of God.”
Wife and I didn't have to kneel and pray to feel gods presence there.
We observed the same overwhelming effect on fellow visitors – incredible experience!
Of course, spirituality and one's experience at Mary's house is unique and personal to the individual.
My husband and I found this place to be very moving and spiritual. The place itself isn't that large but the history beind it is amazing. You are also given candles as you exit the home to pay tribute. There is a nice spring of water which we were able to fill small pottery bottles.
This additional tour within Ephesus was well worth the price. It gave us incredible insight into the way the ancient wealthy people lived.
Don't miss this.
Amazing Latrine. Now I know how they used to share their morning news. Wonderful use of running water. Guess they didn't wear undies. Public toilets were just as the name implied.
It is a vast area that was tough for us with a baby stroller, it was in winter but we still sweat walking on the ancient rocky roads but it is worth it. This is a must see place.
Gate of Mazeus, Ephesus
Located on the northern slopes of Mount Pion along the road that goes around the hill is the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers which was discovered by both Christians and Muslims. According to Christian legend, seven young men were walled in during the reign of Decius (250 AD) but were seen alive in the streets of Ephesus during the reign of Theodosius II some years after the Council of Ephesus (431 AD). In the Koran, it is claimed that the sleepers slept 309 years in their tombs. A church was built above this Grotto by the Christians. During excavations in the area, the church and several tombs have been excavated. Some inscriptions about the Seven Sleepers can be found on the walls of the church.