EPHESUS

Ephesus has been a major Roman city and dates back from around 300BC until the fall of the Roman Empire when it was eventually taken by the Ottoman Empire and ultimately fell into decline.

It was originally a port city,but silted up over the ages and is now located some 10 km from the coastal port of KUSADASI.

CELSUS library and various temples dedicated to the emperor Hadrian,amongst others,were constructed in what amounted to the eastern capital of the Roman Empire.

A continuous "dig" has been ongoing here for more than a century,unearthing new sections of this city which,at its peak,was inhabited by 250 000 people.

We have visited the site 4 times over the past 20 years but had never seen the EPHESUS MUSEUM located just around the corner from our charming hotel here in Selcuk ( there's a photo under of us having breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel)

It turned out to be a great way to piece together the myriad very comprehensively restored ruins of Ephesus.

Large screen depictions of what each portion of the ruins, situated just 2 km away,might have looked like in their original state,with running water,central heating etc.at hand.

One of the photos hereunder show ,in the foreground ,the temple of ARTEMIS and its single remaining column of the original 127,(Greek) with St. John's Basilica (Christian)and an Ottoman castle (Muslim) in the background.All within a km of each other and all intact.

Antiquity in a Turkey is omnipresent and one feels it,particularly during my early morning runs (walks?) in the cool morning air.

It's now 3 pm and around 38 degrees outside 😅.