The ruins of the ancient ancient city of Ephesus are one of the most popular attractions in Turkey and invariably attract the sea of tourists. This monument is located on the western coast of Turkey, near the small town of Selcuk.
Back in the second century BC. there was a city here, and the city of Ephesus itself was once built here as a port. The city reached its highest prosperity during the period of the Roman Empire - it was the second most important city, after Rome. Subsequently, the sea moved westward, the importance of the city fell sharply and it fell into desolation.
Ephesus covers about 10 square kilometers, but most of its treasures are hidden in impenetrable swamps. But even what is on the surface is more than enough to spend a whole day here. Archaeological research of the ancient settlement was started in 1869 by English scientists and they continue to this day.
Ephesus is one of the few ancient cities that you can walk through today. Just walk along its streets, examining the architectural structures of the past centuries, dilapidated, excavated by archaeologists, and re-presented to the world as proof of the boundless flight of human imagination. Changing cultures and religions, people, as a rule, destroyed everything that came to their hand, not in the least caring about what the descendants thought. And we regret what we have lost and try to imagine in our imagination what has not survived - the richly decorated stucco facades of houses, the brightness and pretentiousness of the patterns of mosaic coverings, the grandeur of the temples, the vaults of which soar on numerous rows of marble columns …
A long time ago, during the period of the Great colonization, when the Ionian Greeks were actively exploring the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black, Aegean, Marmara Seas (and this was between the 16th and 11th centuries BC) - all those seas that wash the peninsula of Asia Minor, occupied today Turkey is an amazing country - at the confluence of the Kayistra River into the Aegean Sea, a new city of Afasa was founded - the City by the River. This was preceded by almost mystical events. At that time, a king named Codra ruled in Athens, and he had a son, Androcles. As you know, at all times and among all peoples, only God was above the king. And the Greeks have a whole pantheon of deities led by Zeus.
The kings received news from their invisible patrons through the clergy. So Androcles received an order from the Delphic Oracle - to found a new city on the coast of the Aegean Sea. Gathering an army, Androcles immediately went to the lands where the Etruscans lived from time immemorial and among them a mysterious tribe of warriors, the Amazons, who were not inferior to men in martial art and therefore lived separately, only occasionally allowing men into their huts, so that the Amazon family would continue. The oracle told the son of Codra where he should found a new city - where three symbols will come together - fish, fire and wild boar. And Androcles found such a place. Already desperate, having explored a vast territory, he decided to return home not salty, as sparks flew from the fire on which they were frying fish before the long journey, from them the nearest bush caught fire,a wild boar jumped out of the bush.
- The oracle's prediction came true! - exclaimed the prince and ordered to found a city on this place. So the will of the gods was fulfilled, and from that time the history of ancient Ephesus begins.
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The city at the foot of the Bulbul mountain (modern name) is the second incarnation of the city of Androcles. It was built by one of the companions of Alexander the Great, who conquered it, or, as they say, liberated it, from the power of Persia in 334 BC. The name of the new ruler of Ephesus was Lysimachus. Alexander the Great made a truly royal gift to his warrior. One problem was in Ephesus - the Kaistra River (or Small Menderes) tended to become waterlogged, which led to the appearance of a huge number of mosquitoes that spread diseases such as malaria. People were dying, but flatly refused to leave their homes. Then the wise Lysimachus forced them to do it - he ordered not to supply water to the city. Residents had no choice but to leave their homes and move away from the treacherous river.
The straight streets of the city, paved with marble and stones, run down the mountainside, and in the time of Lysimachus they led the traveler to the sea harbor, where numerous ships with goods moored. So the city developed through extensive trade. But in the III century BC, there was a strong earthquake, as a result of which the sea receded, dropping 57 meters. This natural disaster, like the countless wars of conquest weakening the once powerful city, marked the beginning of the decline of Ephesus. Today, ancient Ephesus is a dead city. But every day it comes to life again, filled with the multilingual speech of tourists strolling along its streets. A bright crowd wanders along them from the eastern gate down the hill, listening to the amusing stories of the guides and barely having time to capture all the sights during the two hours of the excursion, clicking cameras left and right.
The first building, which, of course, is remembered by everyone, without exception, is the Odeon or the Maly Theater. It is well preserved, although it was built in 150 AD and was intended for city council meetings. It is unlikely that the senators of Ephesus were dressed so colorful as the people sitting on its steps-benches today! Groups of tourists are located in close groups in all four sectors of the auditorium and listen, listen to the soulful speeches of the guides right under the hot sun, since the roof of the Odeon collapsed seventeen centuries ago. Now from the theater three hills are clearly visible, built of bricks, which rise on high pedestals on the left hand of those sitting. With a good imagination, one can imagine what initial form they had and, upon imagining, be surprised: these were statues of three powerful bulls, with their heads lowered, ready to attack anyone,who will stand in their way. The bull is still a symbol of the Turkish city of Selcuk, which occupies the territory of ancient Ephesus. By the way, the modern inhabitants of Turkey, which united many ancient kingdoms within its borders, still like to erect monuments or sculptural compositions to animals, birds and even plants.
So, in one of the cities on the way to Ephesus, there is a monument to a fig - a fig tree in Greek - the very tree, with a large openwork leaf of which Adam and Eve covered their nakedness. But the monument was erected not in honor of the biblical heroes, but because this sweet fruit, figs, is grown in these parts as the main agricultural crop. There is a monument to a rooster - in the city of Denizli, also nearby. This bird saved the city from a fire that happened in the early morning, so early that the rooster was not yet up to songs, but he sang, roared and woke up the owner. And he, out of anger at the restless bird, decided to immediately chop off its head - he jumped out with an ax into the yard and … saw a fire.
In Ephesus, statues of people without heads are well preserved. Perhaps in those distant times they were made from some famous people or even the rulers of the city, but … their names were engulfed in history. But bulls are still recognizable! Opposite the theater is the Agora, or simply put - the market square. There they not only traded, they held general civic meetings there. That is - to talk with the whole world - please come to the Agora, and if you whisper among ourselves on all sorts of political topics - please go to the Odeon. But little remained of the Agora - openwork capitals from the columns or parts of their own trunks, randomly scattered on the ground.
Ephesus is such an ancient city that along with the established facts of the appointments of dilapidated houses, the dates of the reign of this or that emperor, there are legends organically woven into the canvas of history. The very name of the city gave rise to one of them - a beautiful tale about the queen of the warlike tribe of Amazons who lived on these lands before the arrival of the Greeks. The name of that Amazon was Ephesia, which means - desired. And she was so beautiful that Androcles fell in love with her at first sight. It is not known whether Ephesia was inflamed with the same ardent feeling for the Greek prince, but, oddly enough, agreed to become his wife. And then, following the example of their queen, all the Amazons also found husbands among the soldiers of Androcles. Either they were exhausted without men at all, or they showed female wisdom, realizing that they could die in the battle with the Greeks,but broke their oath of preserving a monogamous society. Androcles, enchanted by his wife, named his city after her. This is how Ephesus appeared.
Descriptions of female warriors are found in myths and legends of peoples of different countries. According to one version, all the Amazons are the daughters of the god Ares and his beloved goddesses - Harmony, Otrera and even Artemis herself, whom the Amazons of Asia Minor worshiped. They called their goddess Qibla. A distinctive feature of the goddess was her many breasts. The same statue of the goddess Artemis, found in the Ephesian Artemisia, built in the 6th century BC, has come down to us. According to Greek mythology, Artemis was the sister of Apollo, the daughter of the almighty Zeus and the beautiful goddess Leto. Amazons are always depicted on horseback, dressed in homemade leather robes and helmets, armed with a bow, battle ax and light shield. Their hair flutters over their shoulders, their eyes show courage, their faces are strict and express inaccessibility. And, of course, the warriors are slim as chamois, and at the same time,have well-developed musculature of the arms and legs. But there is a description that says that girls - daughters of the Amazons burned their left breasts for more comfortable handling of weapons. And the Spartan way of life hardly contributed to the preservation of female beauty. Well, perhaps the male warriors from Athens liked exotic female warriors more, and the gentle, well-groomed Greek women simply could not stand the competition.
From the Agora down to the library of Celsus, Kuretov Street ran like an arrow. It can be called an avenue - straight, paved with stone and marble, with majestic buildings on both sides, it is impressive to this day. Along the entire street, there are still pedestals on which statues of gods and famous people of that time stood. Surprisingly, the names engraved in the stone have survived. The word "kurets" in Ephesus was used to refer to the priests of the Temple of Artemis, which, although it was part of the polis, still remained completely independent. The most stunning view of the street opens at the gate of Hercules - climbing the dilapidated wall of one of the buildings, you can see the entire perspective of the street.
And if you close your eyes and listen to the people’s dialect, and at the same time forget about time, about the fact that it’s the twenty-first century, then the life of the city begins to seem natural. People go about their business - some to the Scholastica bathhouse, which is located behind the Temple of Hadrian, some to a public toilet, where both men and women relieve themselves at the same time to the sounds of an orchestra playing at a small fountain, so that natural sounds do not injure a gentle ear Ephesians. You can imagine how the owner of a rich house, the floor of which is decorated with a wide ribbon of mosaic, eagerly enlightened person strives to the library to immerse himself in the reading of ancient tomes, or perhaps use this as an excuse to get through the underground passage from the library to the Public house opposite. And let the wife tell her friendswhat a smart husband she has, how he loves to read books! During the Greek archaic period, when the culture was exalted to the level of the gods, Ionia - the western coast of Asia Minor, where the city of Ephesus is located, was the most developed region of Greece. It was there that the first philosophical system of antiquity - natural philosophy - arose. Philosophers reflected and argued, defending their view of the world, about its laws, comprehending the fundamental principle of things.
The city of Ephesus became famous for the name of Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 554-483 BC), who considered fire to be the primary principle of matter. In his opinion, both in nature and in society there is an eternal movement, an eternal struggle, being is constantly changing. How right Heraclitus was - and to this day those in power are fighting for her, still trying to change the world with fire and sword! The feeling of involvement in history persists throughout the walk along the street, which was buried under a thick layer of earth for almost two thousand years and was excavated by archaeologists only a little over two centuries ago. Already dumb delight is caused by the sight of the perfectly preserved front part of the Library of Celsus - with four statues of goddesses, symbols of wisdom, harmony, understanding. The library was built in the 2nd century AD in honor of the proconsul Ephesus of Celsus, whose marble tomb was later installed in a large niche in the hall. On the inside of the facade there is a well-preserved inscription in Greek, which tells about the creation of the Library. Priceless papyri were kept in square niches along the walls of the reading room. In the 3rd century, during the invasion of the Goths, the Library burned down with all the books and scrolls. Alas! Apparently, the Goths were not interested in the wisdom of the world, and they did not at all care about preserving the priceless treasures of literature, philosophy and history.
From the Library of Celsus to the right, through the gates of Mazeus and Mithridates, Marble Avenue goes to the most majestic structure of Ephesus - the Theater, which simultaneously accommodated thirty thousand people. It gave theatrical performances and held gladiatorial fights. The theater was built in 117, but even today it is a grandiose structure. It takes your breath away when you look at it from the side of Portovaya Street - even semicircles of 68 visual rows converge in perspective at the facade of the three-story building of the stage, facing the observer with its back side. The stage was decorated with Ionic and Corinthian columns, between which were sculptures of gods and emperors. The capital is the part of the column that completes its trunk at the top - in the Ionic version it looks like a rolled scroll,and the Corinthian column is decorated with more complex ornamentation and looks somewhat more graceful.
Of course, in the 2nd century, guests of Ephesus could not see the inside of the Theater from the street, since it was covered with a roof, but you can easily imagine what it looked like then. And what a magnificent landscape could be seen from the Theater - after all, the sea harbor was almost next to it. Now the coast of the Aegean Sea from the ancient ruins is as much as twelve kilometers! But the Theater is not all that surprises the modern tourist in ancient Ephesus. The most significant building in its history, and not according to the preserved remains of walls and columns, remains the Temple of Artemis - that same multi-breasted goddess who gives life to all living things, which has become a symbol of motherhood and fertility. Back in antiquity, the Temple of Artemis was included in the seven wonders of the world along with the Egyptian pyramids, the Alexandrian lighthouse, the hanging gardens of Babylon, the statue of the Colossus of Rhodes,Halicarnassus mausoleum, statue of Zeus at Olympia.
Today they go by bus to the place where Artemisy once stood. After two hours of walking under the scorching sun, this is a few minutes of blissful relaxation under the cool air conditioners. The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, like the city of Ephesus itself, has been rebuilt more than once. But invariably on the old foundation, which, according to legends, rested on a kind of pillow of coal and bovine skins - thus the architect Harsifron protected the foundation from destruction by the marshy soil of this area. The first city of Ephesus, founded by Androcles, is still hidden by a swamp and, perhaps, someday the time will come, and the archaeologists of the future will be able to "raise" it to the surface.
From the Temple of Artemis today there is only one column left. And there were 127 of them, 18 meters high. The roof of the Temple rested on them, under which untold treasures were kept - rich people gave their valuables to the Temple of Artemis, trusting the goddess like a Swiss bank. But one day the Temple was robbed, and it happened on the birthday of Alexander the Great. Subsequently, the priests of the Temple explained to the people who had lost their wealth that Artemis that day went to give birth to the mother of the Great Alexander. The robbers took advantage of this - in the absence of the goddess, they grew bolder and freely climbed into the treasury. This legend lived on for many, many years, so that Alexander the Great felt guilty all his life before the inhabitants of Ephesus for that robbery. And he tried in every possible way to support them financially during the years of his reign. But even the Great Alexander could not imagine WHAT would destroy the Temple of Artemis - human stupidity and vanity, the desire to become famous for centuries in any way! There lived a man in Ephesus who really wanted to be remembered for a long, long time. He was not endowed with any special talents, did not shine with intelligence and did not create anything that could eventually become of great value. Then he decided: “Since I cannot create anything, then I will destroy what was created! And people will remember this all their lives, regretting the loss. This man's name was Herostratus. And we remember this name today only because he burned down the Temple of Artemis with Ephesus. It happened 200 years after the opening of the Temple in 550 BC. The temple was badly damaged by fire, and Alexander the Great ordered to restore it at all costs. And the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was rebuilt again!It stood for over five centuries and was finally destroyed by the order of the emperor Theodosius I, as a pagan temple, and a strong earthquake that happened a little later turned the remains of the once magnificent structure into ruins.
In the background, behind the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, you can clearly see the large building of another temple, erected in the 1st century by the Roman emperor Justinian over the grave of St. John - a disciple of Christ, one of the apostles of the Christian church, who, after the ascension of Christ, arrived here with Jesus' mother - Mary. At the foot of Mount Bulbul, not far from the ruins of Ephesus, at an altitude of 400 meters above sea level, is the House of Mary, where she lived in recent years. The house was shaped like a cross. The L-shaped part of the house has survived, in which today there is a small church, as they say, right in the part where St. Mary's room was. There is a beautiful and well-groomed park around the house. There is a holy spring in it, the waters of which heal the ailments of believers, there is a wall of wish fulfillment, at which a ribbon with a knot is tied and the Mother of God is asked for help.
Believers of all confessions come to the House of Mary - Christians, Catholics, and Muslims. This is truly a holy place, being in which you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and unity with God. Saint John lived 107 years preaching the teaching of Christ. And he died of his own free will, convincing the disciples to bury him alive. But they could not stand it, and, tormented by remorse, dug up the grave two days later. The grave was empty. Traces of Christianity are present throughout the territory of modern Turkey. The respectful attitude of the Muslims of the now secular state to the shrines of another religion, once persecuted and persecuted, made it possible to preserve many architectural monuments, priceless frescoes with images of the face of Christ, biblical subjects and the very memory of names dear to every Christian. And Ephesus is one such place. Already thatthat Mary herself walked on the marble slabs of the city streets of Ephesus is awe-inspiring. When alone, when accompanied by John, who became her adopted son by the instruction of Jesus, she, like any woman who lived at that time, walked around the city on her own business - to buy something for the household, talk to someone or listen to what say.
Climate. The weather conditions in the region do not differ from the rest of the Aegean coast. In winter, it is warm and humid here, and the thermometer's thermometer rarely drops below +10 degrees. In summer, the air temperature regularly rolls over +30, so to visit the ancient ruins, it is better to choose early morning or evening.
How to get there. Transport. The nearest international airport to Ephesus is in Izmir, at a distance of 80 km. From there, the most convenient travel options are bus and rail. A more romantic way is to travel by ferry to the port of Kusadasi, and from there by bus to Selcuk. Further, 3 km on foot or by taxi.
Temple of Hadrian, quite well preserved to this day, was built in 138 AD. The Corinthian-style temple was built in honor of the emperor Hadrian, whose statue is unfortunately lost, as are the statues of other emperors placed in the temple. On the other hand, the Temple is adjoined by the so-called "Houses on the hillside", or "Houses of the rich." Each of the houses in this part of Ephesus serves as a terrace for the next house. Frescoes and reliefs have been found in the rooms of many houses, representing either the owners of the houses or scenes from famous plays.
While walking around Ephesus, you will surely be shown a brothel, whose ruins still cause fierce controversy between scholars and local guides. Both of them have a lot of evidence of the correctness of their theory (scientists consider these ruins to be an ordinary house, while the guides accept it only as a public one), including images of an erotic nature, and small rooms of the house, and even an underground passage from library designed to trick suspicious wives.
Ephesus is one of the few cities where tourists can admire the ancient city street, which has remained almost unchanged for 20 centuries. Kuretov Street stretches from the library to the agora, and pleases tourists not only with a paved marble road, but also with picturesque ruins and pedestals on both sides. Unfortunately, the statues that used to decorate the street are now in the museum, so you won't be able to admire them in their original form. However, Kuretov Street is impressive even without them and conveys the spirit of antiquity.
Pritanius is a place where Roman officials and chancery worked, and important banquets and meetings were held. The ruins of this important building are still visible in Ephesus, as well as the temple of Hestia, where a fire once burned constantly.
What attracts us to nowadays dead cities, what do we feel when we find ourselves among the ruins of houses and temples? Simple human interest, involvement in history, curiosity? Are we going to distant lands specially to see the ancient city with our own eyes, feel its breath, become for a moment a part of its life, or are we just buying an excursion in order to have fun while relaxing on the beaches of expensive resorts? Never mind. The important thing is that the city continues to live with us. And he teaches those who think, contemplating the ruins - everything in life is transient, there is nothing eternal and unchanging. The sunset stops the revival of the ancient city. The streets are empty, old stones sleep in the silence of the night; occasionally sighing about their former greatness, they see in their dreams emperors and philosophers, senators and merchants, warriors and sailors. And they are looking forward to touristsnot hiding admiration for the remains of the former beauty and splendor of the ancient city; like the Amazonian queen, which remains desirable and enigmatic to this day.