Ephesus Turkey was a city within both the ancient Roman and ancient Greek civilizations, and its ruins are a popular tourist attraction in Turkey.
What remains of Ephesus is located at the Asian side of Turkey, in Anatolia, close to the modern town of Selçuk, at the province of Izmir.
The city was, during its time, one of the twelve cities who belonged to the Ionian League (one of the first collaborations between cities in the region) during the classical Greek period, at about the middle of the 7th century BC.
It was known especially for having the temple of Artemi, which was completed at about 550 BC, and which was one of the “seven wonders of the ancient world”.
However, the temple was destroyed in 401 AD, by a crowd led by Johannes Krysostomos, one of the most famous bishops of Constantinoble and Greek church fathers.
Byzantine Emperor Constantinus I Great (in power between 306–337 AD) rebuild much of the ruined city, and added several new building to the cityscape, including public baths.
The city was destroyed again, this time by an earthquake, in 614 AD.
According to one of the legends related to the city, the church of Ephesus is one of the seven churches mentioned at the Book of Revelations in Bible’s New Testament, and the Gospel of John is believed by many to have been written here.
Today, you can easily visit the archaeological excavations in Ephesus, as they are located only about 3 kilometers from the town of Selçuk, not too far from the Adnan Menderes airport, and the harbor of Kuşadasın.