Turkey harbors numerous historical landmarks, ancient cities. In one of such places steeped in secrets and mysteries, we invite you to join us. The excursion to Ephesus from Bodrum - we will help you immerse yourself in the history of the ancient city under the open sky.

Library of Celsus in Ephesus

Surely you've seen the facade of the Library of Celsus, even if you've never been to Ephesus. Its image adorns the covers of many advertising brochures. The library was built by Gaius Julius Aquila for his father, Emperor Hadrian, starting construction in the year 114. He allocated funds for its arrangement and the purchase of books.

Thanks to Aquila, the library received about twelve thousand valuable copies. But during his lifetime, the construction was not completed; further construction was continued by Aquila's descendants.

Since the structure was intended for Tiberius Julius Celsus, it served as his tomb. The sarcophagus was placed under the reading room, in the very center. Beneath it was a marble crypt adorned with a voluminous image of this great man in relief.

Around the 4th century AD, the library suffered significantly from a fire and was destroyed, so now you can only see the preserved facade of the Library of Celsus.

Ancient Amphitheater in Ephesus

Another structure in Ephesus that appears on many promotional brochures and adorns the pages of magazines and books is the amphitheater.

The almost three-story building was erected on a hill at the foot of Mount Panair. From the upper rows of the amphitheater, there is a beautiful panorama of the entire ancient Ephesus.

The huge theater stage has survived almost in its original form to our times. Initially, the amphitheater had only one tier for spectators. But the Roman Emperor Nero loved to participate in theatrical productions himself, and to allow even more spectators to witness his acting talent, he ordered the construction of the second tier of the Ephesian theater. Later, a third tier was added by order of Nero's successor, Emperor Galba.

Special attention was paid to the decoration of the theater - numerous columns, statues, reliefs on the walls.

Due to its size, the theater could accommodate up to twenty-five thousand spectators at a time.

House of the Virgin Mary

The most important place in Ephesus for religious travelers. Many specifically travel to these places to visit the House of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Virgin Mary lived here. Next to her house is a holy spring and a Wall of Wishes, where everyone can write down their cherished dream and ask for its fulfillment.

In the house, there is also a Quran since in Islam, Mary is named Maryam bint Imran and revered as the mother of the Islamic prophet Jesus. At different times, three Popes from the Vatican visited here - in 1967, Pope Paul VI, in 1979, Pope John Paul II, and Benedict XVI in 2006.

Other Important Structures in Ephesus

On the territory of the open-air museum, in addition to the above, there are many significant buildings and their ruins. For example, the building for meetings of the city senate - the Odeon. It is also called the Small Theater - it was built to relieve the main Amphitheater.

Even one of the Seven Wonders of the World is located on the territory of ancient Ephesus! The Temple of the goddess Artemis attracts tourists.

Also, you will see the ruins of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - the temple of the Ephesian goddess Artemis. Moreover, the ruins of the agora - the venue for city meetings and a large trading center. Merchants from the entire empire came here, and it also housed a slave market where slave trade flourished.

You will see the ruins of the Temple of Emperor Hadrian, an architectural ensemble called the "Houses on the Hillside," the Public House, and the remains of the Prytaneion building, the ruins of places of city meetings and a large trading center, and much more.

Not far away are the remains of the Basilica of St. John. He spent his last years of life here and was buried.

The excursion to Ephesus from Bodrum is a very rich historical tour. When heading to Bodrum, be prepared to receive a lot of new and amazing information, immerse yourself in ancient history, and feel a part of it.