The ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey, a UNESCO World Heritage site spanning 1,600 acres—approximately ten times the size of Disneyland—draws millions of visitors annually to explore its exceptionally preserved Roman ruins, offering a tangible connection to a civilization that flourished over two thousand years ago.
Founded in the 10th century BCE, Ephesus evolved into a major Greco-Roman port city that served as a vital trading hub linking East and West. Its strategic location near the Aegean coast attracted influential figures like Alexander the Great and Antony and Cleopatra, leaving an indelible mark on its history. Today, the ruins, primarily from its Roman era, stand as among the best-preserved examples of ancient urban life, with around 2.5 million people visiting in 2025 alone.
One of the city’s main thoroughfares, Curetes Street, is still paved with marble that becomes slick in the rain, lined with statues of prominent citizens, many now headless or limbless. Originally adorned with silk and incense shops and shaded by flowering trees, the street comes alive during summertime night tours, allowing visitors to imagine the bustling pedestrian life under lamplight. The elegant Temple of Hadrian, completed in 138 CE with ornate arches featuring a Medusa relief to ward off evil spirits, exemplifies the architectural sophistication of the era.
At the foot of the hill, the Library of Celsus serves as Ephesus’s star attraction, a two-story facade that once housed over 12,000 scrolls before a fire in 262 CE. Built as a monumental tomb for Senator Gaius Julius Celus Polemeanus, its tapered marble columns create an illusion of grandeur, making it a photographer’s favorite. Just across the street, the remains of a brothel include one of the world’s earliest advertisements—a carving of a foot, money purse, and woman—hinting at the city’s less cerebral amenities.
Romans’ engineering prowess is evident in the public latrines, part of the Scholastica Baths, which could accommodate up to 1,000 people and served as a social hub for gossip and discussion. Nearby, the Terrace Houses offer a glimpse into aristocratic life with private baths, frescoes, and mosaics, accessible for an additional fee. These homes highlight the advanced plumbing systems with clay pipes for hot and cold water.
Ephesus also holds deep religious significance, having been an early Christian center where Saint Paul preached from 52 to 55 CE and is said to have brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, to spend her final days. The House of the Virgin Mary remains a pilgrimage site, while the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, now has only a single reconstructed pillar after being destroyed by arson in 356 CE, an act considered early terrorism.
The 25,000-seat Great Theater, used for performances and gladiatorial battles, enforced a strict social hierarchy with seating divided by occupation and gender. It gained biblical fame as the site of a riot in the “Acts of the Apostles.” Harbour Street, once leading to a bustling port, now ends in a dry basin due to centuries of silt, but government plans aim to refill the canal and reconnect the harbor to the sea, potentially allowing maritime access for the first time in over two millennia.
If realized, this restoration project could revitalize the ancient port, enhancing the visitor experience and underscoring Ephesus’s enduring allure as a window into the past, where every marble step echoes with stories of wealth, faith, and daily life from a bygone era.
