Ephesus: An Ancient Wonder

ByCynthia Capley
View of the city of Kusadasi, Türkiye along the hillside as the cruise ship pulled into port.
Sailing into the port of Kusadasi.

Our first port stop on the Greece and Türkiye cruise was the city of Kusadasi. We got off the port then boarded the bus that would take us to Ephesus.

Ephesus, an ancient city that dates back to the eleventh century B.C., was an amazing place to visit. 

As I wandered through the streets of the ruins, I felt at a loss for words. Here I was walking where the Virgin Mary, Princess Arsinoe IV (Cleopatra’s sister) and other important people once lived. It’s a location rich in history and played a significant role in the spread of Christianity.

During the tour, I had captured notes on my photos using my iPhone but I was disgruntled to find that when I came to put this post together, my notes had disappeared. 

I’m sharing some of the photos from Ephesus along with any details I recall from our fantastic tour guide.

Tech Tip: If you take notes on your iPhone photos app and you’re going to transfer your photos from the iPhone to the Photos app on your Mac, the notes don’t get transferred. As I discovered, once your photos are deleted from your phone the notes are gone forever. According to what I’ve read if you back photos to iCloud, the notes on your photos get saved, but I don’t have the amount of iCloud space I would need to be able to back up all my photos. 

Ephesus was an important port city. However, it began to lose its importance and eventually was abandoned as silt built up and moved the harbor further away. Today the Aegean Sea is over four miles away from the ancient city.

Road made of marble leading to the harbor of Ephesus, Türkiye.
Marble road leading to where the edge of harbor of Ephesus, Türkiye existed.
Sarcophagus of Arsinoe IV, Cleopatra's sister in Ephesus, Türkiye.
Sarcophagus od Arsinoe IV. Cleopatra murdered Arsinoe fearing her sister was a threat to her power.
Pillar with medical symbol of a serpent carved around a staff used for the pharmacy in Ephesus, Türkiye.
The structure for the city’s pharmacy was indicated by the column containing the medical symbol.
Image of two columns which were part of Hercules gate in Ephesus, Türkiye.
Hercules Gate was placed in this location around 4th century AD. It was used to narrow the street to restrict traffic to pedestrians only.
Marble carving of Nike, the Goddess of Victory at Ephesus, Türkiye.
Carving of Nike, The Goddess of Victory. The swoosh of the Nike brand of sneakers was inspired by this goddess. If you look you can see the inspiration for the swoosh by her leg.
Main marketplace in Ephesus, Türkiye. A row of columns indicating the layout of the stores with steps leading into the shops.
The main street and marketplace. One can imagine this once bustling with activity.
The two story facade of the library in Ephesus, Türkiye.
The Library of Celsus, one of the largest of its time. It was completed in 135 AD.
Not surprising that across from the library was a brothel (not pictured).

Terrace Houses

Terracotta clay water pipes in Ephesus, Türkiye.
Clay pipes used to supply running water and heat homes.

Our tour included a visit to the terrace houses, hillside dwellings that were the homes of the wealthy. One surprising facts about these residences is that they had the modern convenience of hot and cold running water supplied by clay pipes like the ones shown in the photo above. The clay pipes were also used to heat the homes.

Homes were used by various families over time and each owner would decorate according to their tastes. As a result, many of the homes had floor mosaics and wall paintings that were of different styles as shown in the photos.

Wall painted with birds and columns of flowers in a red and green pattern in a terrace house in Ephesus, Türkiye.
Tile mosiac of a lion in a terrace house in Ephesus, Türkiye.
Tiled mosaic on the floor of the same room in the terrace house.

Finally, no tour would be complete without some cat photos.

Cat sitting on a marble ruin in Ephesus, Türkiye.
Image of five cats of different colors near the exit of Ephesus, Türkiye.

If you decide to visit Ephesus, I recommend going on a tour. Our visit was enriched by the information presented by our tour guide.