Ephesus

Erected behind this gate is a colonnaded Byzantine fountain with a round-arched architrave block at the top. Situated behind the monumental tomb are the Dwellings on the Slope visible on the foothills of the Mount Bulbul, built in several floors, with an atrium and various rooms inside and a floor laid with coloured mosaics, which belonged to the well-to-do people of the city. These dwellings are 80 to 180 n2 in width. There were shops on the lower floors of the dwellings facing the street. In the corner where the Street of Curetes meets the Harbour Street there are Brothels built in the Roman era. The walls of the rooms of the houses were ornamented with the frescoes of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. The Brothels are connected through a gallery to the Library of Celsius located opposite. The Library of Celsius, the symbol of the ancient city of Ephesus, was caused to be constructed in memory of Celsius, the Proconsul of Ephesus, in the 2nd century B.C. It is two-storeyed on a rectangular plan, measuring 12x22. On the facade of the library ascended through 9 steps there are 16 columns with Corinthian capitals and quadrangular niches in-between them. The columns at the bottom carry the ornate architrave blocks. The columns at the top have architrave blocks in the form of triangular frontals. Within the niches between the columns there are the statues of various philosophers. The reading section in the form of a quadrangular hall that had existed in the building was destroyed by fire and presumably, here was the statue of Athena, goddess of science. Below the great niche in the hall, the Marble Sarcophagus of Celsius was placed. The square niches on the walls of the reading hall apparently were the shelves on which the papyrus scrolls were placed. Behind the Gate ol Mithridates in the form of a triumphal arch with three passages as located adjacent to the library, there is the commercial agora of square floor plan, measuring 110x110. The agora is surrounded all around by a portico and shops where Ionian, Corinthian and Doric columns are placed. inscription here reads as follows: "Whoever urinates here will be tried.1' The western comer of the agora houses the remans of the Temple of Seraphis which was transformed into a church during the Byzantine era. Apparently, the statues of various emperors, proconsuls, heroes and deities were placed on the pedestals existing on the Harbour Street in antiquity. At the beginning of the Harbour Street a gravure exists on the walkway giving directions, by means of an arrow, to a Prostitute and a Brothel, At the point where the street finishes there is a theatre with a seating capacity of 30 thousand as built resting into the western slope of the Mount Panayir. 68 caveas of the theatre which was built in 117 A.D. were divided with two diazomas into three sections and the spectators could reach the seating benches through an arcaded staircase in the form of a gallery. The facade of the presumably three-storeyed stage building was ornamented with columns with Ionian and Corinthian capitals, with the statues of deities and emperors erected in-between the columns. Existence of a protection wall on the orchestra of the theater for the purpose of guarding the spectators on the first row provides testimony to the fact that the theater was also used as an arena during the late Roman Period. On both sides of the Arcadian Way measuring 10 m wide by 600 m long running from the front of the theatre to the harbour there were colonnaded porticoes. The walkway was paved with mosaics and there were shops behind. In the harbour area, the remains of gymnasium, bath and single-apse Byzantine churches, baptisterium and stadion are visible. Selc.uk/Ayasuluk Hill is an acropolis hill and the city here was rebuilt several times. Lying on the hill are the remains of a basilica, baptisterium and church built in honour of Saint Johannes during the Byzantine era. Situated within the marshy land on the western slope of the hill are the remains of the Temple of Artemision. considered as one of the 7 wonders in the world. The temple which essentially belonged to the Etruscan Mother Goddess Cybele was, upon subsquent identification of Cybele with Artemis, rebuilt.It measures 55x115 m. Around the temple there are 127 columns of Ionic order, rising up to 19 m each. 36 columns located to the west of the temple are carved in relief. The temple which is ascended through 13 steps has an altar in the form of a horse shoe, measuring 22x32 m. The excavations conducted here yielded artifacts of gold and ivory in large numbers. The Temple was destroyed by Goths in 263 A.D. and only one column is extant today. Built upon the Mount Bulbul siting the antique city of Ephesus is the Virgin Mary Sanctuary, at an elevation of 400 m, also with a house church built of masonry inside, in which the Holy Mary resided. During the early periods of Christianity Saint Johannes and the Holy Virgin came to Ephesus and resided in this house. The area has today been proclaimed a "Place of Pilgrimage for Christians" by the Pope. In the Museum established in 1939 within the settlement of Selc.uk, the relics belonging to the prehistoric, Lydian, Roman, Byzantine and Turkish eras as uncovered by the archeological excavations in Ephesus and the area are in exhibition. The most remarkable artifact in the museum is the marble Statue of Artemis, protectress of the nature and animals, with a hat on its head, embellished with various animal and floral relief-carvings, in a position depicting prosperity. Bess, God of Fertility, of worldwide renown, is also on display.