Izmir Ephesus Region Turkey

Sirince village at Ephesus region:

for visiting Ephesus you have to go to Selçuk / izmir, a small town 70km south of Izmir. But Selcuk is not only place to stay in the region, There are nicer places to stay in the area of Ephesus one of them is village of Sirince (only 8kms from Selçuk in the mountains), and Kusadasi a town by the sea side will be good choice to stay for visiting Ephesus and daily pamukkale.

More about Sirince 

Ephesus dates back to the 7-8th century when the sea withdrew, causing at the same time the silting up of what was one of the biggest ports of that time. This is how the Greeks gradually abandoned the coast to settle in the mountains, hence the name “Ephesus in the mountains” was greek village.

These Greeks lived peacefully until the end of the 1st World War, the Ottoman Empire was one of the great losers of the First World War and after the war, part of today's Turkey was divided among the Allied forces (England, France, Italy, Greece). The Izmir region had become a Greek area. But the Turks led by their leader and founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk, reacted to take back their territories.

How to Go to Sirince Ephesus region

Izmir – Selçuk : From Izmir you can take buses but they are minibuses and departing often from Imir bus station

bus-selcuk-sirince-Selçuk – Sirince : In Selçuk you will have to walk to the bus station (15 min max) to take a minibus in the direction of Sirince. There is about one bus every 20 minutes until 20:00

History Ephesus: How to feel roman times 

Ephesus, which was one of the most important cities of Antiquity.Ephesus city was founded a long time ago (10th century BC) and that it reached its peak during the Roman period (250,000 – 300,000 inhabitants). It was one of the most important ports of that time, which unfortunately had a rapid decline in the 7th-8th century when the sea receded, causing the port to silt up… this is what made the inhabitants go elsewhere, especially in the mountains (as in the current village of Sirince).

Visit Ruins of Ephesus 

Visiting the ruins of Ephesus is that the site is actually very long (you will walk well 3-4kms in the site) and that there are 2 entrances. So the ideal is to arrive on one side, cross the whole site and then exit on the other (and thus avoid an unnecessary return).
By the low entrance on the side of the large theatre and the decor is immediately impressive. A long marble avenue that once connected the port and the imposing theatre opens up in front of us. We climb up into the very well restored amphitheatre which could still welcome more than 20,000 people.
The famous library of Celsus, the commercial Agora to go up a large marble street. On the right there is the site of the terraced houses, At the top, there is the large upper Agora, which was once the place where the important issues of the city of Ephesus were discussed. There is also another smaller but equally well restored amphitheatre. This is also where the upper entrance to the site is located and where you will finish your visit.