Ephesus

Ephesus (or Efes, in Turkish, from which the local beer derives its brand name) is the best preserved classical city in Turkey and probably the best known. It had a harbour, which became silted up and ultimately led to its decline. At its peak it had a population of 250,000. It is also significant because it is believed St John and the Virgin Mary lived here for three years and there are ruins of a church built in her name. The site is very significant to the Catholic Church and has been visited by several popes.

The highlight of our visit was seeing the terraced houses which are being restored to provide the best evidence of Roman life, other than Pompeii; they were the houses of the wealthy. We managed to see this section of the site and the church of the Virgin Mary with no other visitors – in the case of the former, due to a (modest) additional entrance fee and in the case of the latter a (short) walk from the main site.