Ephesus Ancient City 5

 

Ephesus was undoubtedly the golden age, living in the Roman period, which was the capital of the Asian Roman province. Especially in the Augustus era, the city has a radical change in its construction plan. Participation of Ephesus in the universal Mediterranean market, the influx of foreign merchants and the demand for luxury goods cause the commercial activities to increase tremendously. In the last quarter of the 1st century AD, the port of Ephesus developed and became one of the most important ports of Asia Minor. The hexagonal basin was surrounded by ship shelters, skylights, warehouses and shops. The central harbor gate at Ephesus's main entrance, the gigantic harbor chapel, provided the opportunity for cleaning and relaxation before the traveler entered the city. The Great Theater, last addition is built in the 2nd century AD is located at the end of the port cave. Commercial facilities and commodities are arranged around the city's commercial center Tetragonos Agora. Kuretler Caddesi is surrounded with richly decorated housing structures, fountains, baths, halls, shops and honorary monuments. The street provides a way down to the Celsus Library, built on the grave of Julius Celsus Polemaeanus in the first quarter of the 2nd century AD. On the west end of Kuretler Caddesi, Yamaç Evleri is an extraordinary example reflecting the lifestyle of the upper class living in Ephesus. The busy residential area covering 4000 square meters is located on the skirts of the northern slope of Bülbüldağ. These detached dwelling units are arranged in groups of two on the slopes. Decorated with mosaics, wall paintings and marble panels, these houses bring out the lifestyle of the sophisticated upper layer of the Roman Empire's city. The houses built during the Tiberius period were used until the 3rd century when they were destroyed by a major earthquake. The huge Theater overlooks to the settlement on the west of the Panayırdağ. It was very important for the urban infrastructure because of its functions like the urban focal point and the place of the parliament. Approximately 25,000 theaters were completed during the Imperial period. Only cultural activities would not take place in the theater. At the same time gladiatorial games and at least ekklesia (People's Assembly) was the meeting place of the people of Ephesus. This function is also mentioned in the New Testament, which describes the uprising of silversmiths against the mission of Saint Paul. Today's appearance is largely due to repairs combined with the Byzantine fortification wall during the Late Roman Period.

Ephesus Ancient City 4

Definition of Settlement in Ephesus Ancient  City

Epehsus Ancient City remains have been preserved in the Çukuriçi Höyük, located in the southern part of the late Ephesus antique city, from the Prehistoric Period dating back to the 7th millennium BC. This early settlement was abandoned after its destruction. The next use of the settlement as much as it is now is dated to the mid-4th millennium BC about 1,500 years later. The mound should have been uninterruptedly settled for the Early Bronze Age, where it was abandoned, until 2500 BC. Çukuriçi Höyük is one of the oldest settlements in the whole region, not only around Ephesus. Moreover, the position of Anatolian and Aegean cultural regions in the region has enabled Ephesus to have an indispensable comprehensive relationship and contacts for many of the developments that preceded mankind.

In 2008, on the northeastern side of Panayırdağ, there was a residential area surrounded by mounds. Five residential buildings were partially excavated. These constructions are the first Classical Period houses researched in Ephesus. The most striking finding is a partially well-preserved fortification wall covering a 9-hectare habitat. On the rather steep slope to the north is the stone god of the Goddess Meter. There was a port on the north-west where a natural sheep could still be seen on the slope. The Classical-Early Hellenistic settlement in Panayırdağ was destroyed and abandoned around 300 BC, exactly the same as the city founded by Lysimakhos.

Most of the monuments and structures belonging to the Greco-Roman period of the city were preserved in Ephesus. In 300 BC, under the rule of King Lysimakhos, the city is surrounded by the wall of the Hellenistic Period. City walls are continued for 3 km on the Bülbüldağ, where it is particularly well preserved from the sea to the east.

The Hellenistic city has a rectangular grid plan. At the top of the city is the Tetragonos Agora with religious centers, the State Agora containing the main public and administrative monuments, and the major commercial bazaar in the lower part. There are also monumental structures, such as the Great Theater, which dates back to the Hellenistic Revolution but is completely reconstructed during the Roman Imperial period. Natural cove of Ephesus has been converted to bay by Attalos,  King of Pergamum II  before the 2nd century AD.

Ephesus Ancient City 3

During the reign of Emperor I. Theodosius in 380 AD, every person living in the empire was imposed Catholic faith and paganism was 'officially' dead. This new appearance, rising with the spread of Christianity, leads to the gradual abandonment of all structures that witness the existence of a very godly cult and to the building of Christian churches in their place. In 431 the third ecumenical consul is held in Ephesus. The city is transported to the old port area where public buildings, churches and habitats are established. Life in this area lasts until the 14th century. However, at the beginning of the 10th century a second Byzantine settlement developed around the summit of Ayasuluk Tepesi. The exchange of power relations manifests itself in the 11th and 13th centuries. After 1206, for the first time under the sovereignty of the Laskarid Dynasty, a longer peace period is provided. As it is named in Italian sources, the center of Ephesus / Ayasuluk or Altaluogo settlement is deployed around St. John's Basilica. Eventually, in 1304, Ephesus passed through Turks, but continues to be an important center for Christian crucifixion and is visited by countless travelers on the Holy Land route. Despite the economic difficulties, Ephesus / Ayasuluk remain an important commercial center and regional maritime power. Ephesus is the most important port of the city of Aydın and after 1348 it became the capital of the empires. The city passes the last years of prosperity at the beginning of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century under the rule of the Aydinids of the Seljuk Emirate. In 1402 the city was attacked by the Mongols under the command of Timur. After the Mongols have left the city, the emirate will reestablish. After 20 years of power relations, the Ottomans conquered the city in 1425. Prosperity continues throughout the 15th century. However, there is a marked decline soon. In this 17th-century old metropolis, only 100 people live, malaria circling people and animals. By the 20th century, the sand carried by Menderes had extended the oven to 5 km. After Ephesus was abandoned and slowly began to collapse, the ruins of the ancient glorious structures provided a source of raw material, and these ruins were disintegrated, reused, and processed. These tremendous ruins, providing information about Ephesus and Ayasuluk for trip reports and sketches in the early modern period, have been the targets of numerous tradesmen. During the following centuries the settlement was often mentioned in the descriptions of travelers primarily in English and French sources. Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi has made the most detailed and best description of the Turkish remains while European travelers are mostly interested in antiquities.

 

Ephesus Ancient City 2

In 129 BC, Attalos, the king of Pergamon, inherited his kingdom to the Roman Empire to join the entire region as an Asian province, and they benefited from the conditions of this testament. Ephesus city becomes a very important trade center in Augustus period and later. Historian Aelius Aristides describes Ephesus as the most important trading center in Asia. At the same time, the second philosophy school in Aegean is the leading political and intellectual center. Efes enjoys the privileged position of the East and the West with its exceptionally good climate, and it is also important to have the Artemis cult. Artemision also had an economic role, apart from the civilian precaution. A bank has become increasingly an investment because it is the most important local landlord and multifunctional as a refuge for refugees. From the 1st century onwards, Ephesus was visited by disciple who tried to propagate the one god faith of Christianity and therefore forced to escape from the Roman persecution and seek refuge. As we have learned from the written sources, this is where Saint Paul stayed in the city for three years from 65 to 68, gave famous sermons and told his listeners to embrace one God's faith. Later in the 1st century Evangelical came to Ephesus with the legendary Virgin Mary in St. John's patronage and was finally buried in Ayasuluk Tepesi. The 2nd century AD testifies to the golden age of Ephesus. Numerous honorary monuments are given to the public and the people of Ephesus by private citizens. Ephesus gained the privilege of building two emperor shrines, one for the honor of Hadrianus, the other of Domitianus. In the 3rd century Ephesus and its surrounding country are devastated by Goths. In addition, the entire city becomes one with a severe earthquake that lived around AD 270. At that time, the destruction of the temple still practiced by the Artemis clique to the Gothic tribes, and the earthquake had serious consequences for future religious development. Although the temple continued to function until 381 and continued to be worshiped, the people of Ephesus turned to religious imaginations based on salvation. The Egyptian god Serapis and Christian Jesus Christ have grown up and become more popular alternatives to the old official cults.

Ephesus Ancient City

According to ancient myths; Ephesus (Ephesus), founded by female warriors known as the Amazon. It is thought that Apasas came from a city in the Arzawa kingdom, whose name means Mother Goddess city. The Carian and Leleves were probably among the first inhabitants of the city. According to the legend, the city was founded by Androklos, son of Kodros, the second king of Athens, on the shore of the Kayster River where he went to the sea, guided by a fish and wild pig on the advice of the priests. On the other hand, archaeological evidence shows that indigenous people live in the area until the end of the second millennium BC. This place is probably the capital city of Arzawa, the capital city of Apasah, which can be matched with the Ayasuluk Hill, which is mentioned in Hittite sources. If this assumption is true, we should expect a regional power that is closely related to the Hittite Empire, although not much of the Aegean, Mycenae and Crete influences are mentioned. There is an observable increase in Greek influence in 100 BC and after. It is highly probable that the first colonists from the Greek island settled along the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea today, in what is now called Ionia (Ionia).


The cities of Ionia develop after the participation of the Ionia migrations in a confederation under the leadership of Ephesus. During the period of Lydian Kings, Ephesus became one of the most wealthy cities of the Mediterranean world.The Lydian king Croesus was defeated by the Persian king Kyros sets the stage for the spread of Persian sovereignty over the entire Aegean coastline. At the beginning of the 5th century, when the cities of Ionia rose up against the Persians, they quickly separated from the rest of them and thus were saved from destruction. When Ephesus entered a period of peace and rest of fifty years, it remained under Persian rule until the rise of Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Lysimakhos leaps his arms to develop the city he called Arsinoeia after his wife Arsinoe. A new port builds a defensive wall on the slopes of Panayırdağ and Bülbüldağ, and the city runs 2.5 km southwest. In 281 BC, the city was reestablished as Ephesus and became one of the most important commercial ports of the Mediterranean.

Balloon Tour in Cappadocia

Balloon Tour in Cappadocia

The balloon tour will be your best choice to explore the unique beauties of the Cappadocia, fairy chimneys (Goreme, Ürgüp, Avanos). You will be accompanied by an extraordinary panoramic view while our balloons are floating on fairy chimneys, valleys and rock formations. Since our bubbles only move in the direction of the wind, the flight will be special to you. Today, you can discover the unique structures of nature with balloon tours made at sunrise, and you can be a witness to the aesthetics that integrate with history. The Cappadocia balloon tour will fade over the fairy chimneys, while a fascinating experience inside the valley will be waiting for you. The most popular hot air balloon route in the World. Do you want to see many natural beauty in Cappadocia, especially the fairy chimneys with special privileges? For more than 20 years, you can participate in these dreamy tours of the balloon tours, fairy chimneys, boats and rock formations made in Ürgüp, Goreme, Cappadocia. Tours starting with morning birth take an average of 4-20km and take 45 to 65 minutes. During this journey you will wander between the pair of winds and the fairy chimneys, witnessing the beauty of the vallies that will take your mind from your head. Our tours, which are canceled in more than 11 km of wind or windy - rainy weather, are still going on every year. Our balloons, which we carry on our flights which can rise to an average of 900 meters under appropriate conditions, are constantly inspected by the Civil Aviation Authority for security reasons. Take your romanticism, family fun, cultural discoveries to the top of your most memorable moments. What would you say to share with your loved ones the wonderful pictures you have taken after the celebration of our arrival and the wonderful hours you have spent? We have two tour options, Standard and Private. Our standard tours are carried out with passenger groups of 12-20 people according to the bubble type. Because of the balance of weight balance, there are no bubbles, so you can not take off with more or less people. Our balloon tours are always your dream journey, our experienced team, our reliable balloons, our reasonable prices and our quality service. It is no longer the case that one of the most impressive landscapes that have ever existed on earth has become the witness of birds.

Ortahisar and Ortahisar Catle Cappadocia

Ortahisar, Nevşehir

 

It is a town of Nevşehir located on Urgup highway, 6 kilometers from Urgup. The most prominent structure is Ortahisar Castle, carved at the time of Etiler, at an altitude of 86 m with a height of 1200 m. The castle was used for both strategic and settlement purposes. 

There are examples of characteristic civil architecture of Cappadocia in the skirts of the castle. In addition, potatoes and apples grown in the region are stored in rock deposits, which are carved on the slopes of almost all valleys, and the orange and lemon brought from the Mediterranean Region are stored as well. Ortahisar is 6 km west of Ürgüp and near Nevşehir road. In 1916 we became a town. It is an interesting town with its natural beauties and historical features. 

The valley that covers Kavak, İbrahim Paşa and Ortahisar, reaches the Damsa valley. The relatives of this vassal Damsa tea take the name Üzengi. Its natural features are drinking water, mineral water. In the middle of Ortahisar there is a castle with a huge fairy chimney. The foreigners also call it as a castle. There are rooms and lounges. It is difficult to get to the hill, but view fo the castle from there takes all your tiredness. In addition, there are many churches around the town. 

Talas valley is very interesting in this regard. In the middle of the storey, the houses rise up the stairs to the hill. In recent years they have built new houses on the plain towards the road of Nevşehir. It consists of two localities named Atik and Cedit. The natural beauty of the old historical buildings is interesting citrus warehouses are visible near the rock churches are formed to provide the tourist attractions. There are very interesting monasteries and churches in Ortahisar valleys. These are Sarıca Church, Cambazlı Church, Rabbit Church, Balkan Stream Churches, 

Hallaç Dere Monastery. The people of Ortahisar make their living from viticulture. Also the big head is made in livestock. Ortahisar Castle was used for both strategic and settlement purposes. There are examples of characteristic civil architecture of Cappadocia in the skirts of the castle. In addition, potatoes and apples grown in the region and orange and lemon brought from the Mediterranean Region are stored in the cold air depots which are torn on the slopes of almost all the valleys. Also in 2004, the first and only Ethnographic Museum of Cappadocia, where all the experience of Cappadocia was told, was opened in Ortahisar.