Historic & Cultural in Turkey: Top Places

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Ephesus

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, a city-state that was also the capital of Arzawa, by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC.

Temple of Ephesian Artemis

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision, also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to a localised form of the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus, near modern-day Selçuk in Turkey. In antiquity, it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Library of Celsus

The Library of Celsus is an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, located near the modern town of Selçuk, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. The building was commissioned in the years 110s CE by a consul of the Roman Empire, Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus, as a funerary monument for his father Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, former proconsul of Asia, and completed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, sometime after Aquila's death.

Basilica of St. John

The Basilica of Saint John the Theologian was a basilica in the city of Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian the Great in the 6th century, at a site where John the Apostle was said to have been buried. It was modeled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

Temple of Hadrian

The Temple of Hadrian is a historic site located in the ancient city of Ephesus, in Selçuk, Aydın. It was built in the 2nd century AD in honor of Emperor Hadrian and features Corinthian order architecture. The temple is notable for its rich reliefs depicting the founding legend of Ephesus and mythological stories. It is within walking distance of Ephesus (425 m), the Celsus Library (119 m), and the Church of Mary (795 m).

Prytaneion (Ephesus)

The Prytaneion is a historic site located in Selçuk, Aydın. It served as the religious and administrative heart of the ancient city of Ephesus. Built during the 3rd century BCE under Lysimachos, the Prytaneion housed the sacred eternal flame, which symbolized the city's existence and was crucial to keep lit. The Prytaneion is within walking distance of Ephesus (624 m), the Celsus Library (373 m), and the Temple of Hadrian (254 m).

Theater (Ephesus)

The Ephesus Ancient Theater, located in Selçuk, Aydın, began construction in the Hellenistic period in the 3rd century BC and was expanded during the Roman period. With a capacity of approximately 24,000-25,000 people, it is one of the largest open-air theaters in the ancient world. The theater hosted various cultural and social activities, including plays, gladiatorial contests, public assemblies, and religious events. Ephesus (177 m), Celsus Library (261 m), and the Church of Mary (575 m) are within walking distance.

Scholastikia Baths (Ephesus)

Varius Hamamı is a historic Roman-era bathhouse located in Selçuk, Aydın. Constructed in the 2nd century A.D., it features a 40-meter-long corridor with mosaics dating to the 5th century. The structure includes a frigidarium (cold section), tepidarium (warm section), and caldarium (hot section). It is within walking distance of significant sites such as Ephesus, the Library of Celsus, and the Temple of Hadrian.

Nymphaeum Traiani (Ephesus)

The Traian Fountain, located in Selçuk, Aydın, is a significant historical structure within the ancient city of Ephesus. Built between 102 and 114 AD in honor of Roman Emperor Trajan, this monumental fountain served both as an ornamental feature and a public water source. At its center, beneath the statue of Emperor Trajan, there is a globe symbolizing the emperor's dominion over the world. The Traian Fountain is within walking distance of other notable sites such as Ephesus (480 m), the Celsus Library (186 m), and the Temple of Hadrian (68 m).

Tetragonos Agora (Ephesus)

The Commercial Market, also known as Tetragonos Agora, was the commercial hub of the ancient city of Ephesus, built during the Hellenistic period and expanded in the Roman era. This square marketplace was surrounded by columns, each side measuring 110 meters, and featured shops and rooms used for political meetings and court proceedings. It is within walking distance of Ephesus (341 m), Celsus Library (22 m), and the Church of Mary (685 m).

Temenos with Double Monument

The Temenos with Double Monument is a historic site located in Selçuk, Aydın. This sanctuary, situated east of the Prytaneion, was a large open courtyard measuring 26.97 x 19.86 meters, surrounded on three sides by Ionic colonnades. In the center of the courtyard stood a raised structure, 14.98 x 16.14 meters, with steps, which may have served as a base for an altar or two small temples. The site is within walking distance of significant landmarks such as Ephesus (624 m), the Celsus Library (373 m), and the Temple of Hadrian (254 m).

South Gate of the Agora (Ephesus)

The South Gate, also known as the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates, is a historic site located in the ancient city of Ephesus in Selçuk, Aydın. This triple-arched marble gate was built in 4 or 3 BC by Mazeus and Mithridates, who were freed slaves of Emperor Augustus. It served as a monumental south entrance to the Commercial Agora and stands directly beside the Celsus Library.

East Gymnasium (Ephesus)

The East Gymnasium in Selçuk, Aydın, is a historic bath-gymnasium complex built around the 2nd century AD by the sophist Flavius Damianus. This structure featured large bathing halls surrounded by vaulted halls for physical exercise, games, and strolling after bathing. It is located within walking distance of Hadrian Tapınağı (772 m), Prytaneion (519 m), and Domitian Tapınağı (624 m).

Magnesian Gate

The Gate of Magnesia is a historic site located in Selçuk, Aydın, and served as one of the eastern entrances to the ancient city of Ephesus. Built as a triumphal arch gate in the 3rd century BC, it was named for facing the city of Magnesia to the south. During the Roman period, it lost its strategic importance and was renamed the Gate of Honor under Emperor Vespasianus. The Prytaneion is 614 meters away, the Temple of Domitian is 714 meters away, and the Odeon (Concert Hall) is 559 meters away.

Efes Antik Kanal

Efes Antik Kanal is a historic site located in the Selçuk district of Aydın. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Tomb of Yahya Efendi

Yahya Efendi Tomb is a 1571 Mimar Sinan masonry tomb located in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district, opposite Çırağan Palace, adjacent to Yahya Efendi Lodge. The tomb, belonging to Yahya Efendi, the famous mystic, scholar, and poet of the reign of Suleiman I, is inside the complex consisting of a lodge-tevhidhane-madrasah, the initial construction of which was done by Mimar Sinan.

Şehzade Cemaleddin Efendi Fountain

Şehzade Cemaleddin Efendi Fountain or the Fountain in Emrullah Efendi Primary School Garden is a fountain located in Lüleburgaz district of Kırklareli province.

Ahmet Kemal Efendi Fountain

Ahmet Kemali Efendi Fountain, built in 1812 in Sarıyer, Istanbul, by Ahmet Kemali Efendi, who was the Rumeli Kazasker, Chief Imam of the Sultan, and also a composer, is also known as the Marble Fountain.

Yahya Efendi Külliyesi

Yahya Efendi Complex is a complex in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. It includes a mosque, dervish lodge, library, fountain, and tomb. Yahya Efendi had the first dervish lodge, which was a complex consisting of a small mosque-tevhidhane, madrasah, Turkish bath, fountain, and houses, built on the land he purchased.

İhramcı Mehmed Sadık Efendi Fountain

İhramcı Mehmed Sadık Efendi Fountain is a fountain in the Yavuz Sultan Selim neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul. According to its inscription, it is known by this name because it was repaired by İhramcı Mehmed Sadık Efendi. Its first inscription is not extant.

Çavuşzade Ahmet Efendi Fountain

Çavuşzade Ahmed Efendi Fountain is an Ottoman period fountain in the Silivrikapı neighborhood of Fatih district, Istanbul. It is on the wall of the Ramazan Efendi Mosque in Kocamustafapaşa Square. According to its inscription, it was built by a person named Çavuşzade Ahmed Efendi.

Ömer Efendizade Fountain

Ömer Efendizade Fountain, Kesikbaş Fountain or Çamaşırcılar Fountain, located within the borders of Merkez district of Edirne province, is an Ottoman period fountain with an unknown construction date, repaired in 1729 by Edirne Mufti Ömer Efendizade Ahmet Çelebi.

İvaz Efendi Fountain

İvaz Efendi Fountain or Mimar Mustafa Ağa Fountain, is a historical meydan fountain in the Ayvansaray neighborhood of Fatih district, Istanbul province. It is in the square in front of the İvaz Efendi Mosque. It is made of cut küfeki stone and has no inscription.

Rakım Paşa Çeşmesi

Rakım Pasha Fountain is an Ottoman-era fountain located adjacent to the qibla wall of the Ali Pertek Mosque on the coastal road in the Rumelihisarı neighborhood of Sarıyer district, Istanbul province. It is also known as İbrahim Efendi Fountain. Rakım Mehmed Pasha, who served as Ottoman chief treasurer and governor of Habesh and Egypt, had it built for the soul of his father, Defterdar İbrahim Efendi.

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