The ancient city of Ephesus, first inhabited during the Bronze Age, followed by the Greeks and Roman Empire, was a port city, once considered the most important in the Roman Empire. Ephesus, home to over 250,000 inhabitants was an important trade route along the Mediterranean, and the centre of creativity and culture. Famously home to philosophers, artists, teachers and creatives alike and known as a city where men and women had equal rights. A city built from marble, and one of the most well preserved archaeological sites in Turkey. Visitors come to admire its history, advanced technology and architecture, as well as its connections to early Christianity as one of the Seven Churches of the Revelation. Visitors to the Ephesus may visit the largest amphitheatre in the ancient world, which hosted over 25,000 people, the Goddess Nike, Hadrian’s Gate, Library of Celsus (the third largest library in the Roman world), Marble Road, Roman baths and Harbour Street the Ephesus grand boulevard.

The House of Virgin Mary

Located in the hills above Ephesus is the final resting place of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Brought to Turkey by the Apostle St John it is believed that the Virgin Mary lived out her final days in a stone house close to Ephesus until her Assumption or Dormition. The stone house visited today, remains a holy site for both Christians and Muslims, and hosts masses regularly. With many visiting to pay their respects and drink from a spring beneath the house believed to have healing properties.