Ephesus

The ruins of Ephesus take on a value and a special significance among the numerous sites of an archaeological interest. This is due to its inestimable artistic patrimony, its titanic heritage of history and culture, and the inexhaustible beauty and charm of its archaeological site.

The original site of Ancient Ephesus was most likely established on the Aegean coast, on the shores of that sea which today is located 8 km. away from the achaeological excavations. Over the centuries, in fact, the rubble brought onto the plain of the "Kucuk Menderes" has enlarged the alluvial plain surrounding the archaeological zone, leaving behind in actual fact the shores of the Aegean. In Roman times it was situated on the northern slopes of the hills Coressus and Pion and south of the Cayster (Kucuk Menderes) River, the silt from which has since formed a fertile plain but has caused the coastline to move ever farther west. In Roman times a sea channel was maintained with difficulty to a harbour well west of Pion. By late Byzantine times this channel had become useless, and the coast by the mid-20th century was three miles farther west.