Ephesus, Turkey

Ephesus is an ancient Greek and Roman city located near modern Selçuk in İzmir Province, western Turkey. Inhabited since the Neolithic era and prominent as an Ionian city state, it grew into the second-largest city in the Roman Empire during the 1st century BC with over 250,000 residents. The settlement held the Temple of Artemis, completed around 550 BC as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Well-preserved marble monuments include the 117 AD Library of Celsus, terrace houses with original mosaics, and a 25,000-seat outdoor grand theater. Visitors walk along ancient marble-paved colonnades, exploring Roman baths, agora squares, and early Christian basilicas.