Ephesus

  • If your topic is 'museums', you should not leave Turkey without visiting the biggest Open Air Museum, Ephesus. 

    That's why we had a guided tour to Ephesus (the biggest open air museum in Turkey) . Let’s learn more about that impressive ancient site.  

    Ephesus was an ancient port city. The city was once considered the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region. Throughout history, Ephesus survived multiple attacks and changed hands many times. 
    According to legend, the Ionian prince Androclos founded Ephesus in the eleventh century B.C. The legend says that as Androclos searched for a new Greek settlement, he turned to the Delphi oracles for guidance. The oracles told him a boar and a fish would show him the new location.
    One day, as Androclos was frying fish over an open fire, a fish flopped out of the frying pan and landed in the nearby bushes. A spark ignited the bushes and a wild boar ran out. Recalling the oracles’ wisdom, Androclos built his new settlement where the bushes stood and called it Ephesus.
    Another legend says Ephesus was founded by the Amazons, a tribe of female warriors, and that the city was named after their queen, Ephesia.
    Much of Ephesus’s ancient history is unrecorded and sketchy. What is known is that in the seventh century B.C., Ephesus fell under the rule of the Lydian Kings and became a thriving city where men and women enjoyed equal opportunities. It was also the birthplace of the renowned philosopher Heraclitus.