2 Best Sights in Ephesus, The Central and Southern Aegean Coast

The ruin of Ephesus, once the most important Greco-Roman city of the eastern Mediterranean, is one of the best preserved ancient sites in the world. Today, modern travelers can trace the splendor and collapse of ancient civilizations in Ephesus's spectacular landscape of ruined temples, theaters, and colonnaded streets. There are two entrances to the site, which is on a hill: one at the top of the site (Üst Kapı, or Upper Gate) and one at the bottom (Alt Kapı, or Lower Gate—this is where to find the public dolmuş stop). The main avenue is about a mile long but there are a number of intriguing detours, so a minimum visit of two hours can easily stretch to four. Buy water and a light snack in Selçuk town before you head for Ephesus. In summer, when shade is at a premium, a hat is a very good idea. Highlights of the site include the spectacular theater, backed by the western slope of Mt. Pion, which once seated an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 spectators; the beautiful, two-story Library of Celsus; and the terrace houses, the multistoried houses of the nobility, with terraces and courtyards (which have a separate entrance fee). See the highlighted Ephesus feature in this chapter for more information.

According to the legend attached to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers (and immortalized in a poem by Goethe), seven young Christian men hid in a cave to avoid persecution by the Romans in the 3rd century AD. They fell into a sleep that lasted 200 years, waking only after the Byzantine Empire had made Christianity the official state religion. When they died, they were buried here, and a large church and monastery complex was built over them. The site has unfortunately been closed off due to the collapse of much of the cave but it's still interesting to peek through the fence at the ruins or look down at them from the adjacent hillside.