Vacation Apartment Kusadasi Turkey

History

The earliest inhabitants of this region, the Carians and Lydians, no doubt had a fortified settlement on the hill immediately north of Seluk, which was directly open to the sea (Sacred Harbor). From the 11th B.C. onwards this settlement was occupied and Hellenised by Ionian Greeks. Thanks to its excellent situation on an inlet cutting deep into the land, at the end of a major trade route from the interior, and on a fertile plain, Ephesus developed into a flourishing commercial city.

In about 387 B.C., in order to re-establish the city's link with the sea, King Lysimachos had it moved to the low-lying ground between Mounts Pion and Koressos (now Panayir Dagi and Blbl Dagi), both of which were brought within the walls of the city.

The remains of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (Greek Ephesos, Turkish Efes), one of the outstanding classical sites and tourist attractions in Turkey, lie near Seluk about 75km/47mi south of Izmir. Like Miletus, ancient Ephesus lay directly on the sea, and had an important harbor, the main source of its wealth. However, the Little Maeander (Kuk Menderes), the ancient Kaystros, sediment laden and frequently changing its course, pushed the coastline ever farther away, while the marine currents off the bay built up a spit of land, behind which the ground degenerated into marsh. By Roman times only a tongue-shaped harbor basin could be kept open for shipping. Ephesus was deserted and gradually disappeared under the silt brought down by the river. Any structures remaining above ground were either used as a quarry for building material or burned to provide lime. Investigation of the site began only in the second half of the 19th century when a British engineer, J. T. Wood, rediscovered and excavated the Artemiseion. The work was then continued between 1896 and 1913 by the Austrian Archeological Institute. Between 1919 and 1922 Greek archeologists investigated the site of the basilica of St John.