The Temple of Hadrian is a temple dedicated to Emperor Hadrian in the ancient city of Ephesus. It…read moreis just one the many amazing ruins that you can see while walking on Curetes Street. It was constructed in the beginning of the 2nd century AD to celebrate Hadrian's visit to Ephesus from Athens. This structure is more of a monument than a temple and was also dedicated to the goddess Artemis and the people of Ephesus. The facade has a curve arch with four Corinthian columns. Seeing the city of Ephesus was a highlight for me on my trip to Greece and Turkey. Walking through the marble streets of Ephesus to see these amazing ruins is something that I will never forget.

Dating from the second century and "repaired" in the fourth century, Hadrian's Temple is found…read morealong a main road in the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. Some of the original reliefs are located in the Ephesus Archeological Museum. The reliefs show emperor Theodosius I, his wife and eldest son. The temple has been featured on Turkish bank notes.

The Temple of Domitian was originally dedicated to the Emperor Domitian. After his death, it was…read morerededicated to the Flavian family. It was torn down when Christianity was established in Ephesus. Nearby landmarks are the Memmius Monument and the Pollio Monument. Interesting caduceus markers are located in these ruins as well.

We took a private tour with another couple with whom we cruise. It was fantastic! Our guide…read moreBarbaros drove us by the upper part of Ephesus, which we saw only from the car. We did not walk this section due to time constraints and our advanced age. Sad, but true. We did hear about the upper part as we drove past it. Our guide Barbaros explained that 90% of Ephesus is not the original city built by the Macedonians. What we see today was built by the Romans. We drove past a sign for the Grotto of the 7 Sleepers, which he explained to us. These 7 slept for 100 years and awoke to new rulers! Perhaps another trip will take us there. We arrived at the lower part of Ephesus, which Barbaros tells us was first excavated 100 years ago during WWI. He explains that today 85% of Ephesus is under the soil, unexcavated! Once inside, our guide showed us the map of where we are and how it has changed. Our first stop was at the Great Theatre, where concerts are performed in this century. My favorite part was when we came to the third largest Library in the world, of its time. Sadly, no books remain. Just memories. Despite my age, I climbed up the stairs, with help from my husband. Note to singles: marry someone younger! One person in our group wanted to see the public toilets, and they were fascinating. We saw hole after hole, with each hole almost on top of the next. Underneath was a drainage system, to wash away bodily waste. When asked about the bodily waste, our guide told us they used sticks with sponges on the end that they dipped into the water in front of them before wiping their behinds. These public toilets are next to the Roman baths, which seemed appropriate. We walked to the modern museum, which was free with Ephesus tickets. We got headsets, programmed for English. In each of the three rooms we entered, we saw immersive films. The films educated us about the Gods and Ephesus. It was beautiful and overwhelming. It was also air conditioned, which was nice on this hot day! We exited through a bookstore, purchasing bookmarks for the many books we read. As we walked to exit Ephesus, we spotted more cats. They seem to love their lives here. This tour was educational and fun, and we know that when we return we will want to see the parts that we missed. We'll be older, but we'll not have to see this part again.

Ephesus is a historic landmark in Turkiye, founded around 600 BCE. Originally an ancient Greek…read morecity, it became under Roman rule in 129 BCE. Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire in Asia after Constantinople in the 5th and 6th centuries. Ephesus commanded the west end of a trade route to Asia so it was an important port city in its heyday. It boasted a Temple to Artemis, a Temple to Hadrian, a Library of Celsus, the massive Oedon Theatre, the last known home of the Virgin Mary, and some of the earliest Christian churches. Mark Antony was welcomed by Ephesus when he was proconsul and in 33 BC with Cleopatra when he gathered his fleet of 800 ships before the battle of Actium with Octavius. Ephesus is an ancient city with much historical significance. When we visited with our tour group, we were given a quick overview, entered the state-of-the-art museum, and explored the grounds. The site is massive. The ancient ruins are in fairly good condition considering and it is still an active archeological site. When you visit, marvel at the expansive stone lined streets of the agora, peer up at the arches, and wonder at how far humankind has come over the centuries.

Neat ruin site. Admission covered by museum Turkey pass. Not a ton of interpretive content on…read moresite so read background before visiting. Parking near site available. Not a destination but a nice stop if in Ephesus.

Another great place! So cool to visit where John, the beloved, was laid to rest. It's known he…read morereturned to Ephesus, after being exiled on Patmos, and that was where he passed away. So this is where his tomb is and in the 6th century, this large basilica was built over his tomb. However, earthquakes and the encroachment of the Turks resulted in the church being abandoned and relics lost. The original design of the church was laid out like a cross. Most of it is gone today, but you can still kind of see how it was set up. They have a replica of the grounds for Ephesus and the basilica so you can have an idea of what things looked like and how far apart they were. The renderings of the buildings are pretty cool. Such amazing history here!

The Prytaneion was an important religious and government building in ancient Ephesus. Dedicated to…read morethe goddess of the hearth, Hestia, it contained the eternal flame of the city. The priests that tended to the fire made sure that it did not go out. The Prytaneion is also where official government and religious visitors were received in Ephesus. Only two columns remain. Several of the columns and other building materials were taken by Scholastica in the 4th century to build her baths on Curettes Street.

This was SOOOO COOL. Yeah, it's largely in ruins (duh? It's a ruin) but the fact that it's one of…read morethe ancient wonders of the world is just magical. It's a small site, but you can walk around and get good pictures. Also such a perk that it's not that crowded because get ready for Ephesus to be even busier than Disneyland!

Recommended. This…read moreancient site is best seen as a quick stop during a tour of nearby ancient Ephesus. We visited this site as part of our cruise ship group tour of ancient Ephesus. There's one pillar from this temple standing and, it was a reconstruction put up many years after the original pillar fell. There's not much of a reason to visit here other than to say you did so. There isn't much to see at this site. Now, having said this, if you take a tour of ancient Ephesus and the related museum, you'll find a quick visit here to be worthwhile. That's because the tour and museum will provide information to allow you to put this temple in perspective for the entire area. Ancient Ephesus -- Selcuk today -- stands about 2 miles from the sea. 1,000 years ago, it was a seaside town. Silt has filled in the valley between the ancient city and the sea over the years. That's why you'll land in or travel from nearby towns like Kusadasi to drive to Selcuk to see these ancient sites. Noto Bene! Unlike sites in Italy and Greece, the coast of Asia Minor (Turkey) contains entire ancient cities intact and untouched toppled over only by the silt drifting in from the sea over the millennia. Ephesus and related sites in this area are among those fitting this description. Kudos to the Turks for their restoration and preservation efforts. Ephesus should be a UNESCO world heritage site.

The Temple of Artemis should be on your list, but it's a very quick stop. It's a great spot for…read morespace lovers to take a photo, as the recent Artemis mission was named after this.

The Temple of Artemis Eh one of those things where it's…read morehistoric, One of the wonders of the Ancient world, in fact. But its just in total ruins. All that remains is one single pillar plastered together from pieces found at the site. Some of the actual pillars can be found at the Ayasofya in Istanbul and other sites around the world. Historic but not awe inspiring. No admission but you get what you pay for.

As a major and wealthy Roman city, Ephesus had several agoras. An agora is an open place for people…read moreto meet. Agoras served as marketplaces to buy daily goods as well as hubs for social, political and cultural meetings. The agora near the Odeon is still being restored and is not as complete as some of the other agoras in Ephesus.