Ephesus

Ephesus, an ancient city preserved to reveal the truths of Greco-Roman antiquity and Byzantium is beautifully displayed on the hilltops of the Aegean region. The second you step through the cracked pillars the desert heat hits you, so if you ever visit the ruins, my top tip is to make sure you take a bottle of water with you. My taxi driver told me that the city does not take more than an hour and a half to explore, and when I entered Ephesus I thought he was wrong because the site was so overwhelmingly huge. But of course he wasn't wrong, it surprisingly didn't take that long to view everything. This city back in its day was a great trading centre. It was a market town, the equivalent of our Oxford Street in London today, of course rather than the sale of luxury cosmetics and clothing, this market saw the transaction of exotic spices and was part of the Silk Road as the western terminus for East to West trade. 

This city proved it was diverse and cosmopolitan not only because three different civilisations were able to settle here, but also because the Library of Celsus was able to hold up to 12,000 scrolls of different kinds of text. The library was built to look bigger than it actually is. When you see it from a distance it looks huge, and even when you're up close it's massive, but this is because of course because those famous Greek columns make everything look larger than they actually are. Nevertheless regardless of the library's convex facade, it was probably my favourite part of the city, it stood out beautifully tall and its golden hew made it the prettiest building of all. 

But, of course how can we talk about an ancient city whose second settlers were of course the Romans and not mention gladiators? As part of the Holy Roman Empire, Ephesus was the second largest city of the empire after Rome and under the Emperor Augustus was the first city of the Roman province of Asia. The vibe as you leave the central market square of the city becomes eerie. As you walk along the set path, around you there are gladiator graves. After climbing more steps than I care to imagine even thinking about, the stadium built by the Greeks originally was converted into a breath-taking colosseum, with the capacity to hold 50,000 people to enjoy chariot races and gladiator combats. 

This ancient city really reminds me of my time in Rome as a child, if you're a history fanatic like me, or just enjoy the more historical and cultural aspects of the countries you visit then Ephesus is a must-see. 

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