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Temple of Artemis

Temple of Artemis in Ephesus is an ancient temple located in the Selçuk district of İzmir. Artemis Temple is one of the 7 Wonders of the World. For the first time, Greek Sidon made the list of 7 wonders of the world. This list includes the Pyramid of Cheops, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus in Olympia, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Mausoleum Halicarnassus and the Colossus of Rhodes, apart from the Ephesus Artemis Temple. By comparing the Ephesus Artemis Temple’s value with other artifacts on the list, we can understand how valuable archaeological remains. Due to this reason, Unesco protects the Ephesus Artemis Temple. Although the Ephesus Artemis Temple is the first temple made entirely of marble, we can only see two marble columns in the Temple of Artemis. However, there were 127 columns with a height of 17 meters in Ephesus Artemis Temple.

Temple of artemis in Ephesus Ancient City

The history of the Temple of Artemis

Greek architect Chersphron designed the Temple of Artemis by the Lydian King Croesus to pay homage to the goddess Artemis. Ephesus Artemis Temple’s construction period took more than 100 years, but in 550 BC, only the Lydians finished it. The Ephesus Artemis Temple consists of 127 marble columns with a height of 17 meters. Ephesus Artemis Temple is the first temple made entirely of marble. Besides, there are many bronzes and marble sculptures in the Temple of Artemis. Unfortunately, we can only read this information from ancient books because now we can only see two marble columns in the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. We see the Temple of Artemis in this state today when Herostratus burned the Temple of Artemis in 356 BC, and the people gradually plundered the Temple of Artemis.

Places Around Ephesus Artemis Temple

We call it Ephesus Artemis Temple, but the Artemis Temple is not in Ephesus Ancient City. Don’t worry, the Temple of Artemis is 20-25 minutes walking distance to the entrance to the ancient city of Ephesus. You can see the Celsus Library, one of the Ancient World’s most extensive libraries, in Ephesus’s Ancient City. One of the valuable and magnificent ancient theaters awaits its visitors in the ancient city of Ephesus. For more works on the history of Ephesus, you can visit the Ephesus museum. You can also visit the Virgin Mary’s house, where she spent her last days after the Ephesus Ancient City tour. A few years after Jesus’ death, the Virgin Mary spent the last remaining years of her life in this house. We do not know the Virgin Mary’s tomb’s exact location, but according to one theory, the Virgin Mary’s grave is on the Bülbül Mountain in this region.

temple of artemis Ephesus Ancient city

Read more on: places to visit in Selcuk.

Another place you can visit within 15-20 minutes walking distance from the Temple of Artemis is St. John Church. St. John is one of the most important characters of Christianity and one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. After the death of Jesus, for the Virgin Mary‘s safety, she brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus, and she lived here for the rest of her life. Roman Emperor Justinianus built the church of St. John on the tomb of St. John. There are only archaeological remains of this church at the moment. Although it does not have a roof, you can see many marble columns and some walls. Just above St. John’s church is the Selçuk Castle. After the Romans built this castle, the Ottomans protected this castle and used it. That’s why you can see the intact castle walls and the ruins of the Ottoman Palace.

How Can I Go To Ephesus Artemis Temple In Selcuk İzmir?

To go to Artemis Temple, you must first go to the city of Selcuk. There are many various ways to get to the Selçuk district. The most common public vehicle of İzmir is Izban trains. You can go to many places in Izmir with Izban. Of course, there is an Izban train stop at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport. If you come to Izmir by plane, you can go to Selcuk by the Izban train. After arriving at Selcuk Izban stop, you can reach Artemis Temple by walking for 15-20 minutes. If you come to Izmir by bus, you can directly take minibusses from Izmir Bus Terminal to Selcuk Bus Terminal. You can also reach the Ephesus Artemis Temple by walking for 15-20 minutes from the Selçuk Bus Terminal. Do not be afraid to get lost while walking the Izmir streets because many tourist groups in Selçuk reach many historical places by following the tourist groups.

temple of artemis selcuk

Another way is to come to Izmir by personal vehicle. You have the opportunity to rent a car directly from Izmir airport. You can reach Selçuk district by following the Kuşadası and Selçuk signs on the way to Selçuk Direction from İzmir. Another option is you can quickly get the Ephesus Artemis Temple using google maps. You can find many significant places in Izmir city using google maps.

Visiting Hours of the temple of Artemis

There is no security guard in the Artemis Temple. Therefore, visiting hours to Ephesus Artemis Temple is quite flexible, and there is no exact time interval. You do not need to pay the price to see the Ephesus Artemis Temple. Apart from the Temple of Artemis, you need to get a museum card for the Ephesus Ancient City, the Church of St. John, and the Ephesus Museum. For Turkish citizens, the museum pass is 60 Turkish lira. There are two different options for foreign Tourists. The first option is that you can buy Museum Pass Turkey. Museum Pass Turkey is the 550 Turkish lira. With Museum Pass Turkey for fifteen days, you can visit all the museums depending on Turkey’s Ministry of Culture. As a second option, you can get Museum Pass Aegean. Museum Pass Aegean is 325 Turkish lira. With Museum Pass Aegean for seven days, you can visit all museums depending on the Ministry of Culture in İzmir, Aydın, Muğla, and Denizli. If you are planning a trip only to Izmir, Museum Pass Aegean is a more economical option.

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Seven Sleepers Cave

How to go to Cave of the Seven Sleepers in Selcuk İzmir Turkey? Transportation Info

Who are the Seven Sleepers?cave-of-seven-sleepers

Seven Sleepers legend is a very famous and a real legend because it is based on holly books of Christianity and Islam. Although there are many legends about the grotto of the Seven Sleepers, the most common legend dates back to the time of the decade of the emperor Decius, who reigned in the 3rd century BC. The legend says like this: Seven people who escaped the persecution of the emperor Decius had fled to caves in Panayir Mountain and slept for 200 years. Today, four floors of these caves have been unearthed. There are two churches and many graves in these zone. However, the entrance to the church is not allowed because the cave is surrounded by wires.

How can I go to grotto of the Seven Sleepers in Selcuk İzmir Turkey?

Cave of the Seven Sleepers is located very near to Virgin Mary’s House, so when you arrived to Virgin Mary’s House, you will be also reached to Seven Sleepers cave. The House of Virgin Mary that located just above the Ephesus City in Selcuk district of İzmir province, is 6 km far from the Ephesus location. You can follow a number of methods to reach the Ephesus Ancient City and the House of Virgin Mary.

How to go to Cave of the Seven Sleepers with car?

If you want to go Seven Sleepers Cave in Selcuk İzmir with your private car, first of all, you should go to international way and need to go to Aydin province direction. If you moved from İzmir province center, this journey will last approximately 1 hour. When you arrived to Selcuk district, that means remaining journey is just 5 minutes now. This 5 minutes journey is a distance that you travel when you return to Kusadasi from Selcuk.

How can I go to Grotto of the Seven Sleepers with bus?

If you want to reach to Cave of the Seven Sleepers with a bus, you can use the minibuses that goes from İzmir to Selcuk bus terminal and then again get in to minibuse to move to Cave of the Seven Sleepers.

How can I go to Seven Sleepers cave myself with guide or with a tour?

And as final, if you want to go to cave by yourself with a guide or with a tour as team, you can join to tours that moves from Alsancak district, İzmir province. This tour arranges Ephesus Ancient City, Cave of the Seven Sleepers, House of Virgin Mary and village of Sirince journeys. So you can join them to go those places easily, securely and fast. Choice is yours.

Go from near the Virgin Mary Spring Water to Cave of the Seven

When you go to the Virgin Mary’s House, you will also can reach to Virgin Mary spring water  zone. There is a 3-eyed-fountain. Here is a mineral water fountain for tourists. Therefore you can see that many tourists fill their bottles with this “Mineral Water of the Virgin Mary”. And then when you see the “wish wall” that means you are in right way to go to Seven Sleepers’Cave. By clicking to link below, you can reach there easily.

If you want to use Google Map to go to Cave of the Seven Sleepers with your car, click here to go with Google Map.
For more information about touristic places, check out our web site Ephesuspalace.com

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Sirince Greek Village

Sirince-koyu-greek-village-selcuk-2

History of the Sirince Village

Sirince Village is a tourist village in the Selcuk district of İzmir. Some of the people living in the ancient city of Ephesus came to this region in the 15th century and established Sirince Village. Unfortunately, there is no structure from the 15th century in Sirince Village. The oldest buildings in Sirince Village date back to the 19th century. Greeks lived in Şirince Village until the population exchange in 1924, thus it is also known as Sirince Greek Village, even though Turks live here now. The Greeks loved Sirince Village very much, which they named the village meaning ugly because they did not want anyone to discover this village. After the exchange in 1924, the Governor of İzmir changed this beautiful village to Sirince. Another story related to the name of Şirince village dates back to ancient times. The name Kırkınca (meaning fortyish) is another old name of Şirince Village, which comes from the forty people living in the region of Şirince village.

Şirince Village became world-famous in 2012. If you remember, in 2012, there was a significant phenomenon, the Mayan prophecy. According to the Mayan prophecy, the apocalypse would break on December 21, 2012, and only people in the village of Sirince in Izmir and Bugarach in the south of France would continue to live. After this information, people from all over the world knew Sirince Village, a small town. Of course, the apocalypse did not happen on December 21, 2012, as expected, but many tourists visited Sirince Village to avoid the apocalypse. Tourists did not visit Sirince village only on December 21. With an increasing interest after December 21, more people came to visit Şirince Village. You can understand from this information that people discover and love Şirince Village. If you come to Şirince village, you will want to see it a few more times.

Famous Sirince Wines and Foods

Şirince is a vibrant village in terms of agricultural products. Since Şirince village has a wide variety of fruits, developed wine culture is prevalent in Şirince village. People usually know about grape wine, but you can find more than grape wine in Sirince Village. In Şirince village, you can find wines of fruits such as kiwi, black mulberry, melon, strawberry, banana, peach, and apple. Therefore, if you are a wine lover or someone who likes to try different flavors, you should visit Şirince Village. Since Şirince is a wine village, there are cellars of wine producers. You can see these cellars and experience wine tasting in the basement. Many companies offer free tasting of these different wines.

Along with the wine culture, you can find very delicious natural products in Şirince Village. Şirince Village is also home to famous traditional Aegean breakfasts. After having an Aegean breakfast in Şirince Village, you probably won’t get hungry until the evening. The traditional Aegean breakfast includes rich foods grown in the Aegean region. Therefore, mixed olives, natural olive oil, delicious and healthy herbs are part of the Aegean breakfast. Herbs that accompany breakfast are usually parsley and rosemary. In addition to these, organic eggs and various cheeses made from fresh milk are part of Aegean breakfast. Black brewed tea, the indispensable beverage of Turkish breakfasts, is also available in the Aegean breakfast. Finally, people eat homemade flatbread in the Aegean breakfast. In short, all products in the Aegean breakfast are natural and homemade. If you think you will still miss Şirince village’s flavors after visiting Şirince Village, you can buy more of these natural products and take them home. Sirince koyu greek village selcuk

Famous Places of Sirince Greek Village

Although Şirince village is a small place, there are many places to visit in the town. First of all, after you step into Şirince village, the village’s unique sidewalks and streets take you on a historical journey. The most famous historical place of Şirince village is St. John the Baptist Church. You can experience wine tasting right now at St John the Baptist Church. Another favorite spot in Şirince village is Nesin Mathematics Village. In Nesin Mathematics Village, children who do not like mathematics fondly learn mathematics and learn about their responsibilities. You should see the rock tombs with the most beautiful scenery in Şirince Village. You can easily watch the whole Sirince Village from this location.

As there are many important places in Şirince Village, there are many places to visit around Şirince Village. The most essential of these is the old town of Ephesus. It is one of our rare archaeological values on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The old city of Ephesus is an ancient Roman town that still preserves its glory. You can see the world-famous Celsus library and the magnificent old theater in the ancient city of Ephesus. Many tourists come to Sirince Village to visit the ancient theater of Ephesus’s ancient town and the world-famous Celsus library. After visiting the ancient city of Ephesus, you can also see the Artemis temple. In addition to the old buildings, you can see the Virgin Mary’s house, which is significant for Christianity, in Selçuk. Virgin Mary came to İzmir a few years after the death of Jesus and spent the last days of her life here. Due to this religious reason, many tourists still come to Izmir to see this house.

How To Go To Şirince Greek Village?

You can reach Şirince Village with 5 Turkish Liras via minibusses departing from Selçuk city center. To get to Selçuk city center, you can use Izban, the standard public vehicle of Izmir. If you came to Izmir by plane, there is an Izban station at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport. You can easily reach the Selçuk city center by taking the trains going towards Selçuk. By renting a car directly from the Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport, you can get around Izmir. If you come to Izmir by bus, minibusses departing from Izmir bus station take you to Selcuk City center with 10 Turkish Liras. Afterward, you can reach Sirince village by minibusses from Selçuk city center. Apart from these, of course, you can get to Sirince Greek Village by using your car.

Sirince greek village selcuk

 

For more detailed information about the history of Sirince and the wines, please visit here.

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How to arrive Selcuk – Ephesus in 2019

From Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport to Selcuk

Trains from Airport to Selcuk

You can take the train from the city center or from the Airport to Selcuk. There is a train station next to the airport. Here is the train timetable valid after 1 January 2019.

It takes around 1 hour from Airport to Selcuk, and 1 hour 20 minutes from Izmir city center Basmane. It costs around 7 TL

Here is an easier table:

Depart From Basmane 07:42 08:53 11:30 13:41 15:30 16:41 17:54 19:30
Depart From Airport 08:06 09:18 11:55 14:06 15:55 17:06 18:19 19:55
Arrive to Selcuk 09:09 10:17 12:53 15:03 16:55 18:05 19:20 20:56

Shared Shuttle Busses from Airport to Selcuk / Kusadasi

Most of the time there are shuttle buses departing from airport to going Selcuk & Kusadasi. It takes around 1 hour and costs 25 TL. The shuttle waits in front of the exit door.

Private Transportation Service from Airport to Selcuk hotel

Also, if you want to get to your Hotel Ephesus Palace faster and easier we can arrange a private shuttle service for you. Just contact us here.