Izmir

On day 2 and our trip to Izmir, we decided to do something historical. We went to Ephesus. Also called Efes in Turkey, which explains the beer of the same name, as it is brewed in Izmir. Efes is an ancient Greek ruined city and had its peak at the time of the Romans, when it had about 200,000 inhabitants. In ancient times, it was one of the oldest, largest and most important cities in Asia Minor and was home to the Temple of Artemis (Artemision), one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In antiquity, the city was situated directly on the sea; due to sedimentation and climatic and seismic changes, the coastline shifted westwards over time, so that today the remains of the city are several kilometres inland. It was a trading city and its port helped it to achieve great wealth, where it initially held its own against cities such as Smyrna (now Izmir).

Ephesus is also significant in connection with the development of Christianity: barely 20 years after Jesus' ministry, his teachings had reached Ephesus on the west coast of Asia Minor through Apollos. The community of Ephesus was thus one of the oldest Christian communities ever.

In 431, the 3rd Ecumenical Council, also called the Council of Ephesus, convened by Emperor Theodosius II, met in Ephesus.

In the 14th century, the city fell to the Turks. The last records of Efes end in 1425.

About the ride. We took the metro to Halkapinar and got off at Alsancak. There we had to go to the station to reach Izban. In Izmir, the metro is called Izmetro and the train connections Izban.

At Alsancak Gar station we got on the train to Tepeköy and had to get to the terminus. In Tepeköy we had to change trains and take the train to Selcuk. Not far from the station in Selcuk there were small shuttle buses to Efes. All in all, the trip took 2 hours and about 30 Lt, which is the equivalent of 2-3 € today.Read more