Ephesus and The Other Ionian Cities

Ephesus And The Other Ionıan Cities
 
      Any world traveller who visits the region witnesses Herodotus’ description
of Ionia as a place having “the finest sky and the finest climate we know
on this earth…”. While following the traces of Ephesus, the mysterious city
that rose to the top of the Ionian world, we went further into details. Besides
the classic routes, we reserved space for the less-known ones. We came
into contact with Ephesus and the Ionians in world museums. Witnessing
their portraits, sculpture groups with mythological scenes, jewellery, medical
instruments, offerings to the gods and various other tools helped us to
visualize the Ionian world in our imagination. In addition to the archaeological
site, we have also highlighted the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in this
edition, which is listed as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”.
We have crossed difficult routes and reached the House of the Virgin Mary,
the Belevi Mausoleum, the Goat Fortress and Şirince. We have presented
the Seljuk and Early Ottoman world in Selçuk District in detail. In addition to
Ephesus, we travelled along routes leading to other Ionian cities and their
immediate neighbours such as the Ionian cities of Lebedus, Colophon, the
Oracular Centre of Apollo at Claros near Colophon, Teos, Clazomenae,
Erythrae and the island of Chios; the later Ionian city of Smyrna and the
northernmost Ionian city of Phocaea to the northeast; Priene, Miletus, the
city of Myus and the Temple of Didyma to the south; and the island of Samos
to the southwest; Notion, which was in close contact with the Ionian city
of Colophon; Myonnesos on Rat Island near Doğanbey Cape; the city of
Metropolis near Torbalı in the north and the ancient settlement of Magnesia,
its neighbour to the south. To get a closer look at the Ionian world, it is time
to hit the road “under the finest sky and in the finest climate...”. Nine
museums in Turkey and ten museums in other countries, for which we have
spared pages in this edition, will be enjoyable rest stops on your route.