Ancient Cities of the Aegean Coast: from Ephesus to Aphrodisias

Ephesus was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 as an exceptional testimony to the Hellenistic, Roman Imperial and early Christian periods. Among its most striking surviving monuments are the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre, which could seat about 25,000 spectators. Of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders, only scant traces remain today. Only an estimated 15-20% of the city has been excavated, with the rest still buried, and the silting of the harbour by the Kaystros river drove its decline. The House of the Virgin Mary has been a pilgrimage site since the 5th century.

Pergamon near Bergama was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2014 as a "Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape." Rising high above the Bakırçay plain, the acropolis was capital of the Hellenistic Attalid dynasty and held the ancient world's second-largest library after Alexandria, with at least 200,000 scrolls. The city is also remembered as the origin of parchment. Three kilometres west of the acropolis, the Asclepieion was a healing centre where the famous physician Galen worked. The frieze of the Great Altar of Zeus now stands in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The acropolis can be reached by cable car.

Around the Söke district near Aydın, Priene, Miletus and Didyma sit close together in the Büyük Menderes (Maeander) delta and are often toured in a single day. Priene, near Güllübahçe, was a member of the Ionian League; moved inland around 350 BC, it is one of the finest examples of the grid (Hippodamian) plan, and Alexander dedicated its Temple of Athena Polias. It appears on UNESCO's Tentative List as the "Archaeological Site of Priene." Miletus, home of the Milesian School of Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, was the cradle of early Greek philosophy. When both harbours silted up with Maeander alluvium, the cities were left inland. Transport and site hours need current confirmation; we do not invent them here.

Just northwest of modern Didim, Didyma was a sanctuary of Apollo within the domain of Miletus, and the name means "twins" in Greek. It was regarded as the most important oracle after Delphi and was linked to Miletus by the roughly 17 km Sacred Way built in the 6th century BC. After the Persians burned the temple in 494 BC, rebuilding began once Alexander freed Miletus; this vast structure, ringed by a double row of Ionic columns, was among the largest temples of the Greek world and was never completed. Seleucus I brought back Apollo's bronze cult statue. An earthquake destroyed the temple in 1493.

Aphrodisias, in the region of Caria, lies about 100 km inland from the Aegean coast near the village of Geyre and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017; the property comprises the city and the marble quarries to its northeast. Named after Aphrodite, goddess of love, the city was founded in the early 2nd century BC and, thanks to its closeness to Rome, gained a privileged tax-free status. Its wealth rested on the marble quarries and the art of its sculptors; over 2,000 inscriptions have been recorded. The Sebasteion, the stadium curved at both ends, and the Archive Wall in the theatre stand out. The photojournalist Ara Güler brought the city to world attention.