Turkey.. Ancient Ephesus accompanies its visitors on a rich journey

The city of “Ephesus” in Izmir, Turkey (west), whose construction dates back to about 7000 BC and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, accompanies its visitors on a rich journey through history.

During the first ten months of this year, the number of local and foreign tourists who visited the city of Ephesus reached about one million and 650 thousand tourists.

The city, which was founded in the Neolithic era, is considered one of the greatest ancient Greek cities in Anatolia, which witnessed important human activity during the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Turkmen emirates in Anatolia and the Ottoman era.

The city of Ephesus, which is among the few cities in the world that has preserved its historical and urban character, is famous for hosting commercial and political activities in ancient times, in addition to hosting the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Historical sources indicate that the population of the city, which lived its greatest periods in the Hellenistic and Roman eras and was the capital of the Roman state during the reign of Emperor Augustus, reached 200 thousand people in that era.

The “Library of Celsus” in Ephesus, which dates back to the second century AD, is one of the most prominent buildings that attracts the attention of local and foreign visitors, along with buildings such as Hadrian’s Gate, Domitian’s Temple, Hagnesia Gate, Trajan’s Fountain, the 25,000-seat Grand Theater, the stadium and the old port.

Ephesus hosted 1,810,791 visitors during 2019, but this number decreased to 362,917 visitors in 2020 and 782,27 visitors in 2021 due to the restrictions that accompanied the Corona pandemic.

However, the number of visitors to the Old City reached one million and 650 thousand during the first ten months of this year, while expectations indicate that this number will reach one million and 800 thousand visitors by the end of 2022.

The director of the Ephesus Museum, Cengiz Topal, said, “The city of Ephesus witnessed a remarkable turnout by local and foreign tourists after the Corona epidemic stage.”

Topal pointed out that the region, which is considered one of the important historical regions in Anatolia, is an important tourist destination at the local and global levels.

He added, “With the return of the natural movement of the marine tourism sector, the region witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of visitors, which began to approach the numbers recorded in 2018-2019.”

He continued, “I believe that the region will record a greater number of visitors than the number recorded in the two mentioned years.”

Topal pointed out that the number of local and foreign tourists visiting the ancient city of Ephesus is constantly increasing.

He said, “As of the end of last October, the number of local and foreign visitors has reached about one million and 650 thousand. We expect the number of visitors to reach one million and 800 thousand by the end of this year.”

Topal pointed out that the nationalities of the visitors differ according to the season, and that European and American visitors visit the region more during the summer season, while Asian visitors prefer to visit the region during the spring.