Ephesus Ancient Metropolis & Library of Celsus (UNESCO)

Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015, ancient Ephesus (Efes) near modern Selçuk was the second-largest city of the Roman Empire during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, boasting over 250,000 residents as the wealthy capital of the Roman province of Asia. It was renowned across the ancient world as the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Walking down the polished marble paving of the Curetes Street between Corinthian colonnades, visitors encounter astonishing archaeological preservation: Roman public latrines, the Temple of Hadrian with its relief of Medusa, and the world-famous Library of Celsus. Built in 117 AD as a monumental funerary monument for Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, its restored two-story facade features towering statue niches symbolizing Wisdom, Knowledge, Intelligence, and Virtue. Further along the Arcadian Way lies the colossal Great Theater where Saint Paul once preached to impassioned crowds.