Photo from ancient Ephesus and from museum

The Letter to the Church at Ephesus (Rev 2:1)

Ephesus history

Ephesus (Efes) is close to the town of Selcuk about an hours drive south of Izmir. Kusadasi is the nearest larger town, about 20km from Efes.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and was built around 550 BC, it was about four times the size of the Parthenon. Ephesus was part of the kingdom of Pergamum which Attalus III bequeathed to Rome in 133 BC. Ephesus was the most important Greek Roman city of proconsular Asia. Situated at the mouth of the Cayster River on a gulf of the Aegean sea, it flourished as an important commercial and export centre for Asia. By NT times it had grown to at least 250,000 people (Mounce). Gradually the harbour silted up and is now some miles from the sea. In modern day Turkey Ephesus is known as Efes. The Selçuk-Ephesus Museum is a must visit, many of the photos of statues are from the museum.

Ephesus

Ephesus In the ancient world, Ephesus was a center of travel and commerce.  Situated on the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Cayster River, the city was one of the greatest seaports of the ancient world.   Three major roads led from the seaport: one road went east towards Babylon via Laodicea, another to the north via Smyrna and a third south to the Meander Valley.