Ephesus

The walk

A self-guided audio tour of Ephesus

1. 

   01

   State Agora and Basilica Stoa

   The State Agora was the upper city's formal civic square, bordered by stoas used for meetings, courts, teaching and public ceremony. It orients the route in Ephesus's governmental quarter before the walk descends toward commerce and the harbour. The open archaeological surface is exposed, uneven and included within the main site ticket.

2. 

   02

   Odeon (Bouleuterion)

   The Odeon was a roofed semicircular hall for roughly 1,400 people, serving both as council chamber and performance venue. Its double use makes the machinery of Ephesian self-government legible in a compact building. Stone steps and seating are uneven, and access follows the archaeological site's current route controls.

3. 

   03

   Prytaneion

   The Prytaneion housed Ephesus's civic hearth, where the sacred flame of Hestia was maintained by the city's governing and religious officials. The route includes it to place named office-holders and daily institutional practice behind the surviving columns. The remains are outdoors on uneven stone, with little shade and no interior room required.

4. 

   04

   Domitian Square: Temple of Domitian and Memmius Monument

   Domitian Square joins the terrace of the Flavian imperial-cult temple with the Memmius Monument, a family memorial tied to Sulla's legacy. The pairing lets the route examine imperial worship and political memory on the same urban stage. The monuments are viewed from the public archaeological path, where paving and level changes are irregular.

5. 

   05

   Hercules Gate

   Hercules Gate narrowed Curetes Street with relief-bearing piers and later helped close the route to wheeled traffic. It provides a short threshold and the first long view down the street toward the Library of Celsus. The surviving gateway is viewed from the sloping main path and cannot be entered as a separate interior.

6. 

   06

   Temple of Hadrian

   The so-called Temple of Hadrian is a small, richly carved building dedicated by Publius Quintilius Valens Varius to Artemis, Hadrian and the Ephesian people. Its famous arch rewards close reading of a privately funded façade whose exact institutional role remains debated. The monument stands directly on Curetes Street and is seen from the uneven public path without entry.

7. 

   07

   Baths of Scholastica and the Public Latrines

   The Baths of Scholastica preserve a large Roman bathing complex beside a communal latrine with dozens of closely spaced seats. This stop brings renovation, hygiene and ordinary social life into a route dominated by official monuments. Access involves ancient floors, thresholds and steps; some rooms may be closed while the street view remains available.

8. 

   08

   Terrace Houses

   The Terrace Houses preserve elite Roman homes with mosaics, frescoes, water systems and informal writing left on their walls. They offer the route's most intimate evidence for how wealthy Ephesians inhabited the city behind its public façades. The roofed complex requires a separate ticket and substantial stairs, but the stop remains complete from Curetes Street.

9. 

   09

   Library of Celsus and the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates

   The Library of Celsus was built by a son for his father, whose sarcophagus lies beneath the reading hall; the adjacent gate was dedicated by two imperial freedmen. Together they form the route's principal set-piece about education, burial and two different kinds of social memory. The square is open within the site, with uneven paving and crowding at the façade.

10. 

    10

    Tetragonos Agora and Marble Road

    The Tetragonos Agora was Ephesus's commercial square, ringed by colonnades, shops, workshops, warehouses and guild rooms. It shifts the route from monumental benefactors to the trade and labour that kept the port city functioning. The agora interior is normally fenced, so the required view is from the Marble Road along its eastern edge.

11. 

    11

    Great Theatre

    The Great Theatre grew from a Hellenistic venue into a Roman auditorium holding roughly twenty-four to twenty-five thousand people. Its scale makes performance and crowd politics visible, including the riot associated with the silversmiths in Acts. The theatre is exposed and steep; the stop works from the orchestra-level approach without climbing the seating.

12. 

    12

    Arcadiane (Harbour Street)

    The Arcadiane was the long colonnaded avenue linking the theatre to Ephesus's harbour, with shops, mosaics and rare night lighting. The route ends here because the silted harbour explains how a city built around maritime access ultimately lost it. Only the eastern stretch is open, and the former harbour end remains fenced across exposed, uneven ground.

Frequently asked

Plan the walk

How long is the Ephesus audio walking tour?

Allow about 120 minutes. The self-guided route covers 2 km (1.2 mi) in 12 stops, including walking and listening time.

Where does the Ephesus tour start and end?

It starts at Efes Örenyeri Üst Kapı, Efes Harabeleri, 35920 Selçuk/İzmir, Türkiye. The published route begins at State Agora and Basilica Stoa and ends at Arcadiane (Harbour Street).

Will the Ephesus audio tour work offline?

Yes, after download. Audio, stop text, images, and GPS triggering work without data; the live map background still needs a connection.