Selcuk

Selcuk lies about 80 km towards the south of Izmir. Selcuk has been transforming into an important tourism center since the 1980's. The main reason behind this is Selcuk's location being only few kilometers to the famous ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus and well-known holiday resort, Kusadasi. Ephesus antic city is one of the best preserved ancient cities of the East Mediterranean and is a great example of Hellenistic architecture.

Ayasoluk Hill, where St John write his famous Gospel and the house which is believed that Virgin Mary lived in for the last of her days are well known historical remains in Selcuk. There are many small hotels and pensions, restaurants and shops which makes Selcuk an ideal base to explore the region. Selcuk gets busy during the famous annual camel wrestling festival held in Ephesus in February. Another important must see is the Consul Church (Cifte Kiliseleri) which was one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. The Church was dedicated to Virgin Mary and Catolism is believed to born in this church after the 3rd consul meeting. The church with dimensions of 265x30 meters were then converted into a basilica in the 11 century AD during the Romans.

The Selcuk Ephesus Archeology Museum has a fine collection of statues and mosaics. The museum in the centre of Selcuk helps to give a bit more light on the Ephesus ruins. Many statues and mosaics found before World War I were taken to the Vienna Museum, but wherever possible, most were returned back to the museum after World War II.

The Sirince Village, about 7 km. to Selcuk, is a cosy traditional Aegean village that is very well preserved with old Ottoman houses. Authentic houses, streets, quality home made wine and traditional food of Sirince Village are very famous in the Selcuk Region.