Ephesus & Surrounding Cities

Ephesus & Surrounding Cities

Jaydia Holm
See the ancient Biblical cities like Ephesus and Laodicea!
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Hi! Welcome to an online guide of many historical places in Turkey that are mentioned in the Bible. In this guide, we will look at various locations that the Apostle Paul travelled while in his third missionary tour. While there are many other infamous spots that he visited, this guide will only focus on the ones in Turkey. I hope you enjoy this guide & use it for your future visits!

The Journey

On Paul's third trip, his ended up spending a few years in Ephesus. But he passed through many towns throughout his journey. He started off by leaving Antioch, of Syria. Making his way to Tarsus, passing through four more towns before entering Ephesus. What did his travels look like? Keep scrolling to see!

1. Antakya, Turkey
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Modern day Antioch (Syria). This area was devastated by the earthquake of Feb 2022. Many ancient pieces of history have been uncovered in this city.
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2. Tarsus
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Fun fact: Paul's birthplace was in Tarsus, or modern day Mersin, Turkey!
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3. Kerti Huyuk/Derbe
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Modern day Derbe, there isn't much to see. However this is the place where Paul made many disciples on his arrival!
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4. Lystra
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Possibly Timothy's hometown!
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5. Konya/Iconium
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Paul spent time here making disciples. Modern day Iconium is Konya and very conservative muslim.
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6. Antioch of Pisidia
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This area was known for bandits and rushing rivers through mountains.
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Ephesus

The ancient city of Ephesus is huge. You will finish the tour between 2-3 hours and will be entertained every step of the way! There are so many things to see. The amphitheater, the marble roads, the library, ancient living quarters, and so much more. 

Ephesus Ancient Greek Theatre
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I highly recommend visiting this site. Worth all the effort!
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Paul spent a large portion of time preaching here and making disciples. Although, he had his challenges. In the massive theatre, a mob was formed creating confusion amongst the people. Paul proved to be in a difficult situation and had to avoid getting attacked by the angry mob. This city was also full of idol worship, their main god being Artemis. You can see the statue of her in the museum. 

The Temple of Artemis
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The main religion in Ephesus.
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Ephesus Archaeological Museum
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It's a very interesting museum, containing artifacts from the Ephesus site.
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Library of Celsus
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One of the most beautiful locations in the site!
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Ephesus was one of the most important cities of ancient times. It connected the east and the west. It was a very big city, the number of residents close to 225,000. The library housed 12-15,000 scrolls. And the theatre cold hold up too 25,000 people! When you enter the tour for Ephesus, you will be greeted with beautiful marble roads. You can just imagine how busy and thriving it would have been thousands of years ago!

Images of Ephesus

Seven Congregations

The other six congregations mentioned in Revelation, are very close to Ephesus. I highly recommend seeing them on your tour!

1. İzmir/Smyrna
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One of the most popular cities in Turkey, this area used to be called Smyrna. One of the seven congregations.
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2. Pergamon Ancient City
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Apparently writing parchment was created in this city!
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3. Thyateira Hill Tombs
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Lydia, the seller of purple, is from this area.
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4. Sardis Ancient City
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It was once a wealthy city due to it's wool cloth and carpets!
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5. Alaşehir/Philadelphia
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It was a prosperous city for producing wine!
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6. The ancient city of Laodicea
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The Christians were lukewarm in their faith, using this illustration from the water that they got from the neighboring city, making it lukewarm.
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Bonus City

Hierapolis/Pamukkale
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A beautiful ancient city tour as well as the infamous Pamukkale pools! This city was widely-known for it's healing properties.
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Overview

We covered a lot of places in this guide! 14 cities in total. All of them being in the beautiful country of Turkey! Paul's tour did continue on to other parts of Greece and back through Turkey. But that will have to be saved for another time! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this tour! 

Jaydia

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jaydia Holm
Hey friend! My name is Jaydia and I am from Vancouver Island, Canada but currently live in Turkey. I love to travel and experience new cultures and languages. I love food, music, relaxing at the beach, and a good book! My travel guides will curate a vacation that includes all of those things plus more! Need a relaxing villa in the heart of Kas, Turkey? I got you. Need a fun adventure in the warm city of Alanya? I can help with that too! Or how about a wistful vacation amongst the tallest trees in Canada? We can make that happen. I look forward to curating your perfect holiday and to being future friends!
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