The ancient city of Ephesus near the
modern town of Selcuk, about 50
km south of Izmir (Smyrna) in
Turkey.Location: Ephesus was
constructed on a river bend, that was
eventually dredged into a full harbor
near the mouth of the Cayster River,
on the western coast of Asia Minor
(modern Turkey). Along the coastal
plain between Smyrna to the north and
Miletus to the south, the site is now
about six miles from the Aegean Sea.
The city shifted in five distinct locations over time, each within a small area. The Apostles Paul
and John were familiar with the city that scholars have dubbed "Ephesus III" the largest
(in area) of the five. The areas where Ephesus located are as follows: Ephesus I:
Aya Suluk (St. John Area); Ephesus II: Artemission area; Ephesus III: Port of St. Paul:
base of Mount Koressos; Ephesus IV: north of Aya Suluk; Ephesus V: Selçuk area.
Because of the man-made harbor structure and the flow of the river, a backwash flow
caused the harbor to frequently silt up (by 449 BCE we already read of problems documented
about the silting. Later, Eusebius records that Ephesus honored Emperor Hadrian for dredging
and making navigable the harbor). When cleared, Ephesus was in a location that justified a
great seaport. The city sat at the convergence of three land routes with a shipping lane from
the north via the channel created by the Island of Chios and an opening facing the cities of
Macedonia. The land routes that converged on Ephesus included: 1) The Colossae / Laodicea
road (travelling east), 2) The road to Sardis and Galatia (northeast), and 3)
The Smyrna (north) main road.