Country:
TurkeyValue:
Duration:
Cost:
free
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TurkeyRegion:
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Price (adult):
free
Why Top:
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, this grand ancient Greek temple was dedicated to the goddess of the hunt and fertility in Ephesus.
Description:
Erected around 550 BCE on a site with Bronze Age origins, it was designed by the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes. Celebrated for its gleaming marble and 127 columns each 18 m high, it burned in 356 BCE, was rebuilt, and was finally destroyed in the 5th century CE during Gothic invasions and Christian suppression of pagan worship.
Facts:
– Constructed entirely of marble, measuring 115 × 46 m.
– The first all-marble Greek temple.
– 127 columns, each 18 m tall and 1.2 m in diameter.
– Infamous arson by Herostratus in 356 BCE seeking “eternal fame.”
– Funded by King Croesus of Lydia; rejected Alexander the Great’s offer.
– Listed among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Significance:
Worldwide. Part of the Ancient City of Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Must visit
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Do:
then taxi or minibus to the entrance
Access:
Roads:
Facilities:
Emergency:
112
Info:
Safety:
Low crime; no known terrorist threat
Clothing:
light cotton clothing, sun hat, comfortable closed-toe shoes
Climate:
Mediterranean: hot dry summers, mild wet winters
Connection:
no Wi-Fi; mobile coverage patchy within the ruins