What is Ephesus called today? In Turkish the ruins are simply Efes, and they lie about 3 kilometers from the town of Selçuk in İzmir province, on Turkey's Aegean coast. That puts Ephesus in Asia, not Europe: it stands on the Anatolian side of Turkey, which holds about 97% of the country's land.
No modern city took over the name. The people of Ephesus moved up the hill next door centuries ago, and that hilltop town, called Ayasuluk for most of its history, has been Selçuk since 1914.
What is Ephesus called today?
Ephesus is called Efes in Turkish. It is an archaeological site, not a living city, and its modern successor is Selçuk, a town of the same district about 3 kilometers away in İzmir province. Before 1914 that town was called Ayasuluk. Road signs, tickets and taxi drivers all use Efes.
So there are really three names in play, and most confusion online comes from mixing them up. Ephesus (in Greek, Ephesos) is the ancient city. Efes is the same place in Turkish. Selçuk is the town where the people went, and where you will find the hotels, the museum and the train station.
| Name | What it refers to | When you will see it |
|---|---|---|
| Ephesus / Ephesos | The ancient city, in English and Greek | Guidebooks, the Bible, UNESCO |
| Efes | The same ruins, in Turkish | Road signs, tickets, what you tell a driver |
| Ayasuluk | The hilltop town that grew after the ancient city emptied | History books, the fortress, old maps |
| Selçuk | The same town since 1914 | Your hotel address, the train timetable |
Why Selçuk, and why not Ephesus?
The town did not keep the old name because it was not the old city. It grew on Ayasuluk Hill, around the church built over the tomb of John the Apostle. Greek speakers called the town after him, Hagios Theologos, "the holy theologian", and Turkish speakers later heard that as Ayasuluk.
In 1914 the town was renamed Selçuk, after the Seljuk Turks who had reached this coast in the 11th century. The hill and its fortress kept the older name, which is why you will still see Ayasuluk on signs at the top of town. We tell the story of how the city moved uphill in why Ephesus was abandoned.
Even the name Ephesus is older than the Greeks. Hittite and Egyptian sources mention a place called Apasa on this coast, and the ICOMOS evaluation prepared for UNESCO notes that the name Ephesus is thought to derive from it.
Where is Ephesus today?
Ephesus is in western Turkey, in the Selçuk district of İzmir province, on the plain between Panayır and Bülbül hills. The figures below match the ones on our planning pages:
- Selçuk town center: about 3 kilometers.
- Kuşadası cruise port: about 18 to 20 kilometers.
- İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport: about 60 kilometers.
- İzmir city center: about 80 kilometers, roughly an hour by motorway.
Is Ephesus in İzmir? Yes, in İzmir province, though not in İzmir city. One detail catches people out: Kuşadası, where the cruise ships dock, belongs to the neighboring province of Aydın. So a ship calls at an Aydın port, and its passengers visit a site in İzmir province.
If you want the practical side of that drive, we covered it in how far Ephesus is from Kuşadası port.
Our full-day Ephesus tour walks the ancient city and then crosses into Selçuk, so you see Efes and Ayasuluk side by side with a private guide. Tickets are bought in advance so you skip the line; the ticket cost is paid separately.
Send us your date through the booking page or at info@ephesustoursbylocals.com.
TÜRSAB 15746 · private only · no prepayment to ask.
Is Ephesus in Europe or Asia?
Ephesus is in Asia. Turkey spans two continents, but only East Thrace, the corner holding Edirne and the European side of Istanbul, lies in Europe: about 3% of the country. Ephesus is on the Anatolian peninsula, also called Asia Minor, about 250 kilometers south of the Dardanelles.
The confusion is understandable. Ephesus was a Greek-speaking city for most of its history, it sits on the Aegean Sea, and the Greek island of Samos is visible from the coast near Kuşadası on a clear day. Culturally it belonged to the Greek world. Geographically, it stands on the Asian shore.
What continent is Ephesus, Turkey in?
Asia. Anatolia, the land between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, is the western tip of the Asian continent, and Ephesus lies on its Aegean edge. If you fly from Istanbul Airport, on the European side, down to İzmir, you cross into Asia on the way.
The Roman province that was called Asia
There is a third layer, and it explains a lot of Bible verses. When the Romans took over this coast after 133 BC, they named their new province Asia. Under Augustus the Roman governor sat at Ephesus, which is why the city is usually called the capital of the province, although Pergamon long disputed the honor.
So when the New Testament says "Asia", it means this province, not the continent. Acts 19 says that during Paul's two years in Ephesus all the residents of Asia heard the word. Revelation opens with letters to the seven churches in Asia, and Ephesus is the first of them. Our colleagues map all seven on the seven churches map.
The story of that riot, and of Paul's time in the city, is on our colleagues' page about the Apostle Paul in Ephesus. For the longer timeline from the Bronze Age to today, see the history of Ephesus. And if you want to know why the place matters at all, start with why Ephesus is important.
Visiting: which name to use on the day
Book your hotel in Selçuk or Kuşadası, and ask your driver for Efes. The site has two entrances, the upper gate and the lower gate, so name the gate as well; our map of Ephesus shows both. The Ephesus Museum, with the Artemis statues, is in Selçuk itself, not at the ruins.
For staying overnight, our honest comparison is should you stay in Selçuk instead of Kuşadası, and for an afternoon in town, Selçuk in a day. Current ticket prices and opening hours change, so check them on the tickets and opening hours page rather than trusting an old figure.
Questions readers ask
What is modern-day Ephesus called?
Efes, in Turkish. The ancient city is an archaeological site with no modern city on top of it; the nearest town, about 3 kilometers away, is Selçuk, which was called Ayasuluk until 1914.
Is Ephesus in Greece?
No. Ephesus is in Turkey, in İzmir province. It was a Greek-speaking city in antiquity, which is why many people expect it in Greece, but it stands on the Asian shore of the Aegean.
Is Ephesus called Kuşadası?
No. Kuşadası is a separate resort town and cruise port about 18 to 20 kilometers from the ruins, in Aydın province. Most cruise passengers reach Ephesus from there, which is where the mix-up comes from.
What was Ephesus called before?
Its oldest recorded name is probably Apasa, a place named in Hittite sources of the second millennium BC. The Greeks called it Ephesos, the Romans Ephesus, and the later town on the hill was Hagios Theologos, then Ayasuluk.
Where is Ephesus on a map?
On Turkey's Aegean coast, about 80 kilometers south of İzmir and just inland from Kuşadası. Look for Selçuk on the map; the ruins are on its southwest side.
Which name should I tell a taxi driver?
Say Efes, and add which gate you want: "Efes alt kapı" for the lower gate or "Efes üst kapı" for the upper gate. If you say only Ephesus you will usually be understood, but naming the gate saves a long walk back to the wrong car park.
Sources: UNESCO World Heritage listing for Ephesus; ICOMOS evaluation of Ephesus (2015); Acts 19:10 and Revelation 1:11. Written by the Gezginol Travel guiding team. Last reviewed: October 2026.
Comments
Post a Comment