Ephesus ancient city meets sea again
The ancient city of Ephesus, one of the premier tourist sites in Turkeyreadies to have a harbor on the Aegean coast again. Ephesus used to have a harbor on the Aegean coast, İzmir Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Abdülaziz Ediz recently told Anatolian news agency. The city’s importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes). Ediz said they had been working to realize a project called “Ephesus Reunion with the Sea” with the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, as well as the Transportation, Maritime Affairs and
Communications Ministry. Currently, the city’s distance is six kilometer to the sea.
Noting that the project was launched in 2012, the official said: “We are conducting the works within the scope of a common project and under the direction of the Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ministry. The transportation from Ephesus Harbor to the Pamucak Coast [on the Aegean] will be possible with boats. Our aim is to revive history again. Recreation areas will be established with proper landscaping. We want to make the ancient city of Ephesus more attractive to tourists. The visitors will have a chance to live the experiences and ambiance of the old times.”
Ediz, however, said it was not currently possible to give any indication as to when the project would be completed. Although Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay recently announced that tourist numbers to Turkey as a whole through the first seven months of the year had declined close to 2 million on the back of regional tensions in Syria and Israel, visitor numbers to Ephesus continue to increase.
