Ephesus, the foundation of Polished Stone Age BC. The ancient city dating back to 6000 years, located 3 km away from İzmir’s Selçuk district.

The first foundation of the ancient city of Ephesus within the borders of Selçuk district of İzmir province was BC. It goes back to 6000 BC, the Neolithic Period (Polished Stone Age). During the researches and excavations carried out in recent years, settlements belonging to the Bronze Age and the Hittites have been determined on the mounds around Ephesus and the Ayasuluk Hill where the castle is located. The city’s name was Apasas in the Hittite Period. Ephesus, one of the most famous cities of the first age, was established on the delta of the Küçük Menderes river. The sheltered port of that period, the point where the King’s Road starting from Susa in Iran reaches the sea increased the importance of the city.

While it was a city state, it became the capital of the Asian Province during the Roman Emperor Augustus Period and its population was as early as BC. 1.-2. In the 20th century, it exceeded 200,000 people, which was too much for that period. B.C. In the 6th century, it was at the forefront of science, art and culture together with Miletus. Famous sage Heracleitos, dream interpreter Artemidorus, poet Callinos and Hipponax, grammar scholar Zenodotus, physician Soranos and Rufus are from Ephesus. The oldest finds in the city BC. They are the Neolithic Age ruins in Çukuriçi Höyük, dated to the 6th millennium BC. On the Ayasuluk Hill, there is a Hittite Period settlement dated to the Old Bronze Age. The name of this place is mentioned as Apasas in Hittite written sources. According to linguists, the word Ephesus is derived from Apasas.