Selçuk is a town of about 23,000 total population, 18 km inland from the seaport of Kuşadası and about an hour by bus south of İzmir.
Lots of people come to Selçuk, but almost all of them to visit Ephesus, Maryemana, and other nearby sites. Much of the town itself remains generally undisturbed and undeveloped, an interesting traditional Turkish town.
Here's a view from a table at one of the many places selling delicious pide, or Turkish pizza.
There are many places to get a meal or just a snack while watching the town go past.
Many of the smaller streets at the center of town are pedestrian-only.
A Byzantine-era fortress overlooks Selçuk.
The fortress is on Ayasoluk Hill, the dominant landform in town. Larger hills rise to the east.
There is a market in town every Saturday.
Plenty of fresh produce!
You can get just about anything — food, clothing, shoes, tools, and much much more.
Something for the kitchen, perhaps?
When the Romans took over Ephesus over 2000 years ago, they built many aquaducts to carry water from the nearby hills to Ephesus, a distance of three to five kilometers. They re-used some of the blocks from earlier versions of the Temple of Artemis. So, the aquaduct crossing the center of town contains some blocks with carved writing, sometimes sideways or upside down as the blocks were put to use however they best fit.
The Romans are long gone, but the storks like the aquaducts.
A closer view of some stork nests.
Aquaducts, storks, backgammon, and tea.
This tea house relies on the aquaduct!
In the early 500s, around the same time that the Haghia Sophia (in Turkish: Ayasofya or Aya Sofya) was being built in İstanbul, Justinian also directed the construction of a nearly equally enormous church over what was then believed to be the burial place of the apostle John. See the Ephesus page for more on John's presence in this area and a timeline. The basilica was built part way up the small hill overlooking the Temple of Artemis, just below where a fortress was built in later Byzantine times.
The Temple of Artemis was disassembled, with some of its columns being hauled north to Constantinople and the new Haghia Sofia. The remaining blocks were hauled up the hill to build the Basilica of Saint John.
In 1090 the Seljuk Turks conquered the area, and the basilica was largely disassembled and the stones moved down the hill to build the Isa Bey mosque (see below for more on that).
An organization based in Lima, Ohio, U.S.A., is attempting to rebuild the basilica. But the work is going very slowly.
The Seljuk Turks captured the region in 1090. The Isa Bey Camii was built in 1375 by, well, Isa Bey! He was the Emir of Aydın, a settlement today about an hour away by bus toward Denizli and the Mediterranean coast. The builders reused blocks from the nearby Basilica of Saint John — meaning that these blocks are now part of their third religious facility over the past 2500 years!
It is said to be built "in a post-Seljuk pre-Ottoman transitional style", if you are interested in detailed architectural chronology.
Anyone would notice that it resembles Seljuk structures from Konya or even mosques from Syria or Egypt much more than it does the stereotypical Ottoman mosques of İstanbul.
Notice the finely detailed geometric stone work of the main entrance.
The mosque is open for visits during most of the day.
A view across the courtyard. The overall structure is divided roughly in two, half being enclosed as a mosque and the other half an open courtyard.
The front wall of the mosque, the direction toward Mecca, is the long wall opposite these doors. In the center of that wall just below the dome is the mihrab, the niche indicating the direction of Mecca. Beside the mihrab is the minber, the elevated pulpit from which scripture may be read or sermons preached. Below is a simple map:
+=================================+ || [===] || || ^ [ ] || || | ^ || || interior | | || || | minber || || mihrab (niche) || || || +==============|---|==============+ | doors <-- entrance | | | | | courtyard | | | | | +---------------------------------+
Tombstones are lined up along two sides of the courtyard.
Can you read the dates on any when you visit? Remember that you will need to read the Islamic calendar dates in Arabic numerals, and then add approximately 620 years to convert to the western calendar:
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Western style "Arabic" numerals |
| ٠ | ١ | ٢ | ٣ | ٤ | ٥ | ٦ | ٧ | ٨ | ٩ | Real Arabic numerals |
A view across the courtyard to the main entry. The minaret has lost its peak.
At left, the mihrab, the niche indicating the direction of Mecca. Beside the mihrab and partly obscured by the column is the minber, the elevated pulpit.
Looking down the length of the mosque.
As in most mosques, the floor is covered with a variety of carpets. They are donated by families or individuals for the improvement of the mosque.
Unlike Ottoman mosques, but like Mamluk or Seljuk mosques, the Isa Bey mosque is an elongated rectangle, much wider side-to-side than front-to-back.
If you can't make it to Damascus, Cairo, or other points to the south and east, this is an opportunity to see some different architecture.
Looking the opposite way along the front wall.
Why do you need to remove your shoes (ideally after washing your feet in the provided ablutions fountain) before visiting a mosque?
It's to keep the carpets clean! Prayers involve touching hands and forehead to the ground multiple times. Now really, would you want to put your forehead where people have been walking in dirty shoes?
Here's a great place where I have stayed every time. Very nice atmosphere, great location, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the Temple of Artemis. Everything from hostel-style shared rooms to their "Ottoman" suites. Click here or on any of the pictures for far more.
Hanging out on the rooftop terrace before dinner.
After dinner — trading travel stories and planning the next day.
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