Why go
The early evidence changes how you read Selçuk: Ayasuluk was not merely a refuge after Roman Ephesus declined. Archaeological finds connect it to earlier settlement, while the proposed identification of Ephesus with Hittite Apasa remains an open historical question. The hill’s later basilica stands above those earlier layers.
The full story
Excavations at Arvalya and Çukuriçi have revealed prehistoric occupation around Ephesus. Bronze Age settlement evidence also comes from Ayasuluk Hill, the rise above modern Selçuk where the Basilica of St. John later stood. Pottery from a Mycenaean-period burial area near the basilica adds another layer to the hill’s history. Hittite texts mention Apasa, a center in western Anatolia that some scholars identify with the predecessor of Ephesus. That identification is a proposal, not a settled fact, and the texts cannot simply be mapped onto every later monument. The useful lesson on site is geographical: the famous Hellenistic and Roman ruins are not the only historic focus of the district. Settlement and sacred activity occurred at several nearby points as coastlines, routes and political centers changed. A visit to Ayasuluk Hill therefore complements the lowland archaeological site rather than repeating it.