Why go
Add Ayasuluk to an Ephesus visit to see a living change of center. The mosque, hill and nearby Basilica of St. John form a compact contrast with the marble streets of the ancient city and prevent the story from ending with Roman decline.
The full story
Turkish control of the region developed through the late medieval centuries, with Ayasuluk rather than the old Roman site serving as the main settlement. Under the Aydinid principality in the fourteenth century, the town supported maritime activity and gained new buildings. The İsa Bey Mosque is the most useful surviving landmark of that phase for a visitor. Ottoman control followed in stages, while the ancient urban site was gradually left behind. This was a shift in where people lived and built, not the disappearance of the wider community. The nearby Basilica of St. John and Ayasuluk Hill had already drawn activity upward during Byzantine times, so the Turkish-era monuments continue a longer geographical story. The modern name Selçuk was adopted in the twentieth century. Walking between the mosque, basilica and hill lets you read successive religious and political periods within a much smaller area than the sprawling lowland ruins.