 Ephesus was located on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, İzmir province, Turkey.  Ephesus was constructed on a river bend, that was eventually dredged into a full harbor near the mount of the Cayster River, on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Ephesus

 Ephesus was founded as an Attic-Ionian colony in the 10th century BC on the Ayasuluk Hill, three kilometers from the center of ancient Ephesus.  Ephesus was ruled by the Lydian king, Kreisos, in the mid 6BC. The city reached the "Golden Age" and became a good model to the Antic World in culture and art.  In 478 BC, the Ionian cities entered with Athens and Sparta.  Ephesus was dominated by Persians.  Ephesus was controlled by the Romans in 1-4 centuries AC.  Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire in Asia after Constantinople in the 5th and 6th centuries.  The town was conquered in 1304 by Sasa Bey, an army commander of the Menteşoğulları principality. Dark Ages Roman Period Classical Period Helenistic Period Turkish Era Byzantine Era Archaic Period

 Ephesus was controlled by the Romans in 190 BC. The city was given to the Bergamian kings for a time. With the death of King Attalos 3 in 133BC, the city was re-ruled by the Romans.  Ephesus reached to its height and was notorious for its wealth and luxury between 1-4 AD., especially during the reign of Augustus. During the period, the population of Ephesus increased to , and the city became the capital of the new Asia.  By cleaning the river Caystros from the alluviums, the great trade port of Ephesus, a gateway to foreign countries, enriched the prosperity of the city and continued to thrive with commerce and culture.  The city was constructed, adding new models to the former magnificence of Ephesus. "Celsus Library" clearly exemplifies the perfecta of the era, with the delicate details of the construction.

 There is no specific location for a specific leisure building in Ephesus. The locations of public leisure buildings seem to have been determined by the internal dynamics of the city; that is, the availability of free space or the wealth of the builder to purchase the necessary parcels of land.  The main axes of the city were filled with buildings, streets were paved and adorned with statues, intersections and nodes were organized with gates and agora.  Public facilities such as baths, latrines, and gymnasia were put into public service, fountains and the substructure of the city were completed and the city gained the look of a contemporary.

City Walls City Gates Hercales Gate Theatre Commercial Agora Celcus Library Stadium Gymnasiums Harbour Gymnasium Theatre Gymnasium Temple of Apollo Temple of Serapis Temple of Hadrian Temple of Domitian Temple of Isis Temple of Dea Roma and Divus Julius Temples

THEATRE Originally holding 25,000 people, this theater was built in the Hellenistic period and was renovated by several Roman emperors. It fits on slope. The theatre designed for theatrical performances, later alterations allowed gladiatorial contests to be held here. COMMERCIAL AGORA This market area is known as the "Square Agora" because of its dimensions 360 ft square. It arose in the Hellenistic period and was surrounded on all sides by arched shops about 40 ft deep. It is located next to the harbor and was the city's main commercial center.

CELSUS LIBRARY  It was built in 117 A.D.  The grave of Celsus was beneath the ground floor, across the entrance and there was a statue of Athena over it. Because Athena was the goddess of the wisdom.  There were double walls behind the bookcases to prevent the them from the extremes of temperature and humidity. The capacity of the library was more than 12,000 scrolls. It was the third richest library in ancient times after the Alexandra and Pergamum.

 Ephesus was the seat of the governor, growing into a metropolis and a major center of commerce.  There is not gridiron system and specific location for a specific leisure building.

 Gilbert Wiplinger / Gudrun Wlach, Ephesus 100 Years of Austrian Research  Ahmet Çinici, 2006, An Architectural Investigation of Leisure Spaces In Roman Domestic Context: The Case of Ephesus   