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Magnesia Gate and City Walls

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The most important places of defense in a city are certainly its walls and gates. Until the period which we call the Roman Peace (Pax Romana) (the 2nd-3rd centuries AD) the gates and walls of cities were constructed strongly and magnificently in Anatolia.

With the ending of the Roman Peace the old tradition was continued again. Three important gates of Ephesus are known: The Harbour Gate, the Coressus Gate and the Magnesia Gate. The Corressus Gate has not yet been found. The Magnesia Gate stands on the east side of the city. It is the starting point of important roads which lead to the city of Magnesia, about 30 kilometres distant from this gate, and then, bending into Caria towards Tralles (Aydin), into Anatolia. It was named Magnesia after the first city. Lying 2-3 metres below the ground, it was excavated and partly uncovered.

According to the remains it was a beautiful example of Hellenistic city gates with a courtyard. The entrance of the gate was protected by two high towers of a rectangular plan. In front was a rather large paved square and behind (in the inner side) a narrow courtyard encircled by high walls. If the gate broke under the attacks of the enemy the attackers would come in to this court and they would be annihilated under fire from the high walls. Only a part of the courtyard has been excavated. Although in the Hellenistic period the necropolis (the graveyard) of the city began right after the gate, in the Roman period the gate was only a quarter of the city and the suburbs of Ephesus had moved further away.

The walls began at the two sides of the gate and after encircling Ephesus all around they met at the harbour. A very small portion of the north walls were preserved. On the other hand, the walls on Mount Coressus were extant. These walls were fortified at short intervals by rectangular towers. Some of the towers had small doors for sudden attacks which we call exit doors. It is quite difficult in the present day to visit the walls here as the land is undulated.

The walls extend for kilometres towards the west running over the summit of the mountain, and forming a sharp corner after a tower in the west which can be seen from almost everywhere in Ephesus they descend towards the harbour. This tower is erroneously mentioned as St. Paul’s Prison. It is written in the Bible that St. Paul was not imprisoned in Ephesus. The tower has two storeys and a great number of rooms, therefore it is quite certain that it was used as barracks.

Magnesia Gate and City Walls. Ephesus

Magnesia Gate and City Walls. Ephesus

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Rating: +271 (from 327 votes)
Magnesia Gate and City Walls, 83% based on 327 ratings
5 Reviews
  1. Harry Reems
    11:58 am on April 20, 2006

    We walked through City Walls and Magnesia Gate you have to have some imagination as to what it must have been. Well worth taking a photo.

    Reply
  2. Emi Kuroda
    10:11 pm on September 27, 2006

    Absolutely a great spot to take a great photo. Beautiful architecture again and so amazing that this is still standing!

    Reply
  3. Sabrine Maui
    5:08 pm on July 6, 2008

    Ephesus which contains more than just the Theater and Celsus Library. Magnesia Gate and City Walls impressive and we got to see and learn everything about this site. We also got to see the Terrace houses.

    Reply
  4. Ellie.N.W
    10:32 am on July 18, 2011

    Lots of loose stone and not good for walking if you have mobility issues. I would recommend just a few minutes there but it is included in the entrance fee so take a look.

    Reply
  5. Tamara.Cape.T
    5:09 pm on May 2, 2012

    It is a wonder at how well preserved some of these ruins are in Ephesus. A guide will be able to explain much about the carvings on the Temple. A very interesting and beautiful sight to see.

    Reply
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ephesus tours

The big tip is to try and go completely private. Many of the large tour companies offer private tour and they are going to charge a significant amount of money for the tour guide. However, many locations offer self-guided tours and therefore you have the ability to supply your own tour guide. Easily Book your guided private Ephesus tours, to see all the treasures of Ephesus Turkey. It's often said that Turkey has more ancient cities and classical ruins than does Greece. Well, it's true, and the Aegean coast holds a great number of sites, including Ephesus, the grandest and best-preserved of them all.

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