Less than 15 minutes away are the primarily Roman ruins of Ephesus. Here too are the scant remains of the great temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The cult statues of Artemis are in the excellent museum of Selcuk and on the hilltop is the early Byzantine Basilica of St John the Evangelist who died here.
A few miles distant, on a pine shaded hillside above Ephesus, is a small Byzantine church, which according to tradition was the site of the final home of Mary the mother of Jesus.
At the lovely ruins of Priene,dominated by the beautiful temple of Athena, one can imagine life in a small ancient city.
Further south are the remains of the great city of Miletos, whose theatre held 25,000 people. Beyond that, at Didyma, is the great oracular temple of Apollo.
Half an hour to the east of Kirazli lie the ruins of Magnesia on the Meander and there are many other sites such as Tralles and Nysa. It is only a day trip to Aphrodisias and Hierapolis (Pammukkale).
