Less than 15 minutes away are the ruins of Ephesus, which are primarily Roman. Once the capital of the province of Asia, Ephesus vied with Rome itself as one of the empire's wealthiest and most important cities.
Here too are the scant remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - the great temple of Artemis. Her images can be seen in the excellent museum in the town of Selcuk, which in the sixth century AD, became itself the latest manifestation of the city of Ephesus.
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.
Perhaps the loveliest of ruins is Priene, where it is possible to imagine life in a small ancient city. Dominating the landscape, the beautiful temple of Athena was regarded in Antiquity as the most perfect Ionian temple design. In the fourth Century BC, during his campaign against the Persians, Priene was visited by Alexander the Great.
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).
