Selçuk Self-Guided Audio Walk: Temple of Artemis, Isa Bey Mosque, Basilica of Saint John and the Byzantine Aqueduct
1 hour and 30 minutes
About this experience
Ephesus never really died. Its people kept moving, from the hill to the Temple of Artemis, to the Roman city, and back up the hill, and every time they built with the stones of the place they left. Selçuk is where they ended up. Start at the Ephesus Museum with the statues of Artemis, pass a steam engine on the old railway line, and follow a Byzantine aqueduct whose piers were built from the temple. Stand below the gate to the Basilica of Saint John, see the marble west front of the Isa Bey Mosque and the bath beside it, and end at the lone column of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders. Nine stops, about 2.8 km and 90 minutes, in English and at your own pace. Museum and basilica tickets are not included.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Guide
- English
- Audio guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 9 stops, 2.8 km, 1.5 hours Stops at Byzantine aqueduct, Gate of Persecution below Saint John's basilica, Isa Bey Mosque and its bath GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: Start at 08:30, when the Ephesus Museum opens, or walk in the late afternoon with the museum first; the last leg to the Temple of Artemis runs beside the main road with little shade, so avoid the midday heat in summer. White storks nest on the aqueduct from about mid-March to the end of August; from September the nests may be empty. Museum and basilica hours checked 5 October 2026. See the Ephesus Museum first if you can: it holds the statues of Artemis and finds from the temple, the basilica and the fortress on this walk. Open every day 08:30 to 17:30, ticket office until 17:00, €10 (checked 5 October 2026). One ticket (€6, checked 5 October 2026) covers both the Basilica of Saint John and the Ayasuluk fortress above it; give it an hour, and go early, because the ministry lists earlier closing for the fortress (09:00 to 16:00). A modern copy of the Great Artemis stands in a fountain at the west end of Cengiz Topel Caddesi, opposite the road up to the basilica. The road past the Temple of Artemis leads on to the Ephesus ruins. Our Ephesus walk runs downhill from the Upper Gate, so take a taxi to the upper entrance and walk down. The Isa Bey Mosque is a working mosque. If you go in, cover shoulders and knees, women cover their hair, take your shoes off at the door, and avoid prayer times, especially Friday midday. This walk stays outside the courtyard wall. No ticket for the Temple of Artemis is listed by the ministry, and no official opening hours are published; secondary sources disagree on the hours. Check at the site before you count on going in. Between the aqueduct stops, the route crosses the main road at a zebra crossing just south of the junction with St. Jean Caddesi, the road up to the basilica; it may have no lights, so cross with care. The last leg uses the paved path beside the main road toward Ephesus, shared with cyclists, and its final stretch is the access road to the Temple of Artemis car park, with no sidewalk and turning coaches. Walk at the edge. The route has steps: a short flight on the pedestrian street near the square across the main street and a stepped lane round the north side of the mosque. It is not step-free. Do not climb on the aqueduct piers, the bath or the temple's stones. The ministry's two pages for the basilica and fortress give different hours, and hours change with the season; check the official page before you go. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Ephesus Museum: The Goddess Before Her Temple
14 Ugur Mumcu Sevgi Yolu, Selçuk
The walk begins beside the museum that holds the goddess Artemis. Her statues show the temple you will reach at the end.
- 2Day 0
Town Square: A Town With Three Names
Atatürk Caddesi, Selçuk
A small square marks the middle of modern Selçuk. The town's names trace each move its people made.
- 3Day 0
Station and Steam Engine: The Railway Man
Abuhayat Caddesi, Selçuk
A Swedish-built steam engine stands by the railway line. That line brought the man who found the Temple of Artemis.
- 4Day 0
Aqueduct Arches: Water Carried on a Wonder
20 Namık Kemal Caddesi, Selçuk
Tall arches carried water across the town to Saint John's church. Their engineer built many of them from the Temple of Artemis.
- 5Day 0
Aqueduct Piers: Where the Water Climbed
3 St. Jean Caddesi, Selçuk
The last piers of the aqueduct point up toward the hill. Here the water climbed to the church by pressure, up a chain of towers.
- 6Day 0
Gate of Persecution and the Basilica of Saint John: Pagan Carvings, Misread
St. Jean Caddesi, Selçuk
A path climbs to the gate of Saint John's church. Its old pagan carvings were later read as a Christian story.
- 7Day 0
Isa Bey Mosque: Temple Marble in a Mosque's Face
İsa Bey Mahallesi, Selçuk
A Turkish ruler's mosque of 1375 shows off a marble west front. Much of that marble came from the Temple of Artemis.
- 8Day 0
Isa Bey Bath: A Name Nobody Can Prove
1055. Sokak, Selçuk
A domed Turkish bath stands below the mosque. Its name and date are traditional, and nobody has proved either.
- 9Day 0
Temple of Artemis: The Wonder That Became a Town
Artemis Tapinagi, Selçuk
One rebuilt column stands where a wonder of the world once stood. Its stones went into the town you have just walked.
Meeting point
Ephesus Museum, Selcuk (Ephesus) 14 Ugur Mumcu Sevgi Yolu, Selçuk, Ege Bölgesi, TR
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Selçuk Self-Guided Audio Walk: Temple of Artemis, Isa Bey Mosque, Basilica of Saint John and the Byzantine Aqueduct
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.