Selçuk Fortress

 Turkey > Aegean Region > İsa Bey Mahallesi

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The inner fortress situated on the highest point of the hill to the north of the St John’s Church superposes the very first settlement of Ephesus as the recent research has revealed. The walls which are seen today belong to the Byzantine, Ottoman and Aydınoğulları periods. Built with stones, bricks and mortar, the walls are reinforced by 15 towers. Entrance to the fortress is through the gates in the east and the west. These gates directly open to the outside without any connections with the outer fortress. In the inner side of the walls are narrow staircases providing access to the bastions and crenellations. There are stone-paved streets, cisterns of various sizes, a mosque and ruins of a church on the highest point. The apse of this church was made into a cistern with some additions in the Aydınoğulları period. Further, the ruins of a building which might be a fortress bath is seen to the west of the mosque.