About Library of Celsus
The Library of Celsus (Greek: Βιβλιοθήκη του Κέλσου) is an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, located near the modern town of Selçuk, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. The building was commissioned in the years 110s CE by a consul of the Roman Empire, Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus, as a funerary monument for his father Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, former proconsul of Asia, and completed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, sometime after Aquila's death.
The Library of Celsus is considered an architectural marvel, and is one of the few remaining examples of great libraries of the ancient world located in the Roman Empire. It was the third-largest library in the Greco-Roman world behind only those of Alexandria and Pergamum, and is believed to have held around 12,000 scrolls. Celsus is buried in a crypt beneath the library in a decorated marble sarcophagus. The interior measured roughly 180 square metres (2,000 square feet).
The interior of the library and its contents were destroyed in a fire that resulted either from an earthquake or a Gothic invasion in 262 CE, and the façade by an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century. It lay in ruins for centuries until the façade was re-erected by archaeologists between 1970 and 1978.
This description is taken from Wikipedia and published under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Library of Celsus
Location and Access
Library of Celsus is located in Selçuk district, İzmir. Coordinates are 37.93914, 27.34075. You can get directions from the map below. You can request a licensed local guide for İzmir.
Places to Visit Near Library of Celsus
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Hadrian's Gate (Ephesus)
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Temple of Hadrian
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Scholastikia Baths (Ephesus)
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Gaziemir railway station
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Phocaea
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Colophon
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Pergamon
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Erythrae
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Facts
- Province İzmir
- District Selçuk
- Category Historical Places
- Period Roma · MS 2. yüzyıl
- Opening hours Efes Antik Kenti ziyaret saatleriyle aynı
- Entrance Efes biletine dâhil · Müzekart geçerli
- Visit duration 20–30 dakika (Efes gezisi içinde)
- Best season İlkbahar ve sonbahar
- Coordinates 37.93914, 27.34075
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