Cayster River

Cayster River - Ephesus

Situated at the crossroads of major Roman roads and where Cayster River emptied into Mediterranean, Ephesus was a major city with population of 250,000 and therefore a strategic base for evangelization.

The road lined with columns leading away in this photo is the "Harbor Street" that led down to the Cayster River. The obvious question is, "Where's the Cayster River?"

The good thing about the Cayster River was that it brought trade from upstream. The bad thing about Cayster River was that it also brought silt that kept on filling in Ephesus' harbor. After dredging the silt deposits for centuries, Ephesians would eventually move their city to the new water line, and then repeat the process all over again. Ephesus was in fact moved 4 times during its history before being abandoned in the 13th century; the last Ephesus harbor now sits 6 miles from the river.

The good thing about Ephesus' serial displacement in pursuit of the receding water line is that unlike most ancient cities, old Ephesus was simply abandoned instead of rebuilt upon, leaving an archeological bonanza. Unfortunately, Ephesus was plundered by the locals looking for building materials and by foreign archeological expeditions alike until just a few decades ago. Still, it's far better preserved than the Temple of Diana.