Belevi Mausoleum

House of Virgin Mary - Selcuk Ephesus

Situated 29km far from Kusadasi, Belevi Mausoleum is reputed for its being the second largest and highest tomb house of Ancient Anatolia, thought to be belonged to Hellenistic era. The largest and the highest Hallicarnassos, one of the seven wonders of Ancient world, is located in Bodrum- on the south western corner of Turkey.

The unearthed pieces give a clear idea that the total height of Belevi Mausoleum is about 23 meters, except the roof. The marvelous construction was once consisted of a podium section in 11,37 meters high. The square planned podium was supported by the columns on four sides and was covered with the massive blocks. Three steps of crepidoma at the bottom reaches to the entrance of the podium. On the crepidoma, is the decorated podium wall. A Doric styled peristalsis decorates the podium with the eight columns on four sides.

The descriptions of funeral games and centauromachin on the relieves, ornament the 24 cassettes of the ceiling. The real sized statues of a lion and griffon on the tip of the roof are now displayed in Izmir and Ephesus museums.

On the Izmir road 13 km. from Selçuk on the eastern side of the intersection is a mausoleum at Belevi that was the second highest in Anatolia after the mausoleum at Halikarnassis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Judging by the remains, the podium was 11.37m high built on bedrock and was decorated by hand-worked stone on all four sides. A grave chamber was carved into the south side of the rock. In the Ephesus Museum you can view a sarcophagus taken from the grave chamber. On the podium were eight columns on each of four sides of a Doric peristasis. Again according to remains, the cornege of the second level was 11.32m above the podium, giving a total height of 23 meters. How the top was finished is unknown.The mausoleum dates from the Hellenistic period. Moreover, it is reputed to be the grave of Seleucid king Antiochus II who died in Ephesus in 246 BC. In the northwest of the Belevi township is a castle high in the mountains that has a view to make one's hair stand on end.

What Our Clients Are Saying -

Absolutely the best tour option for Ephesus if you want to see it properly
Chris, Mehmet and Mete, thank-you for the most fantastic day at Ephesus. I research many options online in advance of my holiday bookings to find the best options for us and I wanted the Ephesus experience that would give us the most time at the archeological site seeing the things we wanted to see. We got that with a really engaging driver (Mehmet) and guide (Mete) as well. We were met at the ferry port terminal right on time and Mehmet and Mete were waiting for us as promised. Mete is the best guide - so engaging and knowledgable about his subject matter, and just such a genuine person too - so wonderful to talk to over lunch. We loved seeing the Terrace Houses at the site - don't miss this as it really gives you a perspective on life during the peak time in Ephesus. We did the trip as a day trip from Samos in Greece where we were staying. In the end it was easy but no one can confirm the ferry times from Samos until the end of May (for the summer season), so don't even try organising it before then if you are trying to do it from Samos. If you are intending on doing it from Samos, once the ferry times are confirmed, it was very easy to do. The trip took a bit over one hour from Samos. Both ferries out and back were on time.

The booking process for our Ephesus tour was made very easy by Chris (who is a native English speaker) and all communication was really clear and prompt. We would love to come back and see more of Turkey and we would definitely use No Frills again (and perhaps get to meet Ted the dog next time!). We are generally independent travellers but found that the quality of the guide with No Frills really made the day great for us at Ephesus and added to the quality of the experience. I'm not sure why anyone would use any other company for their Ephesus Tour. They are very professional, friendly, do what they promise, and the guide is top quality.

Visited October 5, 2017