Miletus, Turkey - An Important Biblical City

Ancient Miletus in Turkey is a nice city to visit as a complement to the seven congregations of Revelation in the Bible. It’s proximity makes it a convenient stop. So we decided to pay a brief visit and get an idea of where it is in relation to other cities as well as familiarize ourselves with a place frequented by the Apostle Paul.

First of all, let’s get the pronunciation straight. This is how to pronounce Miletus:

Location and how to get there

Here is the exact location of Miletus in Turkey on Google Maps. It is in western Turkey and located among fertile planes close to the Aegean Sea.

Aerial view of the city of Miletus. Visitors center on the right.

The history of ancient Miletus

This ancient Greek city has a very long history. Archaeologists say it goes back to 3000 BC but recorded history dates it back to 1900 BC. As usual, layers and layers of civilizations are visible, making it difficult to picture what the city looked like at any specific point in time.

For me, my biggest interest was how it related to the Bible and the people that lived there during that time. Here are some noteworthy connections to the Bible.

• 700 BC – Miletus is a prosperous commercial center, known for it’s reddish-grey wool. Ezekiel 27:18 mentions either ‘Zahar’ or ‘Miletus’.
• 625 BC – Thales is born here. He is considered the founder of Greek geometry, astronomy and philosophy. Later to have much influence on Christianity.
• 334 BC – The city falls to Alexander the Great as prophesied in Daniel 8:5-7.
• 56 CE – The Apostle Paul visits. In haste to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost, he stops here on a route that bypassed Ephesus. Here Paul sends for the older men of Ephesus (30 miles each way, almost 3 days walking) He meets these older men and parts with them for an emotional last visit (Acts 20:18-38)
• 61 CE (or later) Paul again visits Miletus. He apparently had to leave Trophimus in the city sick as he carried on his journey. (2 Timothy 4:20)

Here is a map of Miletus in relation to other cities. The distances shown help us put things in perspective for Paul’s journeys. Each figure is the distance as well as the time to walk to each. The average person could walk about 25 miles per day.

The distance from ancient Miletus to:

• Ephesus – 30 miles (48 kilometers) 1+ day walking.
• Laodicea – 133 miles (215 kilometers) 5+ days walking.
• Philadelphia – 119 miles (191 kilometers) 5 days walking.
• Sardis – 123 miles (217 kilometers) 5 days walking
• Thyatira – 143 miles (230 kilometers) 6 days walking
• Pergamom – 149 miles (240 kilometers) 6 days walking
• Smyrna – 76 miles (122 kilometers) 3 days walking

The ruins of Miletus

There was a small museum there, which was unfortunately not open at the time. But there was much to see. Bring good walking shoes as the city covers a wide area.

Roman theatre from front.

From the back of the theatre.

The ruins are surrounded by beautiful plains of agriculture.

Rough paths lead to various parts of the city.

There is good signage.

Baths of Faustina.

Even the orchards around Miletus had ruins scattered among the trees. How cool is that!

After a couple of hours we felt satisfied. These ruins are not fully excavated, but much has been done. So I would rate Miletus in Turkey somewhere in the middle between Ephesus and Colossae for sights to see. But highly recommended, especially on a road trip!