2-368-543 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

The Celsus Library, Ephesus, Turkey. This library is one of the most beautiful structures in Ephesus. Built in 117 AD it was a monumental tomb for Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the governor of the province of Asia; a gift from his son Galius Julius Aquila. The grave of Celsus was located beneath the ground floor, across the entrance, and had a statue of Athena looking down on it. Ephesus was once the most important commercial centre of the ancient world and also a religious centre for early Christians. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek period.