Ephesus & Turkish Bath

After your cruise docked to Kusadasi port, on your meeting time, your guide will be waiting you in the arrival guest terminal with a sign that your booking name indicated. After he/she welcomes you and after getting on your private van, your unforgetable day in Turkey stop starts.

First of all you follow the way to Selcuk town which is 15 miles from the town of Kusadasi where The Ancient City of Ephesus which is the best preserved ancient city in Anatolia so far discovered and the other important historical sites such as; The House of Virgin Mary, The Basilica of St. John, The Temple Of Artemis and The Grotto of the Seven Sleepers exixts.

After 20 minutes driving, you reach to the Ancient City of Ephesus and your magical experience through a history starts.

The ancient city of Ephesus was founded by the the Amazons, the great female warriors in history. The name of the city is thought to have been derived from “Apasas” (name of a queen of Amazons) which sounds very similar to “Ephesus”. The name of the city “Apasas” was a city for the “Kingdom of Arzawa (belongs to the Hittites civilization from the 2nd millenium BC.)” which means “queen bee” or ” city of the Mother Goddess”.

Ephesus was inhabited from the end of the Bronze Age, but the location was changed owing to the silting up process of the river Cayster and because of various rulers. Carians and Lelegians were the city’s earliest inhabitants(7000 BC.), Ionian migrations began around 1200 BCE and Ephesus is chiefly known as an Ionian Greek city. Altough there had been a lot of civilizations passed through the region of Ephesus even with its different settlement areas(4 times changing the location of their city), the city that we visit today with all the ruins as being the best preserved ancient city in Anatolia so far discovered is the 3rd location of Ephesus as a Greko-Roman city dating back to the 3rd C BC.

Starting from the upper gate of the city you are going to be following the impressive marble streets of Ephesus with the explanations of your guide who makes you feel like having a journey back to the antiquity and especially to the Roman times as like taking a time machine back into those days…

First of all you start with the administrative part of the city where you see the ruins of The State Agora, Roman Baths, Basilica, Buleterion(Odeon),Prytaneion buildings. After ending the Administrative part of the city you reach to the Domitian Square where you see the ruins of Temple of Domitian, Pollio Fauntain, Memmius Monumet, relief of Nike (Victoria) and then the ordinary life of Ephesus starts where the massive buildings keeps welcoming you as well.

One of the most well known main Street in the city “The Street of Curettes” where you face the jewel of Ephesus which is “The famous Library of Celsus”  comes with a panaromic unbelievable view.

This amazing view is going to be a “Wow” for you. Then you start walking on the Street of Curettes on a collonaded marble street as following the ruins of Gate of Hercules, ruins of the shops which were located behind the columns, The Trajan Fountain, The Scholastika Bath Complex, The Teracce Houses(the residentials of the wealthy families who lived in the city- Has an extra enterance fee), The Temple of Hadrian, Latrines(public toilets of the Romans),Brothel, famous Library of Celsus.

The Library of Celsus will be the ending of the first main Street and then the second main Street for the city comes as the Marble Street. The Street extends from the Library of Celsus till the famous big Grand Theater of Ephesus which is known as one of the largest example with its seating capacity in Anatolia so far discovered. On the way to the big grand Theater, you are going to get shocked seeing the first advertising in Ephesus on a marble peace on the floor showing the direction of… (?) Wait to learn from your guide about the funny story of it…

The impressive Commercial Agora(Market Place) which used to be the heart of the city as being the trade center of the Asia Minor for the Ephesians comes with an impressive view from a teracce on the Marble Street.

The last highlight comes as the big grand Theater of Ephesus with the capasity of 25.000 people which firstly was built as a Greek theater then later coverted into a Roman style. The Theater of Ephesus was the place where St. Paul the Apostale preached to the Ephesians.

You are going to feel the amazing acoustics inside the theater and you are going to be able to imagine that once there used to be the gladiator fights and wild animal fights were being held in the spot where you are standing today.

After the Theater one last main Street comes as the Harbour Streeet (the Arcadiane).The end of this Street was the location of the ancient port of Ephesus which is today about 7 km away from the city itself. Here is another shock for you that after imagining Ephesus was used to be port city and that much silted up by the River Cayster in thousands of years…

Following the way through the Harbour streert, some more ruins will be pointed out by your guide as the Theater Gymnasion, some examples of the Sarcophagi (tombs), Church of Mary and the Harbour Baths…

As ending your tour with impressive informations and wonderful pictures that you had inside the ancient city, you are not going to being taken to the upper gate back again to exit; you are going to exit the ancient city togather with your guide from the lower gate and meet with your private van in the parking area.

Finishing the walking in between the ruins of the Ancient City of Ephesus, you may need some relaxing time. If you are in Turkey the word “relaxing” equals to “Turkish Bath(Hamam)”! Time to experience the process of Turkish Bath now.

After having more fun and relaxing time than you expected in the bath, you are going to be dropped of back in the cruise port again and ending our services as saying goodbye to our guests with unforgetable memories and with the wishes to welcome them back again…