Tailor-Made Private Ephesus Tour with Local Experiences

based on 54 reviews

Duration:6 hours to 8 hours (approx.)
Location: Kusadasi, Turkish Riviera

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*Tailor-made your own tour. Choose what to see and where to visit.
*Experience local food and beauties of Turkey together with must-see places.
*Explore local shops before embark on your cruise.
*Skip-the-line all entrances with pre-purchased tickets. Pay for the tickets at the end of your tour.

This is a guided private tour. You will be the only one have your guide's attention and use your valuable time wisely during your stay in Kusadasi port of call. After you meet with your guide at the port, you will create your own unique itinerary. You can choose to visit any of the places below,

*Ephesus Ancient City
*Terrace Houses of Ephesus
*Virgin Mary's House
*St. John Basilica
*Temple of Artemis
*Sirince Old Greek Village
*Kusadasi Town Center
*Handcraft Shops and Ateliers
*A delicious lunch in a local village atmosphere.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1. Meryemana (The Virgin Mary's House)
House of Virgin Mary is located on the top of the "Bulbul" mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere hidden in the green. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in crowded place. The house of Virgin Mary is a typical Roman architectural example, entirely made of stones. In the 4th century AD, a church, combining her house and grave, has been built. The original two-stored house, which consisted of an anteroom (where today candles are proposed), bedroom and praying room (Christian church area) and a room with fireplace (chapel for Muslims).
2. Ancient City of Ephesus
This enclosure for archaeological remains at Ephesus elegantly reconciles historic conservation with accessibility for visitors. The site of a succession of great ancient civilizations, Ephesus, on the south-west coast of modern Turkey, embodied a peculiarly fertile synthesis of architecture and culture. In 356BC the Greeks built the Artemesium (a colossal Ionic temple dedicated to Artemis the fertility goddess) which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. During the 2nd century BC, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its Artemision Temple, the Library of Celsus and its medical school..
3. State Agora
The agora on the southern part of the Basilica is the State Agora and was built in the Roman Period in the first century B.C. This agora was used not for commerce but for business, it played an important role as a meeting place for governmental discussions. During the excavations in the northeast corner of the Agora were found a great number of graves from the 7th-6th centuries B.C and a stone-paved road, and an archaic sarcophagus of terra cotta. From this, it is understood that in the archaic period this part of the Agora was used as the necropolis of Ephesus. There is a water reservoir at the corner of the Agora, which played an important role in Ephesus. Its water was brought to the city through the Pollio Aqueduct, the remains of the Pollio Aqueduct can be seen 5 kilometers away, along the Selçuk-Aydin highway.
4. The Odeion
This building has the shape of a small theatre with the stage building, seating places, and the orchestra. It had a double function in use. First, it was used as a Bouleuterion for the meetings of the Boules or the Senate. The second function was the Odeum as a concert hall for the performances. It was constructed in the 2nd century A.D by the order of Publius Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia Paiana, two wealthy citizens in Ephesus. It had a capacity of 1500 spectators. It had 3 doors opening from the stage to the podium. The podium was narrow and one meter higher than the orchestra section. The stage building was two-storeyed and embellished with columns. The podium in front of the stage building and some parts of the seating were restored. The Odeon used to be enclosed with a wooden roof. Two councils administrated Ephesus. These were Demos or the parliament which was open to the public was taken place in the great theatre and the Bouleia which gathered in this small theatre.
5. Temple of Hadrian
Temple of Hadrian is one of the best-preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. It was built before 138 A.D by P. Quintilius and was dedicated to Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 128 A.D The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, goddess of victory. The side columns are square. The pedestal with inscriptions in front of the temple is the bases for the statues of the emperors between 293-305 CE, Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius I, and Galerius; the originals of the statues have not been found yet.
6. Temple of Domitian
Located at the south end of Domitian Street, it is the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an emperor. It was built on a high and wide terrace set by 50x100 meters in size, on vaulted foundations. The northern side of the terrace seems to be two-stories high, reached by stairs. The stairs are still visible today. The temple, built in the pro-style plan, had eight columns on the short side and thirteen columns on the long side, and four additional columns in front of the cella. On the northern side, there was an u-shaped altar, which is now displayed in the Izmir Museum. It was in the reign of Domitian that an emperor gave permission to build an Emperor Temple; that is the permission to be the 'neocoros' for the first time, which was a great honor for a city. It was in the reign of Domitian that an emperor gave permission to build an Emperor Temple; that is the permission to be the 'neocoros' for the first time, which was a great honor for a city.
7. Hercules Gate
Hercules Gate is located towards the end of Curetes Street, it was called the Hercules gate because of the relief of Hercules on it. It was brought from another place in the fourth century AD to its current place, but the relief on it dates back to the second century AD. Only the two sides of the columns remain today and the other parts of it have not been found. The relief of the flying Nike in the Domitian Square is thought to also be a part of this gate. The Heracles Gate narrowed the access to the street, preventing the passage of vehicles. We can understand that from the Fourth Century, the street had become a pedestrian area.
8. Ephesus Terrace Houses
Ephesus terrace houses are located on the hill, opposite the Hadrian Temple. Also called "the houses of wealthy Romans", important for the reason give us information about family life during the Roman period. They were built according to the Hippodamian plan of the city in which roads transected each other at the right angles. There are six residential units on three terraces at the lower end of the slope of the Bulbul Mountain. The oldest building dates back to 1C BC and continued in use as a residence until 7C AD. Ephesus terrace houses are covered with protective roofing which resembles Roman houses. The mosaics on the floor and the frescos have been consolidated and two houses have been opened to the public as a museum.
9.
Celsus Library is one of the most beautiful structures in Ephesus. Celcius Library was built in 117 A.D. Celsus Library was a monumental tomb for Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the governor of the province of Asia; from his son Galius Julius Aquila. The grave of Celsus was beneath the ground floor, across the entrance and there was a statue of Athena over it. Because Athena was the goddess of wisdom. The scrolls of the manuscripts were kept in cupboards in niches on the walls. There were double walls behind the bookcases to prevent them from the extremes of temperature and humidity. The capacity of the library was more than 12,000 scrolls. It was the third richest library in ancient times after the Alexandra and Pergamum.
10.
Ephesus theatre is the most magnificent structure in the Ephesus ancient city. The Ephesus Great Theatre is located on the slope of Panayir Hill, opposite Harbor Street, and is easily seen when entering from the south entrance to Ephesus. It was first constructed in the Hellenistic Period, in the third century BC during the reign of Lysimachos, but then during the Roman Period, it was enlarged and formed its current style that is seen today. t is the largest in Anatolia and has a capacity of 25,000 seats. The cavea has sixty-six rows of seats, divided by two diazoma (walkway between seats) into three horizontal sections. There are three sections of seats. In the lower section, Marble pieces, used for restoration, and the Emperor's Box were found. The Ephesus theatre was used not only for concerts and plays but also for religious, political, and philosophical discussions and for gladiator and animal fights.
11. The Basilica of Saint John
It is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and was buried on the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. Three hundred years after the death of St. John, a small chapel was constructed over the grave in the 4th century. The church of St John was changed into a marvelous basilica during the region of Emperor Justinian (527 -565 AD). The second half of the first century was full of persecution for the early Christians. Apostle James and Stephen were killed in Jerusalem. Paul was sent to Rome and executed. According to tradition John took The Mother Mary and came to Ephesus. He wrote his Gospel in Ephesus and the Revelation on Greece Island, Patmos in 96AD.
12. The Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It has been built in the areas of Ephesus on a flat area which has over the centuries turned into a swamp. If you visit Ephesus today, you can only see the ruins of the foundations of this marvelous construction of the Hellenistic Age, entirely made of marble and full of sculptured columns' capitals and shafts. The most beautiful remaining of this temple are today exhibited in the London British Museum.
13. Okuz Mehmet Pasa KervansarayI
The caravanserai was commissioned by Öküz Mehmed Pasha, who served as Governor of Ottoman Egypt and Grand Vizier. It was constructed between 1615 and 1618. Constructed in the form of a fortress to meet the needs of the time, the caravanserai was used as customshouse. The Directorate of Foundations started the renovation of the almost-ruined caravanserai in 1954 that continued until 1966.The cost of renovation totaled to ₺2.1 million (approx. US$0.21 million), not including the cost for nationalization of shanties on three sides of the ruined structure.
14. Kusadasi Bazaar
At the end of your tour, you can have free time in a local market area of Kusadasi town. It is a huge market with all kinds of shops. from Turkish goods, to leather products, to sweets, to knick-knack to a bunch of fake clothes and watches, it has lots of stuff.

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Posted By : Troy_B
Nagehan was a lovely guide. In cery warm weather she made sure we were as comfortable as possible. Ephesus was amazing. The local restaurant was the best food of our trip. Skip the hard-sell carpet factory tour.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-18 11:03:55

Posted By : 884vanshd
We had Nagehan as our guide. She made the last minute change for us to vegetarian menu for the lunch. She was very knowledgeable and along with the driver, made sure that we enjoyed a very hot summery day. We got to know a lot about Turkey and the Izmir region.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-11 11:23:06

Posted By : 181fernl
Nergis is a knowledgeable guide. The night tour to Ephesus is highly recommended as it is pleasant and the lighting of Ephesus is impressive. After the tour ended at 11pm, we were bro to a carpet making center out of original itinerary. We would prefer if they check with us first.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-08 18:42:01

Posted By : Ellie_M
So much history in Kusadasi! Our guide knew so much about everything we were seeing both from the tour and what we were seeing on the drives to the spots.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-04 14:14:51

Posted By : dinarosa2
Highly recommend this tour. Eda is an excellent guide and gave us lot of information regarding Ephesus, St John’s Cathedral and House of Virgin Mary. We also enjoy Lunch, Pottery and Carpet presentations!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-30 10:21:24

Posted By : Samantha_M
We had such a great time during this tour. Our tour guide was Tas and he was excellent. I would recommend him!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-29 04:31:12

Posted By : Amaninder_B
Everything about the tour was great. Geyhan picked me up right on time. On the way to Ephesus, she explained the history of the area and went over where we would go. She was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of great insights about each site. I was thrilled with the experience and enjoyed my day. Highly recommend!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-27 12:54:21

Posted By : Curiosity34088193767
Nur was our tour guide and she is a true local to the city, which was super helpful - she knew everything there is to know about Ephesus and the surrounding history. The tour wasn’t exactly a tailor made tour, as the plans had already been made, but the day was so much fun! We toured Ephesus, a rug factory where we got to see how silk is made and master weavers work on the rugs, we got to visit a pottery shop run by a local family and even got a pottery demonstration, we saw the Virgin Mary’s house, and more! Nur really made the experience fun for us, and we enjoyed her so much!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-27 12:18:37

Posted By : mathans2016
Nergis was an excellent guide and has extensive knowledge about Ephesus as well as the various Empires and States that have occupied and lived in the region.

We were able to adjust the itinerary based on what we wanted to see and the experience felt very personalised. Highly recommended!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-20 09:55:20

Posted By : Mehazatul-Amali M
Very informative & well organized trip by our tour guide Nagehan. Highly recommended. We had a good time & good cultural experience at the carpet school.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-01 09:56:25