Day 01
Private Ephesus, Virgin Mary House and Sirince Tour
- We will start our tour with a private pick-up service from any hotel where you stay in Kusadasi.
- If you book your Ephesus tour with us and stay in Kusadasi, we will begin by visiting the House of the Virgin Mary. This is believed to be where Mary spent her last days, possibly with Saint John. The site was declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1986 and has since become a popular pilgrimage destination. Pope Paul VI visited the shrine in 1967. The visit to the House (church) takes about 45 minutes, and after that, we will drive for 5 minutes to reach Ephesus. You will explore the city for two hours, walking on the marble streets accompanied by our English-speaking tour guide.
- During our tour, we will see the Odeon, State Agora, Prytaneion, Memmius Monument, Domitian Temple, Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, Hadrian Temple, and Latriens.
- The visit to the Private House (also called 'Terrace Houses') is optional for an extra charge of 170 ₺ per person, and your guide should be informed before the tour.
- After visiting the Terrace Houses, we will continue our exploration with the Celsus Library, Marble Road, Commercial Agora, Great Theatre, and Arcadine (Harbour Road).
- After lunch, we will visit the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of Antiquity.
- Here, you will also have an excellent chance to take pictures of the Church of St. John and the Isa Bey Mosque from the best angle.
- Sirince is an old village of 'Rum' (Byzantine Greeks) located on the hills of Selcuk, 7 km from Ephesus. As part of the peace treaty after the Turkish National War (1919-1922), a formal exchange of Turkish and Greeks was agreed upon, and now Sirince is inhabited by Turkish people. The village is famous for its beautiful traditional houses and fruit-flavoured wine production, and you will have free time to taste some wine and buy beautiful handmade souvenirs.
- Our daily tour will finish around 4:30 pm, and we will transfer you back to your hotel.
