Ephesus/Kusadasi, Turkey. An adventure in to ancient history

If you enjoy ancient history & ruins, you will love Ephesus.  I had been in Istanbul a few years ago and had heard of Ephesus and the ruins there and knew I wanted to go with a small tour.  When I was in Istanbul we had a great guide named Kagen (pronounced Khan) Kosagan.  I email Kagen and asked him if he did small tours in Ephesus.  He did but was not available for the date I wanted, but he had a guide for us that worked for him.  I got the details and we decided on a tour of 10 people.  I posted on Cruise Critic that I was looking for 8 people to join us for a private tour.  I had twice that amount contacting me wanting to join.  We ended up with 12 people total and I know of two other groups from the Cruise Critic boards that had private tours set up.  Of course, the ship runs excursions as well, but if you can get 10-12 people together, you can do it much cheaper, travel quicker, and have your own private guide.  Steal of a deal!

Yelda Celik, our fabulous guide

If you are going to Turkey -- here is the 4-1-1 on the best Tour & Travel services:
KSG www.toursinistanbul.com or www.tourguidesinturkey.com

Your ship will dock in Kusadasi.  You will need transportation to get to the ruins (20-25 minutes from the port) or really anywhere.  To maximize your short time, a private guide/small tour is the way to go.

A great tour guide in a place like Ephesus is really the key to your enjoyment of the day.  All the tours you see in your ships excursion guide or private tours you find on line will have the same basic itinerary:

• Ephesus
• Terrace Houses of Ephesus
• Museum of Ephesus
• Temple of Artemis
• House of Virgin Mary
• Visit to a local mosque
• The market of Kusadasi
and of course a stop at a carpet school!

One more plus about doing a small private tour is that you can get off the ship and get on the road before the large numbers of other passengers on motor coaches are even finished boarding!  You'll get a head start and this is important because of the crowds!  

Ephesus contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. Only an estimated 15% has been excavated. The ruins that are visible give some idea of the city's original splendor.

The Library of Celsus, the façade of which has been carefully reconstructed from all original pieces, it was originally built c. 125 AD and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. It looks like something out of an Indian Jones movie!

This is one of the main sites people come to see.  As you walk towards it, you can feel the history around you as well as a few thousand people......

Yes this is what we saw as we approached the library, and we got an early start.  I can not imagine what it is like in the middle of the day or in high season.  We were traveling in late September, so the tourist season was starting to wind down.  

It is so hard for me to describe the ruins and pictures just do not convey the wonder of walking down these centuries old streets. The Terrace houses are on one side, the Library straight ahead and all kinds of ruins on the  other side. And they say that only 15-20% of the area has been excavated to date.

Terrace Houses

You can go inside one of the terrace houses that has been discovered and is being restored, piece by piece.  There are many professionals and students of archeology working the site.  It looks like they are putting together a giant puzzle.  They are called Terrace houses because they are built going up a terrace and are multi-level apartment type units.  It is like being able to look back in time through a window.  

Odeon theater

Yelda was the perfect guide, walking us through the ruins, telling us the history of the excavation as well as the stories of the ruins.  While we were at the Odeon Theater she told us a story about how they used to do concerts in the theater until it was discovered that the amplified music was damaging the ruins.  So they put a stop to it.  However, the day we were there, they were setting up for some kind of performance and Yelda was not happy about that!  She has great respect for Ephesus.  We were very impressed with her and enjoyed all she had to tell us about the sight.  This was my favorite part of the day.  I did enjoy our other stops and I will admit that I did purchase a carpet (I wasn't planning on it, it just sort of happened!).  Everything was great, but I loved seeing the Library & Terrace Houses.  I am sorry to say pictures just do not do it justice.

Yelda made sure we had time to stop at a local place for lunch.  The food was phenomenal!  When we arrived they had a table for 13 set up for us out on a nice covered patio.  Yelda took us inside the restaurant where there was a large deli type case with food displayed.  She explained to us what every item was and translated for us.  We all gave our orders of what we wanted and then went back outside and took our seats.  We were brought our beverages -- I just love Turkish tea! And then the food started coming out.  We all ordered way too much and everyone started passing plates around family style, and filling our plates with a little of everything.  Very authentic turkish food! So yummy.  

Do this:      The Terrace houses & ruins at Ephesus. (and get there as early as you can)
Skip it:        House of the Virgin Mary (unless you are religious and want to experience it)
Drink this:  Turkish Tea with a cube of sugar.  Fantastic!
Beware:     The Carpet School.  It is fascinating, they will show you from start to finish how the beautiful Turkish carpets are made.  Then they will take you in a large room, serve you Turkish Tea or liquor, you sit down and they start the carpet show!  They will bring out carpets of all sizes and each one more beautiful then the last.  I say beware because before you know it, you will have bought yourself a carpet!  They make it very easy, they will ship it to your home, so you do not even need to worry about how to get it home!

Turkey is a beautiful country.  We were there from 8 am to 5 pm, and it just was not enough.  I will go back some day.  
Until tomorrow,
Travel Safe!