Highlights of Ephesus & House of the Virgin Mary

Your private Ephesus tour guide will welcome you at Kusadasi Port or your hotel. Then you will meet your private driver and get into a luxurious, air-conditioned, and comfortable vehicle. After a 30-minute drive, you will arrive at Ephesus. Your Ephesus tour guide will have the entrance tickets ready for you, so you can skip the lines and save time. Your Ephesus tour will start at the upper gate and finish at the lower gate of Ancient Ephesus. You will see the Temples of Domitian, Trajan, and Hadrian, the huge Roman Baths, Harbor Street, Marble Street, the Gates of Mithridates and Mazues, the Commercial Agora, the Latrines, the Scholastica Baths, Curetes Street, the Pollio Fountain, the Memmius Monument, the Prytaneion, the Odeon, the State Agora, the Celsus Library, and the Great Theater, one of the largest ancient theaters in Turkey. After exploring Ephesus, you will visit the House of the Virgin Mary, located in a beautiful nature park between Ephesus and Selcuk. This is believed to be the last residence of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The peaceful site is sacred to both Christians and Muslims and is visited by many tourists and pilgrims. The House of the Virgin Mary was later visited by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II, who recognized it as an important place of pilgrimage. On November 29, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass here. You will then enjoy a traditional Turkish lunch at a peaceful, local restaurant away from the tourist crowds near Ephesus. After lunch, you will visit the Temple of Artemis. Artemis was the main goddess of Ephesus, and the Ephesians built one of the largest ancient temples ever dedicated to her. At the end of your Ephesus tour, your private guide and driver will take you back to Kusadasi Port on time..