PRIVATE Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary Tour (Skip-The-Line)
Description
Our PRIVATE Ephesus Tour is one of its kind about places it covers and it's our best-seller! This tour is a perfect option for those who have a full day to spend around the most important sights of the Ephesus area. This tour is guaranteed Skip-The-Line with pre-purchased tickets. You can always customize your tour with your private guide. This tour includes pick up and drop off service from Kusadasi Cruise Port. During your private tour, you will visit; Ephesus Ancient City which used to be the most important commercial center of the western Anatolia, the House of Virgin Mary where Mary had spent her last day, the Basilica of St. John where is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill and the Temple of Artemision which is known as one of the seven wonders of the Antic World. Enjoy the personalized attention of your licensed tour guide and the comfort of your private mercedes van.
Tour Options
Itinerary
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, the Library of Celsus and its medical school..
It is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and buried in 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 in Greece Island, Patmos in 96AD.
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).
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.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
For Cruisers: Your private tour guide will be meeting you at the exit of the immigration gate of Kusadasi Cruise Port with a board with your name on it. For Hotel Guests: We will meet you by the hotel reception.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Reviews(577)
This tour was a revelation from beginning to end. The location is amazing and our guide Darmla was informative, professional and could not have made the experience better. We have been traveling for a while and this was definitely one of our most favorite tours.
We loved our tour with Zeynep. She was very knowledgeable and easy to talk with. We got into each of the sites smoothly and she even offered suggestions on the best photo spots. She suggested a great spot for lunch, and we had a nice sampling of the local cuisine. My 2 teenagers enjoyed it as well. She was well versed on the history and current events, so she fielded questions easily. I would recommend this tour to others who are overwhelmed with getting in and out of the tour sites in a foreign country with a cruise ship timeline. Zeynep took care of everything.
Devin was very knowledgeable when providing information which was very good info. He sounded like a stern professor at times though.
Couldn’t have been better or easier. Guide Zeynep was great. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend.
Asli was an absolute amazing guide!! She was so knowledgeable and personal. We had the best time learning from her. She customized the tour for us and answered our questions. We loved this tour! There is a lot of walking and some includes slick, rocky areas.
Booked this trip for my Mom and she loved it. Super knowledgable guide and patient driver. Highly recommend this company.
Amazing driver & guide. They met our every request & were extremely knowledgeable. $143.00 Aust. dollars which included admission to Mother Mary's chapel. Next was lunch which included BBQ, vegetables & dessert. Next we visited the carpet Co-op. which included a demonstration of their skills, included hand made jewellery & sales. No pressure to purchase but we did purchase a carpet at an amazing price. An a Renata Australia amazing experience & highly recommended. Renata, Australia
We booked this tour late the night before we were in town so we weren’t sure what to expect. Selim picked us up at the port and told us he would customize the tour based on our interests. He was extremely knowledgeable about all the sites we saw and made sure we did everything we wanted to do. He took us to see some incredible ruins as well as the Virgin Mary’s house. We expressed an interest in locally made arts and crafts as well as local food. So he took us for a traditional Turkish lunch and to see how turkish rugs are weaved by hand which was fascinating. Afterwards we went to a Turkish ceramic studio where we were shown how they create pieces on the potters wheel and then fire them, design them and paint them by hand. This was exactly what we wanted to see and shop for, so it was perfect. He then took us back to the port. It was one of the best tours of our 2 week trip. Selim was extremely attentive, knowledgeable, and kind. We truly enjoyed our day with him in Ephesus and feel like we really lucked out given it was booked at the last minute. Highly recommend this tour! It was excellent.
We were picked up at the port by our lovely guide Selim. He was ever so helpful and knowledgeable. He made sure we had the best experience ever.
the guide and transport was great. I had read that some tours take you to a high pressure rug sale business. i had booked this tour to avoid this but it turned out to be the same. lunch was there and the tour which i though had included our visit became a lot more expensive with paying for lunch, and the tickets to the locations. my advice be aware there are a lot of added cost that are not clear on this booking.
