Ephesus and Virgin Marys House in one day from Istanbul
Description
You will have chance to visit to the old Greco-Roman city of Ephesus, Marble Street, Odeon, Bouleterion, Temple of Hadrian and Serapis, Agora, Library of Celsus, Great Theatre, Double Church, Arcadian Way, Gate of Magnesia. Last abode of Virgin Mary at Mount Solmissos and lunch at Selçuk. Visit to İsabey Mosque, one of the oldest and most impressive works of architectural art remaining from the Anatolian Beyliks and the Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Visit to the old Greco-Roman city of Ephesus, Marble Street, Odeon, Bouleterion, Temple of Hadrian and Serapis, Agora, Library of Celsus, Great Theatre, Double Church, Arcadian Way, Gate of Magnesia
Visit the Last abode of Virgin Mary at Mount Solmissos 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 Templeof Artemis was built on sacred grounds for the Greek goddess Artemis. Artemis was the twin of Apollo and daughter to Zeus and Leto. She represented abundance, hunting and all things wild. Citizens would find refuge, safety and comfort in the temple. Based on recent archeologist's findings, evidence shows a flood destroyed the original Temple of Artemis.
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 the wisdom.
Isa bey mosque is one of the best and important example which reflects the end of the Seljuk Empire period in late 14 C A.D. In addition, this mosque bears the imprint of Umayyad mosque in Damascus in which is one of the Islamic centers for scientists and scholars. The marble and tiles here make almost a harmonial visiual feast those who want to visit.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We have free pick up and drop of from most of the city center hotels in Istanbul and we also need the full names of all guests and passport details. Guests need to send us all detailed information
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
- Operated by Plan Tours & Gray Line Turkey
Reviews(2)
The transfer and the air transport took place in an excellent way. As for the guide, there was no microphone during the explanations inside the van, making it very difficult to understand. Very little time of stay at Maria's house.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your feedback. We are pleased to hear that the transfer and flight arrangements met your expectations and were well organized. At the same time, we sincerely appreciate your comments regarding the guiding experience. We are sorry to learn that the absence of a microphone in the vehicle made it difficult to follow the explanations, and that the time spent at the House of Virgin Mary felt limited. Your feedback is very valuable, and we will certainly review these points with our team to improve the overall experience. Thank you once again for your constructive comments, and we hope to have the opportunity to provide you with an even better experience in the future. Warm regards, Plan Tours – Gray Line Turkey
Let me begin by stating that experiencing Ephesus and the other surrounding historical sites, e.g. the Church (House) of the Virgin Mary, are absolutely worth the effort. If you have only one day to spare away from Istanbul, take the short flight to Izmir and see one of the true wonders of the ancient world. Having said that, be very critical of the travel agency you pick to get you to Ephesus. We selected Plan Tours and, in hindsight, we should have gone with another company. Keep in mind that the company that arranges your intra-Turkish air will most likely not be the tour agency that actually conducts the tour of Ephesus, which in our case was a good thing. Plan Tours picked us up at 5:15 AM and then unbeknownst to us took us to the wrong airport. NOTE: check your travel docs because there are two airports in Istanbul (IST and SAW), and they are, at minimum, an hour apart. We discovered after we attempted to check-in at the gate for our 8:00 AM flight that the driver had taken us to the wrong airport. We tried in vain for almost an hour to get anyone at Plan Tours to answer their phone. The only reply was a voicemail stating that someone would be in the office at 7:30 AM, a mere 30 minutes before our flight. To salvage our trip we acted quickly and booked another regional flight to Izmir at additional cost in hopes making it to Izmir to meet up with the Ephesus tour. We arrived 45 minutes behind schedule. Castle Tours in Izmir did an amazing job of picking us up at the airport and linking us with our tour group, which was already underway. We missed seeing the Temple of Artemis, but we did make it to the city of Ephesus, which was extraordinary. The rest of the day played out as planned. After returning to home to Germany, we engaged Plan Tours about a refund for the plane tickets lost due to the logistical mistake as well as the the plane tickets purchased to offset being sent to the wrong airport. In the end, we had to engage Viator to get Plan Tours to refund 20% of the cost. As we explained to both Viator and Plan Tours, if we hadn't taken the initiative and bought the new airfare to offset being taken to the wrong airport, we would be seeking a full refund for the entire trip. In the end, please heed our warnings and check your itineraries to ensure logistical details, like airport codes, are correct and think about how you might anticipate and/or offset logistical snafu's,, like non-responsive emergency contacts.