Your Licensed Professional Tour Guide and private, deluxe, air-conditioned vehicle will meet you at the Kusadasi Pier. This excursion will include a walking tour on the marble streets of Ephesus, where you will see the Odeon (Concert Hall), The Celsus Library with its insulated double walls and beautiful marble statues and carvings, the “House of Ill Repute,” the Roman Baths, the Agora Marketplace, the Grand Theater (accommodating 25,000 people) where St. Paul preached, and more. You can also visit the Terrace Houses, where wealthy Ephesians had lived; there are many steps to climb up and down, but it is well worth it. Later you will tour the Archaeological Museum in nearby Selcuk where you will find two famous statues of the Ephesian Artemis, a collection of medical and cosmetic tools, statues of famous ancient doctors (as Ephesus had housed an important school of medicine), and a monument that bears an inscription of customs and tax collections regulations. Each exhibit offers insights into what life was like in Ephesus 2,000 years ago.

Enjoy lunch, either at a charming local restaurant that serves dishes made with local produce, or in the picturesque hillside village of Sirince, nearby. Stop by the site of the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and visit the Basilica of St. John, believed to have been built over the grave of John the Apostle (partially restored with its baptismal pools intact). Apostle Paul also had visited Ephesus, and spent over two years there; Ephesus was one of the Seven Churches of Revelation.

The tour also includes a drive up the hill to visit the House of the Virgin Mary, believed to be the last home of Mary; it is now a place of pilgrimage for Catholics. You will see a beautiful view of ancient Ephesus on your drive. There will also be a shopping opportunity before returning to your cruise ship.