Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - Docked in Kusadasi, visited Ephesus, Turkey

We went to a private tour arranged by Arlene to visit Ephesus.  We had a driver and a tour guide Denizhan Pekoz who is very knowledgeable.  

The 1st stop was The Temple of Artemis which was built to honor Artemis, one of three maiden goddesses of Olympus. This temple is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  We only stayed at distance to see these ruins.

The Temple of Artemis from distance

Then our guide took us to a ceramic factory showing us the traditional ceramic making and also provided some opportunities for shopping.

He then took us to Ephesus House of Virgin Mary.  In our previous trip we also visited this place, and still remembered it.  Even this is our 2nd time visit, we still enjoyed of seeing the house, the wishing wall which pilgrims have used by tying their personal intentions on paper or fabric, and the Holy Water Taps which signify wealth, health and fertility. 

Ephesus House of Virgin Mary

Holy Water Taps near House of Virgin Mary

The wishing wall near Houst of Virgin Mary

By the time we drove to one of the entry point of the Ephesus, the crowd had already reduced significantly.  The timing was set by our guide purposely to avoid the large crowd.  It compared to the visit we had previously, the crowd was significantly increased.

The archeological site of Ephesus is an ancient city once a hub for the Mediterranean, a mixing pot of culture and diversity and a true example of a classical metropolis. With so many architectural structures now uncovered, Ephesus is a must-see destination for culture lovers and archeology enthusiasts alike. 

At one point, when the city was the capital of Roman Asia Minor, Ephesus housed more than 250,000 permanent residents. Religious scholars even believe that St.Paul lived in Ephesus, fostering Christianity among many other religions. For roughly 1,500 years, Ephesus was all but forgotten. The remnants of this incredible classical city were hidden from the world until the 1860s, when an international team of archeologists began discovering the ruins. Today, less than 20 percent of Ephesus has been excavated, but it is still one of the largest accessible archeological sites in the world.

Exciting attractions of Ephesus are :

• The Library of Celsus which was once of the largest libraries in the ancient world. 
• Curetes Way which was the main road that runs through Ephesus and many of the buildings once served as shops and homes for the countless residents living in the city. 
• Terraced Houses which is one of the most recently excavated attractions in Ephesus
• Temple of Hadrian was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian is considered one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. 
• Stone carving of the goddess Nike. Nike was the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, depicted as having wings, hence her alternative name "Winged Goddess”. The sports equipment company Nike, Inc. is named after the Greek goddess Nike.
• Grand open-air theatre with estimated 25,000 seating capacity

The Library of Celsus

Curetes Way

Temple of Hadrian

Grand open-air theatre

After Ephesus, we visited a carpet store of showing the carpet making process.  It was another shopping opportunity, however, no one did any buying of these carpets.

Then we drove to Sirince which is a small village recently attracted many tourists.  We walked around the whole village in about 30 minutes.  It was an interesting small village but not much worth to mention it.  We did stop by their farmer’s market and Fei bought some local walnuts.  

Street corner in Sirince 

Sirince's farmer’s market

On the way back to the cruise port, our guide also stopped by a huge candy store namely Turkey Delights to sample the Turkey candies and deserts.  Some of us brought them as treats for friends back home.