Ephesus and Virgin Mary House Private Tour with Lunch and Pickup

 Take the privilege of this private tour to enjoy a memorable day seeing the historical sights in the ancient city of Ephesus. The Virgin Mary House and Temple of Artemis.
Be picked up from your hotel in Kusadasi or Kusadasi Cruise Port drive to Selcuk for about 25 minutes OR be picked up from your hotel in Selcuk and start visiting the sights.

Start the day exploring Ephesus which was once one of the major powers of the ancient world. Take a journey to the past walking on the marble streets, visiting the upper Agora. Then continue to the Odeon theater. Head to Domitian Square and view the gorgeous columns at the Temple of Domitian. Pass by the Fountain of Pollio. See the Hercules Gate before moving to the temple and fountain of Trajan. Marvel the Temple of Hadrian. Stroll by the Roman baths, latrines (public toilets),marketplace and the ancient love house. See the stunning remains of the 3rd largest library in the Roman world at the Library of Celsus. See The Great Theater and imagine how it might be like watching a play in ancient times. Visit Ephesus Experience Museum, where you will travel back in time, immersing yourself in the mystical atmosphere of the ancient world. The daily life of the Roman Empire, the grandeur of the Temple of Artemis, and the magnificent atmosphere of the Celsus Library will surely captivate you.

Explore the Terrace Houses which were the houses of upper class people of Ephesus, imagine how the wealthy people of Ephesus lived and admire the gorgeous mosaics and wall paintings. 

The next stop of the tour is the House of Virgin Mary, where she might spend the last days of her life. Indeed, she may have come in the area with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Paul VI was the first pope to visit this place in the 1960s. Later, in the 1980s, during his visit Pope John-Paul II declared the Shrine of Virgin Mary as a pilgrimage place for Christians.

Artemis, the Greek goddess, daughter of Zeus & Leto and twin of Apollo, was the goddess of wild animals, the hunt and childbirth. She was widely worshiped in the Greek world, but her most famous cult site was the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The temple was destroyed on July 21 356 BC in an act of arson committed by Herostratus. According to the story, that very same night, Alexander the Great was born. A noble Ephesian remarked that Artemis was too busy with Alexander's delivery to save her burning temple. Alexander later offered to pay for the Temple's rebuilding, but the Ephesians refused. Eventually, the temple was restored after Alexander's death in 323 BC. This reconstruction was itself destroyed during a raid by the Goths Then it was rebuilt but after thousands of years today not much left to see from the Artemision. Will pay a visit to imagine how magnificent the temple was once.

After all the visits, lunch will be provided in a restaurant in Selcuk.

During the tour, you will have a chance to explore local handicrafts of the Turkish tradition 

Drive back to Kusadasi for 25 minutes with unforgettable memories and be dropped off to your hotel or cruise port on time to catch your cruise ship.