One of my favorite shore excursions, my day in Kusadasi, included a visit to the Virgin Mary’s house as well as the ruins of Ephesus and the Basilica of St. John.
The statue of the Virgin Mary
We started by going up to see the Virgin Mary’s house high on a hill, and what struck me first was how scenic and beautiful the area is, with mountainous landscape lush with trees I had never seen before.
The Virgin Mary’s house was a real sight to see. Upon arriving, I noticed the baptismal font. You could see the pipes just above the ground that took the water to the font. I took pictures throughout the house, including shots of statute of the Virgin Mary just outside. Inside the house, you see an altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary and as well as religious items given by previous popes.
As I continued to walk around outside the house, I went down one level and a little further along I came to a prayer board to the Virgin Mary. This board had special requests from people asking the Virgin Mary to intervene for them. Further on, I noticed a grove of olive trees with green olives on them. I had never seen olive trees before, and was fascinated by the way their trunks were twisted from age.
The Tablet of Nike has a familiar shape to it.
On my way to Ephesus I saw that the land was now flat but I realized that the area that I was seeing was the prime agricultural region which was full of cotton bushes, pistachio groves, apricot — to name a few.
There were actually four towns of Ephesus — the reason for this is that every year the river would flood and form deltas. The people could not always clean up the deltas so they built the towns further inland. As a result of this recurring flooding the area is very fertile.
The town of Ephesus is a site to behold. Upon coming to Ephesus you see the Theater of Odeon, the baths, irrigation reservoirs for holding the water and sending it to the baths. After the baths, we passed the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, which had been destroyed by Constantine when he outlawed the pagan religions and introduced Christianity. After the main gate we noticed the Tablet of Nike propped up, and saw the source of the familiar swoosh logo.
The Library of Celus
As we continued down the hill, the huge Library of Celsus came clearly into view. Scrolls were held in the library niches to keep the humidity away. The library is a two-story façade, which shows how advanced this civilization became.
I also marveled over the mosaic tiles that were laid out in front of the rich people’s homes. Next I came across Hadrian’s Arch – really two arches. The first arch is dedicated to Hadrian. The second arch is dedicated to Medusa and you can clearly see the snake-like hair. To the right of Medusa is a fresco of the female Amazon warriors.
Next we came to the public toilets which were located on the high ground and the waste was removed by gravity. This favorite photo spot also shows just how advanced the Ephesians were.
One beautiful building caught my eye, with tall walls and doorways going from one room to another. This was clearly a very wealthy person’s house. However, it was thought to be a brothel – but the sign clearly states that it was a private house wrongly called “Brothel 1st – 7th Century.”
Hadrian's Arch
One of the most unusual items to be found in Ephesus is the early pictograph left behind by the early Christians to tell the Romans that they were around. The symbol is a circle with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines inside and symbols of fish above and below it.
Next, I went into the market and then came to Harbour Street which runs from the front of the theater to the old harbour. What was unusual about this road was that it was the only street which was lit up at night by olive oil torches. Finally, I came to main theater of Ephesus were St. Paul preached to the Ephesians. The huge theater is still used today for summer plays and concerts.
I then headed out to the Basilica of St John, consulting the map so I could orient myself as to where everything was. For reference, I took a picture of what the church looked like in its original form — it was a very beautiful building and quite large with at least five domes. The basilica includes the tomb of St. John. In the background behind the Basilica there is a large fort that was once used by the Turkish Branch of the Knights Templar. I marveled at the magnificent marble columns and arches.
The theater at Ephesus
After the tour of the Basilica was over I arrived in the Port of Kusadasi, and had a wonderful two hours looking at the stores and shopping. I went to one merchant’s shop and looked around, priced some Turkish Tea. After wandering some more, I went back to the first merchant, and had some fun bargaining with him over the price. I had him include two boxes of Turkish Tea plus the Turkish Drinking Tea set for a fixed price. This was the first time I had ever bargained and I found it quite a bit of fun! Next I went to another merchant and I bargained with him on the price of 1KG of Mixed Turkish Delight.
Ephesus remains one of my most memorable destinations because it is rich in history and brings things alive. Here I did things, including bargaining, that I never thought I would dare try.
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Can anyone tell me if you can take your own taxi to Ephesus and what the price would be????
Visited Kusadasi and Ephesus last September. Enough shade in Ephesus that it is Ok for older folks and a pleasant walk up to the House of the Virgin Mary. More sun and tricky cobblestones in Ephesus, but if you can, not to be missed. They have a small theatrical Roman production every few hours which is fun to see. Kusadasi has lots of vendors and the carpet sellers and other shop vendors. They were friendly, but we told they are much less aggressively selling than in past years as the tourists didn’t like it. We were fine with it though. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with this side trip and will always enjoy the memories there.
Hello Jayne
The only part of the Holy Land that I have been to is Ephesus in which you see the Virgin Mary’s Shrine ( Very Easy Walking), Ephesus and St. John’s Basilica. After we had seen our sites we were taken back to the port of Kusadasi in which we had two hours to look at the shops and do some shopping if we wanted to and I did some shopping. The vendors are not aggressive at all as a matter of fact they are very polite and bargining is expected – you never pay the asking price. They are very fluent in English so their are no language problems
If you want to sample something they will let you because they are very proud of their products.
I looked at the stores on the main street. I wanted to buy some Turkish tea and Turkish Delights (Must get then). I walked around and looked at the different stores. The prices were the same but then you start your bargining.
I bought three boxes of Turkish Apple Tea and had the special Turkish Tea set included all for 20 Euros. Barging is fun and has to be tryed. It was my first time bargining
John, great description of your trip. We are taking the cruise in Sept and this is one of our ports. Our question is; did you do this city on your own or did you take one of Princess tours? The tours are expensive and wondering best way to see it all at many of the ports from Venice to Barcelona?
Hello Barbara
When I booked my cruise I booked the Princess Cruise shore excursion for Ephesus through my travel agent and all travel arrangements and shore excursions were taken care of.
However if you are concerned about the price of the shore excursions go to Princess Internet Site and look up shore excursion button on lower left of the screen,what for the screen to completly download, click on Destination, then cick on Port of Call. This will give you a brief description of the area and at the bottom of the page is a detailed description of all the toursf for that port of call. cost, how long the tour last, walking conditions, if meals are included, is there time for shopping etc.
If you want extra general informataion on Turkey you can e – mail the Turkish Tourism Office in Washington D.C and ask them for information on Turkey.
I hope this inofrmation is helpful. Enjoy your cruise.
Yours truly,
John Hutton
Definitely do the Ephesus tour…worth every penny ! It was truly amazing. You won’t regret it.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. Looking forward to seeing Kusadasi.
Hi John,
I am heading there in September – was just wondering – is it possible to get into Kusadasi and explore it by oneself, or do you need to do the Princess tour?
Hi Catherine,
The ship berths alongside Kusadasi jetty and is about 10 miles from the city center. Taxis are available outside the pier area. To read more information on this port please visit: http://bit.ly/jICdmW
John, Kusadasi is such an amazing place….thanks for sharing your experience with us!
We have booked an excursion to Ephesus and the Virgin Mary Shrine. My husband is a slow walker. Is the hill to the Shrine very difficult to climb?
Your coach will leave you in the car park, from there to the House of the Virgin Mary is an easy walk, my 78 year old father managed it easily, your husband shouldnt have any problem.
My Wife and I were on the Holy Land Cruise last October and hadn’t planned to go ashore at Kusadasi but was persuaded to do so by a very nice Canadian lady, and am I glad we did, it is such an amazing place, we visited the same places as John and was impressed by it all,, these are some of the most amazing Roman ruins I have seen. We also went round the shops when we got back to the port, the people are so very pleasant. Would advise anyone to go there if they have the chance.
Hi John, can you tell me how aggressive the vendors were at your ports during your Holy Land trip? We went to the Panama Canal this year with Princess and the vendors in Columbia were relentless.
Thank you, Jayne