|
 Begin
your tour with a drive through the colourful and bustling town
of Kusadasi and along the coastal highway until you reach Mt.
Koressos. Situated in a small valley, it is here where you will
visit the humble chapel, which lies on the site of the little
house where the Virgin Mary resided to after the crucifixion and
is believed to have spent her last days. Despite the many
controversies, the Christian World still favours this belief and
the site, has been officially sanctioned by the Vatican for
pilgrimage.
Continue
on to the site of Ancient Ephesus and accompanied by
your Turkish guide, walk through the Magnesian Gate, which is
the entrance to the ancient city of Ephesus. Your guided walking
tour will take you through one of the most magnificent excavated
cities in the world.
See
the Odeon (concert hall), the Fountain of Trajan, the
steam-heated Baths of Scolastika, the Temple of Hadrian and the
Latrians, the Library of Celsus and The Great Theatre of
Ephesus, where St. Paul preached, which is the largest theatre
in antiquity having a capacity of 24.000. Walk back to your
motor coach along the Arcadian Way, which is where Mark Anthony
and Cleopatra once rode in procession as newlyweds. While
driving back to Kusadasi and just outside Ephesus, view the
Basilica of St. John, which was erected over his grave in the
6th Century AD by the Emperor Justinian.
Just
downhill, lies the site of the famous Temple of Artemis (Diana),
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, today in ruins.
For the people who actually visited it, the answer was simple.
It was not just a temple... It was the most beautiful structure
on earth...
The
temple was described by Philon of Byzantium: I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the statue
of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the
high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the
temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders
were put in the shade.
Before returning to the ship, enjoy free time in Kusadasi to shop for
every conceivable item, such as carpets, jewellery, local
souvenirs, leather goods and Turkish delights.
|
