Touring from Kusadasi — Ephesus & the House of the Virgin Mary
Kusadasi is the cruise gateway to Ancient Ephesus, one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman cities in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The archaeological site is about 20 minutes inland from the cruise port, and your licensed English-speaking guide and private driver meet you directly at the pier. Walking the marble-paved streets of Ephesus you will see the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre that seated 25,000, the Temple of Hadrian, ornate Roman baths and fountains, and — with the optional Terrace Houses upgrade — the private residences of Ephesus' wealthiest citizens, complete with intact mosaics and frescoes.
Above Ephesus on Bülbül Dağı (Nightingale Mountain) sits the House of the Virgin Mary, a small stone chapel where tradition holds that Mary spent her final years after being brought to Ephesus by St. John. The site has been visited by three popes and is recognized as a pilgrimage destination by the Catholic Church. Most guests combine the House of the Virgin Mary with Ephesus and a stop at the Basilica of St. John — built over the apostle's tomb — and the remains of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
