Take this private Ephesus, Turkey tour and enjoy both an overview of this remarkable city and a visit to the well-preserved hillside Terrace Houses of the city’s upper class.

Meeting your professionally trained private tour guide, you will set out to the ancient city of Ephesus, once an important port that is now located three miles inland. Upon arrival at the upper gate of Ephesus, you will set out on foot with your guide to explore the unending monuments including the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika and the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period. Until recently, the theater still hosted concerts due to its remarkable acoustics.

You will also tour the terrace houses which are located on the slopes of Bulbul Mountain, opposite the Hadrian Temple. Also called “the houses of the rich,” they were built for the important and wealthy people of Ephesus, as only rich people could afford such houses. The terrace houses are a museum inside Ephesus with great engraving, mosaics, wall sections, and original floors of the homes, which offer an incredible view into the lifestyle of the rich Ephesians. The most ancient of the houses were built in the first century B.C. The houses were constructed with the highest standards for their day. They were decorated with mosaics and frescoes, and they had interior courtyards in the center, which opened to the sky. The houses also had cold and hot water.

After this wonderful visit, you will drive to a local restaurant where you will have a typical Turkish lunch. After lunch, guests will have the opportunity to see a Turkish carpet demonstration.

Roman Catholic tradition states that St. John and the Virgin Mary moved to Ephesus, where they eventually died, though there is an alternative tradition that holds Mary’s death to be in Jerusalem, where her tomb is, a tradition held to be true by Orthodox Christians. This private Ephesus, Turkey tour will visit Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the Basilica of St. John.

With your professionally trained guide, you will first visit the House of Virgin Mary. It is known with certainty that the Virgin Mary went to Ephesus and lived there for some time. Whether or not she died in Ephesus was not known until Anne Catherine Emeriti’s 1884 vision. The stigmatized German nun, who had never been to Ephesus, had a vision of the House of the Virgin Mary and described it in detail to the German writer Clemens Brentano, who later published a book about it. In 1891 Paul, Superior of the Lazarus from Izmir, read about her vision and found a little building that corresponded with Emeriti’s descriptions. Archeological evidence showed the foundation to be from the 1st Century A.D., but the little house itself was from the 6th Century A.D. The site has officially declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1896, and since then it has become a popular place of pilgrimage.

From the house, you will travel down to the ancient city of Ephesus. Follow your guide as you walk the city visiting the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika, and the Great Theater. It was in this theater that Paul preached to the Ephesians.

You will then visit the Basilica of St. John. It is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and was buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. Three hundred years after the death of Saint Paul, a small chapel was constructed over the grave. The chapel was replaced with a marvelous basilica during the region of Emperor Justinian (527-565 A.D.). The monumental basilica was in the shape of a cross and was covered with six domes. Its construction, being of stone and brick, is an extremely rare find amongst the architecture of its time. Raised on two steps and covered with marble, the tomb of St. John was under the central dome. After this visit you will have a traditional lunch at a local restaurant.

After lunch, you will have the opportunity to see a Turkish carpet demonstration before returning to Izmir.

Meet your professionally trained tour guide and set out for a fascinating Exclusive Ephesus, Turkey Tour. The ancient city is located approximately 75 minutes’ drive from Izmir. Famous in antiquity for its Temple of Artemus during the years of the Roman Empire, the Greek port of Ephesus became the greatest city in Asia Minor.

You will start at the upper (Magnesia) Gate, and work your way down through the city, ending near the ancient Harbor. Along the way, you will see the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika, and the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period. It has played host to programs as varied as Paul and his sermons to the Ephesians, to concerts by Sting, in part due to its remarkable acoustics.

You will walk along the Arcadian Way, where once Mark Anthony and Cleopatra rode in procession. You will hear stories of Alexander the Great, the Virgin Mary, and many other famous visitors who walked the same marble streets that you are walking. As you depart the Ephesus site, you will be able to view the hilltop ruins of the Basilica of St. John in the distance, which was erected over his grave in the 6th century A.D. by Emperor Justinian.

Towards the end of your tour, you will be treated to an optional carpet demonstration and a chance to negotiate for a carpet. If you do not wish to attend the carpet demonstration, there is free time for shopping or purchasing refreshments. Turkish salespeople expect you to haggle and quite often you can get 10-15% off the listed price. Treat it as an adventure.