Ephesus And Pamukkale Tours And Our Organization
DAY 1: Flıght To Izmır And Daily Ephesus Tour
First day of our tour starts with your pick up from your hotel in Istanbul at 4 AM; and you will be tranferred to Istanbul airport you wil fly l to Izmir, which lOne hour later you will arrive at Adnan Menderes Airport in Izmir .At Izmir Airport, you will be picked up by our driver and he will bring youto Selcuk. Here you will meet your professional guide andthe other participants of the tour; the discovery of Ephesos starts with the house of Virgin Mary.
House of Virgin Mary is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John. This place was offically declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1986, and since then it has become a popular place of pilgrimage. Pope Paul VI visited shrine in 1967. The visit to the House (church) takes about 45 minutes and after our visit; there will be a 5 min drive to Ephesus.Do not forget to make a wish and stick it on the wishwall.
Ephesus is an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions of the Hellenistic, Roman Imperial and early Christian periods. Ephesus is an important site for Christianity; being one of the seven Churches of Revelation. Apostle Paul probably spent two and half years in Ephesus during his third missionary journey.
In our tour, we will be seeing theOdeon, State Agora, Prytaneion, Memmius Monument, Domatian Temple, Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, Hadrian Temple and theLatriens.The visits to Private House (So-called ‘Terrace Houses’) is an optional visit for an extra 25 ₺/per person and your guide should be informed at the beginning of the tour. After theTerrace Houses, we will goon with our exploration in Ephesus with the famousCelsus Library, Marble Road, Commercial Agora, Great Theater and Arcadine (Harbour Road).
After lunch; we will go to theTemple of Artemis; which is one of the Seven Wonders of antiquity. Hereyou will have a chance to take good pictures with your camerafrom theChurch of St.John and theIsa Bey Mosque..
Sirince is situated on the hills of Selcuk and 7 km from Ephesus. It was originally a ‘Rum’ (Byzantine Greeks) village. As part of the peace pactafter theTurkish National War (1919-1922), a formal exchange of Turkish and Greeks, . As a result of this excange nearly 2 million Rums greeks fromAnatolia and Turkish from Greece were relocated; and Sirince is inhabited by Turkish people ,.Sirince is very popular in Turkey for her beautiful traditional houses and fruit flavoured wine production and tasting; off courseyou will have free time in Sirince to try and taste the fruit flavoured wines.
First day of our tour will be finalised around 4:30 pm and you will be transferred to your hotel in Kusadasi near the seaside.
DAY 2:
The second day of yourtour starts with a breakfast inyour hotel. The driver will pick you up from the hotel at 8:00 am and we willl at Pamukkale (Hierapolis) around 11:00 am.
Pamukkale / Hierapolis is listed in Unesco's World Heritage List as 'Natural Site' and 'Ancient City'; and is famous for herhot springs which are believed to havehealing powers. The travertines are formed by a multifaceted chemical reaction and subsequent precipitation of various causes and environments. Water springs from ground with high level of Calcium Hydrocarbonate at a temperature of 35.6 degrees C; and this causes carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to evaporate and leave calcium carbonate to precipitate and form the travertine.
Hierapolis has been a settlement of different cults and cultures throughout history; and the city is believed to be founded by Eumenies II, the Attalid king of Pergamon at the end of 2nd Century BC; and to have been named after Hiera, the beautiful wife of Telephos, the legendary founder of Pergamon. However, ancient historians like Strabon and Ptolemaios states that Hierapolis was a Phyrgian settlement.
Hierapolis played an important role in spreading Christianity in Anatolia, and it was the place where Phillip, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christdied. For this reason, Hierapolis became an important religious center in the 4th century AD. Later it assumed the title ofthe ‘Guide of the East’; and the city came under control of Roman Empire in 395 AD; and became a metropolitan bishopric.
Our tour in Hierapolis includes theNecropolis, Domitian Gate, Frontinus Street, Agora, North Byzantine Gate, Gymnasium, Fountain with Triton, Apollon Temple, Martyrium of St. Philip and bridge, Column Church, ruins of Plutonium, Latrina and theRoman Baths.After this guided tour you wil have some free time to make georgeous pictures or go for a swim in cleopatras pool for an extra fee of 50 turkish lira,
After our Hierapolis and Travertine tour, you will be transferred to Denizli airport for yourflight to IstanbulArriving at Istanbul, you will be welcomed in Istanbul airport by our driverand transferred to your hotel.
Kusadası Hotels (4*)
- Efe Boutıque Hotel
- Derici Hotel
- İlayda Hotel
Selcuk Hotels
- Livia Boutıque Hotel
- Nilya Hotel
- Kalehan Hotel