EPHESUS TOUR
Highlights of Ephesus Tour Schedule: 9.00 – 16.30) :
The ancient city of Ephesus is Turkey’s most important ancient city, and one of the best-preserved and restored.
It contains such grand public buildings as the impressive Library of Celsus, the theatre, the Temple of Hadrian and the sumptuous Temple of Artemis, which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Visit for hours along its streets passing temples, theatres, libraries, House of Virgin Mary and statues. Supposedly founded by the Ionian prince Androclus in the 10th century BC, Ephesus was not only a center of trade but a great pilgrimage center, with the Temple of Artemis built in worship of the mother goddess.
Ephesus is also particularly very important for faith tourism as it contains the House of Virgin Mary. It is believed that the Virgin Mary was taken to this stone house by St John, where she lived until her death at the age of 101.
Two other religious sites worth visiting are the Basilica of St John, built in the sixth century, and İsa Bey Mosque, which is a sample of Selçuk architecture.
Inclusions:
- Professional Tour Guide (English or Spanish)
- Entrance Fees per Itinerary
- Lunch
ŞİRİNCE GREEK VILLAGE (Optional)
Şirince Village is part of the Selçuk district of. It is 7 km distance from Selcuk. Sirince Greek Village is a good example of the tolerance and cultural heritage in the west of Turkey which reflects Turkish and Greek ways of life together. It is a charming village famous for its fruit wines. You will also appreciate the beauty of this village by tasting their unique fruit wines.
Şirince has lots of fig trees, the typical Aegean olive trees, walnut and apple trees. However, the main plant that makes Şirince famous for its fruit wines are the grapes in the vineyards. Besides the fruit wine, Şirince is also famous for its tasty grapes.
Also, Şirince is well known mostly since 2012 when the whole world was shaken with rumors about the rupture of the apocalypse on December 21st in 2012.
According to the Mayan calendar, this date was the date of the end of the world. A group of people claimed that only Şirince Village and Bugarach Village in France would be saved from the apocalypse.
According to these rumors, Marduk planet would hit the world on December 21, 2012 and start the apocalypse. All of this, of course, remained to be a rumor and the apocalypse did not come. But the nice result of it all was that Şirince got the attention of the world.
Highlights of the Village:
-Wine tasting
-Buying hand-made olive oil soap
-Visiting St Johns church
-Tasting and buying the best olives in Turkey.
