Selcuk Trip Overview
Discover the iconic attractions of Ephesus at your own pace on a 5- to 7-hour private ephesus tour from Selcuk or kuşadasi. Skip the crowded buses and confusing timetables and relax in private end-to-end luxury transportation from your hotel or port. Set the tempo, as questions, and listen to personalized commentary from your private ephesus guide as your tour UNESCO listed sites, including the House of the Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis, and Library of Celsus.
Additional Info
Duration: 7 hours
Starts: Selcuk, Turkey
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Selcuk Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Selcuk, Turkish Aegean Coast, Turkey
Discover the iconic attractions of Ephesus at your own pace on a 5- to 7-hour private ephesus tour from Selcuk or kuşadasi. Skip the crowded buses and confusing timetables and relax in private end-to-end luxury transportation from your hotel or port. Set the tempo, as questions, and listen to personalized commentary from your private ephesus guide as your tour UNESCO listed sites, including the House of the Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis, and Library of Celsus.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Ancient City of Ephesus, Selcuk 35920 Turkey
The ancient Greek city of Ephesus, also know as Efeze. Famed for its Temple of Artemis, it is also one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Ephesus’s most spectacular site has to be the façade of the Library of Celsus. Constructed between 110 and 135AD, the library originally had three floors, but an earthquake destroyed the building in the 10th century.
Other sites include the Theater, Basilica of St. John, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Church of Mary, House of the Virgin, the Isabey Mosque, the Prytaneion, the synagogue and the Temple of Hadrian. All the sites are in varying states of disrepair. Unfortunately, all that remains of the Temple of Artemis, rumoured to have been four times as large as the Parthenon, is one column standing in a marshy basin.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Meryemana (The Virgin Mary’s House), Sultaniye Mahallesi, Selcuk 35100 Turkey
A holy shrine to the supposed death place of St. Mary, the House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi) in Ephesus is a standing testament to the home of the beloved mother of Jesus (Meryem Ana or Meryemana in Turkish). Many believe that the house was indeed the place where she spent her final days, and today you can visit the restored stone house, which now serves as a chapel. Serving as sacred territory for Christians and Muslims alike, the Virgin Mary’s House has called hundreds of thousands of visitors and pilgrims since its discovery in the 19th-century. Remnants of the chapel date as far back as the 6th-century, and serves as the place where its caretakers, the Lazarist Fathers, conduct mass every day. Despite the altar placed within, the house still contains a bedroom and kitchen, decorated with pictures of Mary and candles. Many believe that the spring that runs beneath St. Mary’s House is blessed and possesses the power to heal, and once you enter the house, you can see left behind crutches and other apparatus’ that were apparently left behind amid miracles.
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Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: The Temple of Artemis, Ataturk, Park Ici Yolu No:12, Selcuk Turkey
The Temple of Artemis, or Artemision, was a Greek temple in present-day Turkey dedicated to the goddess Artemis. It was one of the original seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built not far from Ephesus just outside the present-day town of Selcuk. The temple was completely rebuilt several times throughout history after being destroyed on multiple occasions by both nature and human factors. Little remains of the temple in its original location today since archeologists brought much of the ruins to the British Museum. The Temple of Artemis is only a couple of miles from Ephesus, making it an easy attraction to visit. Visitors can still see one tall column and a handful of marble pieces from the foundations of the structure, and the historical location is fascinating. From the site, you can also see the ruins of St. John’s Basilica, located on a hill in Selcuk.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Kusadasi Castle, Kusadasi Merkez, Kusadasi Turkey
Built and extended between the 14th and 18th centuries, picturesque Kusadasi Castle sits on Pigeon Island (Guvercin Adasa), an islet connected to Kusadasi via a causeway. Originally constructed as a military base, the fortress is composed of outer walls that enclose its gardens and an inner castle with a tiny museum.
Duration: 15 minutes
Pass By: Kusadasi Bazaar, Dag Mahallesi, Kusadasi 09400 Turkey
The centuries roll back when you step inside Kuşadası Caravanserai (Öküz Mehmed Pasha Caravanserai), rich with Ottoman and Seljuk architectural details.
With its Venetian-style swallow-tail battlements and red stone walls, the Ottoman castle dates back to 1618 and the days of Vizier Öküz Mehmed Pasha (also written Okus Mehmet Pasa or Okuz Mehmed Pasha). In the Ottoman era, the castle acted as a trading house and meeting place for merchants, and was fortified to protect the valuable goods stored there.
Entering the Caravanserai, you walk through a marble arched gateway into a double-story courtyard filled with lush palm trees, Turkish rugs (for sale), marble pools and fountains.
