We decided the cheapest method was to hire a Taxi. The cafe owner called a Taxi for us and we all piled in. We negotiated the rate upfront to go to House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus, and John's Basilica and lunch.
Our first stop was house of the Virgin Mary. We had to pay to get through the gate and our driver waited while we explored the site. It wasn't something that you MUST see, and its not clear whether it truly was Mary's home, but there are some historical points that lead us to believe she settled here in this area and John looked after Mary after Jesus' death on the cross. If you have time, its worth a 20-30 minute stop.
From here we hit up the major site of Ephesus. Thankfully we had downloaded the audio guide by Rick Steve's, or you can just follow his walking tour in the book. I would allow yourself 2-3 hours to really explore and see all of the important aspects of Ephesus. It was seriously amazing to walk the same streets that so many people have walked thousands of years ago. If this is all you were to do in Kusadasi, than your trip would be complete.
From here we hit up the major site of Ephesus. Thankfully we had downloaded the audio guide by Rick Steve's, or you can just follow his walking tour in the book. I would allow yourself 2-3 hours to really explore and see all of the important aspects of Ephesus. It was seriously amazing to walk the same streets that so many people have walked thousands of years ago. If this is all you were to do in Kusadasi, than your trip would be complete.
Our last stop was John's Basilica and said to be where he is buried. Once we arrived it started to rain, so we decided we wouldn't pay to enter the site. Instead, we found a cute local restaurant and ate some amazing kebab and turkish pizza with of course, tea.
Our driver insisted we stop at a local carpet shop. They said it would be no pressure and we would see the people making the famous carpets, so we decided to give it a go. It was truly fascinating watching them take silk worms and spin the silk. They gave us tea and showed us many different types of rugs. Of course I wanted one, but that was not in our budget on this trip! One day I will buy a Turkish rug!!!
We arrived finally back to the port and walked around to see the sunset. We found a local Turkish Delight stand and purchased some to try on the ship.
Kusadasi and Turkey were a delightful stop on this cruise and we were so glad we got to see so much history!
Lodging: Cruise Ship
Transportation: Hired Taxi
Guidebook: Rick Steve’s Mediterranean Cruise Ports, and
Audio Guide Downloaded to IPhone
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