Itinerary:
Around 7:00 AM, you will be picked up from your hotel for this wonderful full-day tour.
We'll visit The Temple of Artemis, then Ephesus; after lunch, we will go to the House of the Virgin Mary. After the tour, at about 5:00 PM you will be transferred to your hotel (or you can be dropped off at the harbor or downtown).
Sites you'll see today:
* The Temple of Artemis is situated in serene countryside celebrates the Greek goddess Artemis, the virginal huntress and twin of Apollo, who supplanted the Titan Selene as goddess of the Moon. This temple, known as Artemision in Greek times, was the largest of its kind at the world. Of the Olympian goddesses who inherited aspects of the Great Goddess of Crete, Athene was more honored than Artemis at Athens. At Ephesus, a goddess with whom the Greeks associated with Artemis was passionately venerated in an archaic, pre-Hellenic cult image that was carved of wood, and kept decorated with jewelry.
* Ephesus is the best-preserved classical cities from ancient times, and was inhabited by Greeks, Macedonians, Romans and Turks. St. Paul lived here circa 60 AD, when it was at its most populated at 250,000. During your visit, you’ll walk its stony boulevards, stand in the grand theatre, marvel at the beauty of the Celsus Library, the agora, as well as the baths, giving you the unique chance to get up-close-and-personal with history by literally being able to walk into it.
Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written here. The city was the site of several 5th century Ecumenical Councils. It is also the site of a large gladiators' graveyard.
* The House of the Virgin Mary, (Turkish: Meryemana Evi), high on a hill overlooking the town of Selcuk, is where it is believed that St. Mary came to live with St. John the Baptist in the later years of her life. Masses are held here on Sundays.
Price: 65 Euro per person - ask about early booking discounts
Includes:
* Pick up and drop off at the hotel
* Professional, English-speaking tour guides
* Admissions to Ephesus and The House of the Virgin Mary
* Lunch at a traditional restaurant
*
All taxes and service charges
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