Best of Ephesus Tours from Kusadasi

Ephesus Ancient City is one of the most important highlights of our private Ephesus tours. Ephesus was the third-largest city of the Roman Empire, with a population of approximately 250,000 in the Roman period. It was also the capital and commercial center of Asia Minor. You will have the opportunity to see the Library of Celsus (the third-biggest library of the ancient world), the Great Theater of Ephesus (the biggest in Anatolia), latrines (public toilets), the Temple of Hadrian, and more...

Terrace houses, also known as houses of the rich, are located in the ancient city of Ephesus. The 6 luxury villas in the complex give us very important information about family life in the Roman period. The oldest of these houses, which have their own heating systems and are decorated with impressive Roman mosaics and frescoes, dates to the 1st century.

During the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Jesus entrusted his mother to his apostle St. John in his last words, since Jerusalem was not safe for his mother Virgin Mary anymore. John placed Mary on the top of Bulbul Mountain near Ephesus, which he considered as a safe place. It is believed that the Virgin Mary spent her last years in this house and died. The House of the Virgin Mary is now officially registered as a place of pilgrimage, with the visits of Pope Paul VI in 1967, Pope John Paul II in 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

After the Gospel writer St. John built a house for the Virgin Mary, he continued to live in Ephesus to take care of her and to spread Christianity. After Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the 4th century, the Basilica of St. John was built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian in the name of St. John. The tomb of St. John is also located in the church.

The Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was built in the 6th century BC. The temple took its final form in the 2nd century. With its size, it was the largest pagan belief center of the period. Although we can only see the basic structure and a single column and a few ruins today, it can be visited even to experience the current atmosphere.