Asia | Astral Traveller

A to Z Ports – Ephesus

The closest port of Ephesus, Turkey is Kusadasi. It is easily accessible and there is a lot to do at the port, especially if you like to shop, haggle and eat amazingly fresh seafood and Turkish cuisine.

If you want to see the various sites of Ephesus, you will have to arrange a tour, either through the ship’s excursion desk or, as I did, with a private group of people that I met from the Cruise Critic Roll-Call chat room for the sailing I was on. Our tour took 8 of us to the Archeological Museum, St. John’s Basilica, a 14^th century mosque, the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, the House of Mary and the archeological site of Ephesus, including the excavations of some houses.

We had lunch at a rug consortium where we saw silk worms and met some of the women who were learning how to weave the intricate Turkish rugs.

While we were at the Temple of Artemis, a young boy approached us to sell postcards. I did not think much of it until we were back in Kusadasi and I was walking through the market back to the ship and there, in front of one of the souvenir shops was the same boy that we saw at the temple. He grinned sheepishly at me as I passed the shop and I laughed a bit. It was a nice way to end a long but wonderful day.

Here are my past post about Ephesus.

#atozchallenge

E is for Ephesus

This is a beautiful glimpse into an ancient city. Add to this a museum, the site of the Temple of Artemis and St. Mary’s house and you have a great day of exploring. My first stop at as the museum that has two remarkable statues of Artemis of Ephesus.

I then went to the site of the Temple of Artemis. Only one pillar is left standing. The rest of the materials used in this building can be seen in many surrounding buildings, such as the Basilica of St. John, a fortress and a mosque.