Cesme, ‘Experience ancient Ephesus’ tour

We travel by bus approximately two hours to the ancient city of Ephesus, passing many typical rural Turkish villages along the way.

Ephesus, one of the 12 cities of Ionia, is a stunning marvel in the hills above the Aegean coast. Founded by the ancient Greeks circa 2000 BC, it became the second largest city in the Roman Empire, at one time home to a quarter-million people. It was the first and most significant city in the Roman province of Asia and one of its key ports; millennia ago the Aegean receded west, stranding the city on its sun-seared hillsides. It is believed that Virgin Mary lived and died here, and that St. Paul wrote his Letter to the Ephesians here.

Stroll between the marble colonnades of Curetes Street to visit Trajan's Fountain, Hadrian's Temple, the Scholastica Baths and the astonishing Terrace Houses, where many of the floor mosaics are still intact. Nearby, the spectacular Library of Celsus, which has been almost entirely reconstructed, towers above the famed Marble Road. The Great Theatre of Ephesus, where St. Paul once preached, was carved into the side of Mt. Pion in the 4^th century BC. It held up to 24000 spectators and is still renowned for its outstanding acoustics.

There will be some free time to shop before returning to the ship.