2 full days in ancient Greek civilization. On the first day, in Ephesus, one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world, BC. We are traveling to the 1st century. On the second day, we turn our route to the southeast and experience both the snow-white travertines and the Ancient City of Hierapolis in Pamukkale.
Viento Tour's luxury vehicles will pick you up from your hotel in Istanbul at around 05:00 and drop you off at the airport for your flight to Izmir. When you arrive in Izmir, our other luxury vehicle will drop you off at your hotel in Kusadasi, a charming seaside town, after an approximate 1-hour drive. .
At around 09:00 we go to explore the legendary Ephesus open air museum, the richest open air museum in the world. During the Roman period, Ephesus was a vast city with a population of nearly 250,000, enjoying the prosperity of trade. We have plenty of time to visit the marble ruins of Ephesus, the famous Celsus Library, the Vedius gym, the Stadium and the Grand Theatre. You will see old public toilets, brothel, fountains and various temples.
Our next stop is the House of Virgin Mary on Bülbül Mountain. The House of Virgin Mary was discovered by Lazarist priests in 1891 and was named after Pope VI. After Paul's visit in 1967, it was accepted as the center of the cross for Christians. Those who want to make an offering on the Wishing Wall of the church, which is considered sacred for Muslims, leave their votive papers and drink water from the Holy Fountain.
We will have special treats from Turkish cuisine at a local restaurant. The road to Sirince passes through vineyards, orchards and olive groves, sometimes referred to as Turkey's Tuscany. The old Greek village of Şirince, which the Greek writer Dido Sotiriou mentioned in his work "Say hi from me to Anatolia". Get your cameras ready as your guide wanders up and down the narrow cobblestone lanes between stone, wood and plaster buildings. The smell of burning woods or blooming local orchards will captivate your senses. We are walking among historical houses and streets with authentic architecture. Our guests can listen to how fruit wines are made in wine houses and can taste and shop for free.
Finally, we will visit the Temple of Artemis, also known as the Temple of Diana. The temple dedicated to the Goddess Artemis was completed in Ephesus around 550 BC. The temple was built entirely of marble. Today, only a few marble pieces remain from the temple, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Most of the remains are exhibited in the museum in England.
Towards the end of our tour, we see the Temple of Artemis panoramically and visit the Isa Bey Mosque, one of the oldest and most spectacular works of Turkish architectural history from the Anatolian Principalities.
“In your free time at the open-air museum, choose to visit the magnificent tile murals and artworks of Terrace Houses. Excavated from the 1960s to the 1980s, the structure is comparable to a condominium and is a city block of private residences from the 1st century AD (Rome) covering about 4,000 square meters (about one acre). In many respects the ruins are on par with the famous ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy, making them one of the world's most important places to experience and admire the sophistication, luxury and aesthetic refinement of upper-class Roman domestic life. Surprisingly, only one in twenty visitors to Ephesus discover this unique structure”.
“Entry to the Terrace Houses is not guided and requires (additional entrance fee payable on site)”.
We pick you up from your hotel around 08:00 and take you to Pamukkale, which we call the White Paradise. Heading east, we arrive at Pamukkale, the home of the famous shimmering white calcium terraced pools. We begin our tour of the Travertines and the Ancient City of Hierapolis to experience the white fairy tale. In the ancient city, which has different traces and features at every point, we make our tours to the Bath Building Necropolis Area, the Domitian Gate and Latrin Building on the Main Street, the Temple of Apollo and the Plutonium (Gin Hole), known as the entrance gate of hell, accompanied by photo breaks after listening carefully to the narrations of our guide. Then we reach the Travertines, which impress with their white texture. Two thousand years ago, the Kingdom of Pergamon could not resist this attraction and built the city of Hierapolis next to the travertines. During this period, Hierapolis served as a thermal health center and its sources believed to be healing were visited by people from different parts of Anatolia seeking health and beauty for hundreds of years. Today, people in search of beauty and health continue to visit thermal pools. Thousands of years ago, you can enter the pools where the people of the ancient world used to swim and find healing while watching the magnificent view of the travertines.
At the end of our fascinating tour, we will drop you off at the airport with our comfortable vehicles around 18:00 for the return flight to Istanbul. Overnight Istanbul. (B, L).
If you would like to extend your stay or transfer from here to other regions, we will be happy to arrange accommodation and daily tours/activities for you. Happy travels!
We will return shortly
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