Meet your professionally-trained guide and set out for Ephesus, approximately 30 minutes drive from Kusadasi. Famous in antiquity for its Temple of Artemus, during the years of the Roman Empire, the Greek port of Ephesus became the greatest city in Asia Minor. You will start your Ephesus excursion at the upper Magnesia Gate, and work your way down through the city ending near the ancient Harbor.

Along the way you will see the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika and the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period. It has played host to programs as varied as Paul and his sermons to the Ephesians, to concerts by Sting, in part due to its remarkable acoustics.

You will walk along the Arcadian Way, where once Mark Antony and Cleopatra rode in procession. You will hear stories of Alexander the Great, the Virgin Mary, and many other famous visitors who walked the same marble streets that you are walking. As you depart the Ephesus site, you will be able to view the hilltop ruins of the Basilica of St. John in the distance, which was erected over his grave in the 6th century A.D. by Emperor Justinian.

Returning to the town of Kusadasi, guests will be treated to a carpet demonstration and can then explore the shops filled with jewelry, carpets, leather ware, and copper goods. The cruise pier is a 5 - 10 minute walk from the main shopping area. Guests not wishing to be dropped off in the shopping area will be taken directly back to the pier.