Private House of Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus

Private House of Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus Tour from Kusadasi
Excursion Highlights:
  • Experience the sacredness of the House of Virgin Mary, a popular pilgrimage site visited by Popes in 1967 and 2006
  • Explore the ancient city of Ephesus, once the grandest port city in Asia Minor during the Roman Empire, with a professional guide
  • Witness the architectural brilliance of the Roman era through the Library of Celsus, Thermal Baths of Scolastika, and the Great Theatre
  • Dive into Turkish culture by haggling in Kusadasi town's bustling shopping area for jewelry, carpets, and leather ware
  • Enjoy the comfort of a private tour with flexible arrangements and the strongest return-to-ship and satisfaction guarantees in the industry
From $99.00/person to $516.00/person (Select "Individuals" below) Price varies based on number of individuals in your group
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Summary
Shore Excursion Size ? Private
Shore Excursion Type Private Sightseeing
Shore Excursion Duration 4 Hours
Activity Level ? Moderate
Shore Excursion Leaves From ? An approximate 3 to 5-minute walk from the cruise ship pier is required to reach your departure location. Full details will be provided in your electronic ticket upon confirmation.
Food/Beverage Provided Not Included
Recommended Dress Comfortable lightweight seasonal clothing. Good quality sunglasses are advised, and photo-chromatic lenses for those who wear spectacles. We recommend to wear appropriate attire for religious sites.
Restrictions The walking tour of Ephesus begins at the upper gate and ends at the lower gate. Guests must be able to walk over packed dirt, cobblestone and rock pavements. Many of these are uneven. Steps are required at various points throughout the city. Most of Ephesus is not wheelchair accessible.

Private House of Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus

After meeting your professional guide at the Kusadasi pier, your private Ephesus excursion will depart for the House of the Virgin Mary. It is known with certainty that the Virgin Mary went to Ephesus and lived there for some time. Whether she died in Ephesus is not confirmed, and her final resting place is still contested. In the late 1800s, a stigmatized German nun who had never been to Ephesus, Anne Catherine Emmerich, had a vision of the House of the Virgin Mary and described it in detail to German writer Clemens Brentano, who later published a book about it. In 1891 Paul, Superior of the Lazarists from Izmir, read about her vision and found a little building which corresponded with Emmerich's descriptions. Although the foundations were from the 1st Century A.D., the house itself dates only back to the 5th century A.D. The site was officially declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1896, and since then it has become a popular place of pilgrimage. Popes visited the shrine in 1967 and again in 2006.

In the ancient site of Ephesus, the greatest port city in Asia Minor during the years of the Roman Empire, you will walk with your guide as they bring to life the many famous sites of Ephesus including the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, and the Thermal Baths of Scolastika. You will also view the remains of the main Agora and the Great Theater, which was built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period.

Returning to the town of Kusadasi, guests will have the option to end their tour in the shopping area, where they can attend a Turkish carpet explanation and shop, explore the shops filled with jewelry, carpets, leather ware, and copper goods, or both. The cruise pier is a 5-10 minute walk from the main shopping area.

Guests not wishing to attend the optional carpet shopping should advise their guide and they will be taken directly back to the pier.