We reached Turkey due to the stop of our cruise that left from Athens (the Louis Cruise), a Greek company with very affordable prices, we spent the whole day getting to know Kusadasi and Ephesus and we saw that it was more than enough.
KUSADASI
The Port of Kusadasi, also known as the Port of Ephesus is located in the center of the city of Kusadasi, Turkey. It is within walking distance of the main shopping mall and also Pigeon Island or Guvercin Ada Peninsula and the coast beyond. Kusadasi is an exceptional tourist town on the Aegean coast. The contemporary European city of 50,000 people is very dependent on the tourist trade created by cruise ships. Cruise ships arriving at the Port of Ephesus help boost the local population to around 50,000 every summer. Turkish workers who arrive in the municipality every year to work in the service sectors also help to increase the population. Situated between another resort, Bodrum, in the south, and the city of Izmir in the north, Kusadasi Port is a preferable place for lots of tourists heading to Turkey. The charming city has an attractive turquoise bay in front, while Kaz Dagi Mountain lies behind.
Being a mainly tourist location, Kusadasi expects a huge amount of foreign inhabitants, with many coming from the Northern part of Europe. Having emerged from a local village, Kusadasi began to be an important center in the 1970s for local and international tourists. In the 1980s, this place began to attract foreign tourists and became more attractive to many tourist markets.
HOW TO GET TO EPHESUS
From Kusadasi you can take a 'dolmus' to Ephesus. The dolmus are mini buses that pick up people along regular bus routes until the minibus is full. They run very frequently and have no fixed stopping points, so you can take them everywhere and you can also go out anywhere and whenever you want. To Ephesus take the dolmus with final destination Selçuk. The destination is clearly marked on the windshield of the minibuses. You can take a dolmus near the port, but there is a chance that the bus will already be quite full. In the worst case you have no seat. It is therefore best to go to the starting point of the dolmus. This is about 1 km from the cruise port at the Adnan Menderes Cad roundabout.
The dolmus does not bring you to the entrance of Ephesus, but the taxi stops on the main road about 1.5 kilometers from the archaeological site. You can walk there in 10-15 minutes. For a taxi you pay around tl15 per taxi (4 people. The bus from Kusadasi to Selcuk takes approximately 30 minutes and pay TL11 per person (one way). You pay in cash on the bus.
We really enjoyed the tour due to the importance of Ephesus, reported in the scriptures, it has a letter from Paul to the church that lived there, Ephesus is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. This is not only because of its various historic sites and magnificent monuments, but also because many visitors want to learn about the rich culture and history of the place. Many people have said that this place is holy and sacred.
At the end we stopped to shop for incredible Turkish handcrafted fabrics and vessels, all handmade, well worth it and famous all over the world.
We still want to go back to Turkey to visit the famous capital Istanbul and fly in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, but it was already a remarkable experience eating with the Turks and learning a little about the culture on the beautiful coast.
VISIT TURKEY!