ephesus tour details

[manoftheworld]

I want to share some of wonderful moments I spent in in kusadasi ,Ephesus last august. we had a wonderful time with an experienced and knowledgeable guide his name was Mustafa from turkey private excursions . it was a private tour with driver and the service we got was very personalized. The fees were reasonable and being private tour that gave us the chance to see as much as we can

We started our attractions by seeing the theater which is absolutely huge!. It's so well preserved and definitely worth the visit.After Sirince, our next stop was Temple of Hadrian

This well preserved building is located in the city center on Curettes Road. The elegant workmanship and carvings on the front walls of the building make it one of the most attractive in the city.

After walking over, around, and through the old city, we continued to the Celsius Library:

This library is the most beautiful building in all of antiquity. I can only imagine just how wonderful it was when it was brand new. The whole city of Ephesus is vast and spectacular. A must see.

We got to visit the house of virgin Mary . Several years after the death of Christ, St. John brought the Virgin Mother to this house located on the slopes of Bülbül Mountain. It is believed the Virgin Mary lived in this house until she died at the age of 64.

St Mary lived her last days drinking the healing water of this mountain. Aprox 9 km from Ephesus. This is a small chapel that was built on the site. The chapel has two rooms one of Christians and one of Muslims. There is a wall where people have attached prayer written on a piece of paper.

Finally, I would recommend this company " Turkey private excursions", who fully met and even surpassed all of our expectations especially after knowing that their payment policy is to pay upon arrival without any payment upfront ,

Thus erasing all my fears paying my money upfront to somebody I do not know even before getting their services.

thanks

terry

[okctraveler]

Many of us are headed to Egypt and/or Turkey. I can hardly wait to get there.

I am a old retired newspaper man from Oklahoma City and although I have been on a number of cruises, I have never been more excited than I am about this one. I have learned a lot from each and every cruise. The main thing is that there are local experts in every port that will make visiting their country even more interesting and exciting and for a very affordable price. As a rule my wife and I buy a ship excursion or hire a van or cab outside the port gate. Not this time

 

Over the last couple of months it has been my pleasure to visit with a few of you wanting to be a part of a quality private tour to the cities located in the countries of the various ports we will soon visit, Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

 

FYI, I have arranged port tours with Egypt Private Excursions. It has been a pleasure working with David and Dina, professional tour planners of their middle east and Africa section & Turkey Private Excursions (Europe – turkey ports section) David and Dina have assured me they will do all they can to make this the best experience ever for us.

 

Not only have David and Dina offered the best and most competitive rates, they have patiently worked with me to customize these private tours to meet my request for a quality, meaningful tour. My requests involved numerous changes to accommodate us and the limited time frame at the various ports.

The friendly planners have been there for me and have done it all “with a smile”.

 

I can’t say enough good things about them. Egypt Private Excursions has been so helpful, providing me with professional, prompt, friendly and responsive communications. I believe we are in for a wonderful experience especially since we will be guided by English speaking, local tour professionals of Egypt Private Excursions. One of the reasons I feel confident that we are in for a wonderful travel experience is because they are one of the few that offer great promotions for groups and for cruises who are having tours for more than one port. Please contact me if I may be of help or if you have questions.

 

Have a wonderful cruise,

 

Phillip Mendoza

Oklahoma City, OK

[Andym]

Just returned from RCI Navigator and unusually for us, we took the ships tour. Best tour we have ever had. There were 14 of us on the small bus. We had a 5 hour tour. When we got to the Terrace Houses, we were met by the on-site Chief Archeologist. We had very detailed tour and then the special bit. We went out of the back of the building and up the hill to look around the unexcavated terraces. This area is not open to the public and it was a real eye opener.

[lover007]

Many of us are headed to Egypt and/or Turkey. I can hardly wait to get there.

I am a old retired newspaper man from Oklahoma City and although I have been on a number of cruises, I have never been more excited than I am about this one. I have learned a lot from each and every cruise. The main thing is that there are local experts in every port that will make visiting their country even more interesting and exciting and for a very affordable price. As a rule my wife and I buy a ship excursion or hire a van or cab outside the port gate. Not this time

 

Over the last couple of months it has been my pleasure to visit with a few of you wanting to be a part of a quality private tour to the cities located in the countries of the various ports we will soon visit, Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

 

FYI, I have arranged port tours with Egypt Private Excursions. It has been a pleasure working with David and Dina, professional tour planners of their middle east and Africa section & Turkey Private Excursions (Europe – turkey ports section) David and Dina have assured me they will do all they can to make this the best experience ever for us.

 

Not only have David and Dina offered the best and most competitive rates, they have patiently worked with me to customize these private tours to meet my request for a quality, meaningful tour. My requests involved numerous changes to accommodate us and the limited time frame at the various ports.

The friendly planners have been there for me and have done it all “with a smile”.

 

I can’t say enough good things about them. Egypt Private Excursions has been so helpful, providing me with professional, prompt, friendly and responsive communications. I believe we are in for a wonderful experience especially since we will be guided by English speaking, local tour professionals of Egypt Private Excursions. One of the reasons I feel confident that we are in for a wonderful travel experience is because they are one of the few that offer great promotions for groups and for cruises who are having tours for more than one port. Please contact me if I may be of help or if you have questions.

 

Have a wonderful cruise,

 

Phillip Mendoza

Oklahoma City, OK

 

Thank you Phillip :)

 

I followed some recommendations for hiring local tour companies to Greece/Italy/Turkey. I was very hesitant to attempt this without having the security of our cruise line backing up our experience, I was tired of feeling like a flock being shuffled from place to place on a tight schedule, and forced to go into their selected shops, and wanted a more individual approach. I read recommendations about Turkey private excursions and decided to take the chance.

It was an overwhelmingly great experience having our private Ephesus tour in Turkey with tour guide Sam. he was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very patient with all our questions. We went at our pace, in an extremely comfortable and well appointed air conditioned van with a professional driver, which was intimate and very pleasant. Sam spoke perfect English and was very kind and sociable.

I wholeheartedly recommend Turkey private excursions Turkey & Greece for an extremely worthwhile experience when travelling to that part of the world.

[toddaa]

We used Ephesus shuttle, we also had an excellent guide. It was two of us, van, guide. We did an all day tour. It was $85 each (I think there was a 20% savings special). We did tour 11 (they have many options) - it was all day. We started in Ephesus (including Terrace Houses - which are well worth it), then went up to the Hill town to shop and have lunch. I was disappointed that it was quite commercial for the shopping (description says local made crafts - I am not so sure) that town, but the lunch was at this great place at the top of a hill, cooked over open hearth. It was included. Our guide made several selections of different food, it was great, and just sitting there talking to him one on one about life in Turkey was really fun. We then did Basillica St. John and Temple of Artemis (one column in an overgrown field - not quite worth it). I did not realize that we were going to a carpet place, but we did. I had not researched it, so I was not interested. It was a great tour and a great day.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We used Ephesus Deluxe for both Istanbul and Turkey and had great tours both days.

 

We did go to Mary's House and the Temple of Artemis (only one column left standing!), but those could have been skipped. Epheusus, including the Terrace Houses is the highlight.

 

We did have an included lunch in Ephesus, at a 'carpet' factory. It was actually quite nice and the carpet demonstration was interesting, really low-key and there was zero pressure to buy. I'm pretty sure you can ask to skip this when booking, if desired.

 

We set up a tour for 12 with others from our roll call; cost for both tours was $109 per couple, plus tips and lunch in Istanbul. Of course, it is going to cost more for just two.

[porschenut]

We used Epherusdeluxe for our tour to Ephesus last week. We booked a 4 hr. tour of Ephesus and Terrace Houses a couple of months ago for the 4 of us. The guide was waiting for us when we got off the ship. The tour guide was Munire Kalkim and was knowledgable. However, I cannot recommend them because we felt very rushed during the tour. The guide almost ran from one location to another during the tour and at one point was 30 yards ahead of me and my wife. When we wanted to go down to see the library area she said we did not have time. Since I did not know how much we still needed to see, we skipped it. When we got back to the ship, the total tour time was only 3 hrs. 25 min. It was then I found out Munire had another tour she needed to get back for and that is why she was rushing us. That extra 35 minutes I paid for and did not get was the difference between a more informed and leisurely tour and a rushed one. I would suggest using a different company. This may be a problem when you only book half day tours but it was frustrating to be so rushed during the tour.

[rmurray847]

I'm looking into private tours of ephesus for next May. We just want to go to ephesus and the terrace houses. Don't want to go to Mary's house or St. John's or Artemis. I'm unsure if we want to do the lunch at the carpet factory that people seem to do. I'm curious about the carpet making technique, but don't want to feel pressured to buy. We went to a perfume shop in Egypt and ended up with $800 worth of essential oils, one of which exploded in my suitcase, so I don't want to deal with the hard sell again. But on the other hand, I kind of want at least a little wall hanging. How can you go to turkey and not get a turkish rug, right?? We don't usually do a sit down lunches on vacation and instead usually grab something at a cafe or a stand. Will there be gyro or kebab stands in Kusadasi?

 

We used Celsus Travel for our Izmir to Ephesus tour (they do Kusadasi too, of course). Our tour was all day, just my wife and I, and we paid $226...not euros, dollars. Naturally, since both our driver and guide were great, we tipped nicely with no hesitation. Can't say why you're seeing higher prices. This trip here http://www.celsustravel.com/kusadasishoreexcursion3.html, seems to fit your bill. No price given.

 

Regarding carpet factory. We reluctantly went, but it was really cool. Seeing the process was informative and the carpets are lovely. We had no issue purchasing a small one, I think around $200 or maybe less. Naturally, they are trying to sell, and they will bring carpets in very fast and take any smile or nod of approval as a sign of interest. But we found we could quickly steer our salesman in the right direction. We are thrilled with our purchase and glad we went. I think you can find very nice small pieces if you want...just tell them right from the start that you're only interested in looking at something small.

 

By the way, you say you aren't interested in Artemis temple. I don't blame you, but when we went with Celsus Travel (Mary's House, Ephesus and the INCREDIBLY, MUST-SEE Terrace Houses) our guide Yesmin was kind enough to have the driver just make the literally 3 minute detour to see the temple. It is literally almost nothing, and we spent 5 minutes there (cost free). The only really nice thing about that is being able to say we were at the site of one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. It's worth about 2 photos. I'd consider asking my guide if they wouldn't mind stopping there quickly. It's basically between Ephesus and the town of Pyrgos, where you're very likely to head, either for carpet shopping or lunch.

[debpaytond]

One of the ports of call on our cruise was Kusadasi, i had researched this before hand we had decided we wanted to do a tour of Ephesus. Joined a group of other people on the cruise who had booked a tour through Ephesus Deluxe. Because of the size of the group we paid $40 each. We had decided that we only wanted a half day tour as thought a full day was too much and if very busy and hot it would be horrendous.

 

After disembarking from the ship the tour guide was there waiting for us with a sign, really simple to find her.

 

Boarded the mini bus which was very new and in beautiful clean condition. Lovely air conditioning and curtain to keep out the hot sun in the afternoon. Tour guide was very good and gave us lots of local info and knowledge on the area. Drive from the port to Ephesus was around 30 mins. Driver great and friendly, easy drive and no mad drivers as i have experienced in other parts of Turkey.

 

On arrival at Ephesus we were advised to make sure we had water etc to drink as no shops/stalls inside the site. Thought the shop would be selling overcharged bottles of water, but not the case. Cheap and not a rip off. Good start.

 

The tour price we had paid included admission fees to any of the sites we were visiting which was good and because the guide got the tickets we were through the queue quickly.

 

The guide walked us through the site and explained all the different parts/buildings on show and those currently being excavated. We did the whole of Ephesus and also the Terrace Houses. Beautiful restoration and great to see the restoration done and that ongoing. Painstaking work to say the least. After seeing the whole site we were back on the mini bus on moved onto the Temple of Artemis which was also good. Wonderful to see all the different parts of Ephesus and the work done to restore it. 3000 years old and frescos and mosaics brilliant.

 

It was a quiet day when we visited as only two cruise ships in port, some days there are seven, i wouldnt want to be there then.

 

The guide had planned for us to visit a carpet making business, felt a little apprehensive amount this as was it going to be a hard sell carpet sales man? No it wasnt like that at all. Arrived at a small carpet making company where the owner explained about silk and showed us the process from getting the silk from the cocoon into a silk fibre. From there we were shown the different carpet weaving processes for different types of fibres and then shown the finished silk, wool, cotton carpets/rugs. Encouraged to touch and feel these and also to walk over these with our bare feet, we didnt feel pressurised into buying one at all. Given a nice cooling drink of apple tea and then we were back onto the bus.

 

We were dropped off back at the port about 4 1/2 hours after being picked up so the tour was a decent length.

 

Did feel that it was worth doing the tour with a guide as you can look around on your own but dont really know what it is that you are looking at etc.

 

Overall, good trip, good photos and knowledge gained and at a decent price compared to the cruise ship tours

[Methow Cruiser]

One of the ports of call on our cruise was Kusadasi, i had researched this before hand we had decided we wanted to do a tour of Ephesus. Joined a group of other people on the cruise who had booked a tour through Ephesus Deluxe. Because of the size of the group we paid $40 each. We had decided that we only wanted a half day tour as thought a full day was too much and if very busy and hot it would be horrendous.

 

After disembarking from the ship the tour guide was there waiting for us with a sign, really simple to find her.

 

Boarded the mini bus which was very new and in beautiful clean condition. Lovely air conditioning and curtain to keep out the hot sun in the afternoon. Tour guide was very good and gave us lots of local info and knowledge on the area. Drive from the port to Ephesus was around 30 mins. Driver great and friendly, easy drive and no mad drivers as i have experienced in other parts of Turkey.

 

On arrival at Ephesus we were advised to make sure we had water etc to drink as no shops/stalls inside the site. Thought the shop would be selling overcharged bottles of water, but not the case. Cheap and not a rip off. Good start.

 

The tour price we had paid included admission fees to any of the sites we were visiting which was good and because the guide got the tickets we were through the queue quickly.

 

The guide walked us through the site and explained all the different parts/buildings on show and those currently being excavated. We did the whole of Ephesus and also the Terrace Houses. Beautiful restoration and great to see the restoration done and that ongoing. Painstaking work to say the least. After seeing the whole site we were back on the mini bus on moved onto the Temple of Artemis which was also good. Wonderful to see all the different parts of Ephesus and the work done to restore it. 3000 years old and frescos and mosaics brilliant.

 

It was a quiet day when we visited as only two cruise ships in port, some days there are seven, i wouldnt want to be there then.

 

The guide had planned for us to visit a carpet making business, felt a little apprehensive amount this as was it going to be a hard sell carpet sales man? No it wasnt like that at all. Arrived at a small carpet making company where the owner explained about silk and showed us the process from getting the silk from the cocoon into a silk fibre. From there we were shown the different carpet weaving processes for different types of fibres and then shown the finished silk, wool, cotton carpets/rugs. Encouraged to touch and feel these and also to walk over these with our bare feet, we didnt feel pressurised into buying one at all. Given a nice cooling drink of apple tea and then we were back onto the bus.

 

We were dropped off back at the port about 4 1/2 hours after being picked up so the tour was a decent length.

 

Did feel that it was worth doing the tour with a guide as you can look around on your own but dont really know what it is that you are looking at etc.

 

Overall, good trip, good photos and knowledge gained and at a decent price compared to the cruise ship tours

Deb, what was the name of the tour company you used?

[Sail2?]

Deb, what was the name of the tour company you used?

 

The company is called Ephesus Deluxe (it was in her post). We are planning to use them too on Aug 5th. Currently, they were a bit slow to respond probably due to tour season, but based on reviews, we'll give them a try.

[Hlitner]

Since this topic is current we wanted to add a few new thoughts. In April we were in Kusadasi (our 5th visit) for 2 days. It had been about 5 years since our last visit and this time we decided to simply rent a car (for our first full day) and do some major driving out to places such as Didyma, Priene, and Miletus. We also stopped at Sirence and were shocked to see how this once delightful little village has now become just one more touristy town (we spoke to a local who said many of their friends had fled the village because of all the tourists). I should mention (have said this many times on CC) that anyone going to the ruins at Ephesus should ensure that their visit includes the Terrace Houses! There is no excuse to go to Ephesus without seeing the Terrace Houses (amazing) but some tours (especially cruise line excursions) do not include this because of the small extra cost and extra time required. If your tour does not include the Terrace Houses...cancel the tour and find one that does!

 

We are amazed at how the once sleepy city of Kusadasi has developed into a world-class tourist destination. The improvements in Kusadasi over the past thirty years is astounding. They have grown to accomodate the nearly 1000 cruise ship visits per year. Everything in town is within walking distance of the port, the shopping areas are expansive and very nice, the old dirty bazaar is now a nice paved pedestrian area, etc etc. The city is now full of excellent restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. We are returning in early November and are looking forward to another visit.

 

Hank

P.S. Driving in Turkey turned out to be a very positive experience. The roads in this region are excellent, well signed, and we had no problem getting around. Of course having a GPS is a great help (like in most strange places). Rental cars are cheap (we only paid about $50) and we actually drove about 150 miles, went to many different sites, and all this for less then the cost of most taxis to Ephesus.

[griffy116]

The company is called Ephesus Deluxe (it was in her post). We are planning to use them too on Aug 5th. Currently, they were a bit slow to respond probably due to tour season, but based on reviews, we'll give them a try.

 

We used the same company for our recent visit. They were awesome!! Everything we had told they would be and MORE!! Isa was our guide and he went above and beyond to cater to our needs and what we were interested in seeing and the time we wished to spend at each place. You can't beat them on price or SERVICE!

[rmurray847]

There is no excuse to go to Ephesus without seeing the Terrace Houses (amazing) but some tours (especially cruise line excursions) do not include this because of the small extra cost and extra time required. If your tour does not include the Terrace Houses...cancel the tour and find one that does!

 

I couldn't agree more! I know folks get skeptical when you call something a "must see", but if you're there anyway, they are indeed a MUST see. It was an honest-to-goodness HONOR to be there...and it tripled our enjoyment and enrichment at seeing what was already a pretty incredible ancient town.

[skypainter]

One of the ports of call on our cruise was Kusadasi, i had researched this before hand we had decided we wanted to do a tour of Ephesus. Joined a group of other people on the cruise who had booked a tour through Ephesus Deluxe. Because of the size of the group we paid $40 each. We had decided that we only wanted a half day tour as thought a full day was too much and if very busy and hot it would be horrendous.

 

After disembarking from the ship the tour guide was there waiting for us with a sign, really simple to find her.

 

Boarded the mini bus which was very new and in beautiful clean condition. Lovely air conditioning and curtain to keep out the hot sun in the afternoon. Tour guide was very good and gave us lots of local info and knowledge on the area. Drive from the port to Ephesus was around 30 mins. Driver great and friendly, easy drive and no mad drivers as i have experienced in other parts of Turkey.

 

On arrival at Ephesus we were advised to make sure we had water etc to drink as no shops/stalls inside the site. Thought the shop would be selling overcharged bottles of water, but not the case. Cheap and not a rip off. Good start.

 

The tour price we had paid included admission fees to any of the sites we were visiting which was good and because the guide got the tickets we were through the queue quickly.

 

The guide walked us through the site and explained all the different parts/buildings on show and those currently being excavated. We did the whole of Ephesus and also the Terrace Houses. Beautiful restoration and great to see the restoration done and that ongoing. Painstaking work to say the least. After seeing the whole site we were back on the mini bus on moved onto the Temple of Artemis which was also good. Wonderful to see all the different parts of Ephesus and the work done to restore it. 3000 years old and frescos and mosaics brilliant.

 

It was a quiet day when we visited as only two cruise ships in port, some days there are seven, i wouldnt want to be there then.

 

The guide had planned for us to visit a carpet making business, felt a little apprehensive amount this as was it going to be a hard sell carpet sales man? No it wasnt like that at all. Arrived at a small carpet making company where the owner explained about silk and showed us the process from getting the silk from the cocoon into a silk fibre. From there we were shown the different carpet weaving processes for different types of fibres and then shown the finished silk, wool, cotton carpets/rugs. Encouraged to touch and feel these and also to walk over these with our bare feet, we didnt feel pressurised into buying one at all. Given a nice cooling drink of apple tea and then we were back onto the bus.

 

We were dropped off back at the port about 4 1/2 hours after being picked up so the tour was a decent length.

 

Did feel that it was worth doing the tour with a guide as you can look around on your own but dont really know what it is that you are looking at etc.

 

Overall, good trip, good photos and knowledge gained and at a decent price compared to the cruise ship tours

 

Thank you for your really informative post. Your details were very helpful. Learning that it takes 30 minutes to go from the port to Ephesus told me that those posts that advised just going to Ephesus and picking up a guide there left out some really important information. I wish that experienced cruisers would include details about ports and tours, especially regarding walking distances, for cruisers who need to know.

[Kiskadog]

I just recently returned from a cruise Jun 2012, with my 12 yr old son, that included kusidasi. We used ephesus shuttle and had great luck with them. Our guide, Sinan, was an actual archeologist and you could tell he really cared about the ruins and our understanding of them. The terrace houses are a must. It IS hot but Sinan kept moving us from shady spot to shady spot. We didn't have to do any of the 'extras' i.e. carpets etc, but I did ask for a nice jewelry store and was taken to a great place. I felt our price was excellent for the service we received, plus it was totally private for just the two of us. I highly recommend them.

[walkinonsunshin]

Just returned from Turkey in August 2014. Our extended family group of 15 took a full day tour with Ephesus Deluxe to see Miletus, Didyma, The Ancient City of Ephesus & The Terrace Houses plus the Temple of Artemis. Had no idea there was a "government run" carpet factory scheduled too. We had a lovely time- until the carpet factory. Lunch was delicious but we were Pounced on when we entered the walls of the carpet factory. We were segregated from each other as couples and assured that we had time, although we did NOT. We missed much of Ephesus- the Basilica of St John, the large theater, the Stadium and didn't have time to enter the Celsius Library Because we were being strong armed into buying carpets at $1000 each. We had no idea and NEVER Intended on buying a carpet that day, let alone such an expensive carpet. The Carpet Salesmen were running after us as we approached the van we came in- as we tried to leave. I just kept saying- "We Don't have TIME for this." And We Didn't have time. So sad we missed part of Ephesus and had to spend valuable time fighting off the carpet salemen. The Carpet Salemen were worse than used car salesmen. So BE WARE!!!

[Nebr.cruiser]

Just returned from Turkey in August 2014. Our extended family group of 15 took a full day tour with Ephesus Deluxe to see Miletus, Didyma, The Ancient City of Ephesus & The Terrace Houses plus the Temple of Artemis. Had no idea there was a "government run" carpet factory scheduled too. We had a lovely time- until the carpet factory. Lunch was delicious but we were Pounced on when we entered the walls of the carpet factory. We were segregated from each other as couples and assured that we had time, although we did NOT. We missed much of Ephesus- the Basilica of St John, the large theater, the Stadium and didn't have time to enter the Celsius Library Because we were being strong armed into buying carpets at $1000 each. We had no idea and NEVER Intended on buying a carpet that day, let alone such an expensive carpet. The Carpet Salesmen were running after us as we approached the van we came in- as we tried to leave. I just kept saying- "We Don't have TIME for this." And We Didn't have time. So sad we missed part of Ephesus and had to spend valuable time fighting off the carpet salemen. The Carpet Salemen were worse than used car salesmen. So BE WARE!!!

 

I'm sorry to hear that. We used Ephesus Deluxe a couple of years ago and had a great time. I think we did Ephesus first; not sure. Our stop at the carpet factory was fine; a nice lunch, low-key carpet presentation and sales. We just said no thanks, looked around a little and left. There was no high-pressure salesmanship. The carpet sales in Istanbul were low key too. No one in our group even came close to buying a carpet. I imagine that if someone was interested, then that might slow the whole tour down.

[CintiPam]

Just returned from Turkey in August 2014. Our extended family group of 15 took a full day tour with Ephesus Deluxe to see Miletus, Didyma, The Ancient City of Ephesus & The Terrace Houses plus the Temple of Artemis. Had no idea there was a "government run" carpet factory scheduled too. We had a lovely time- until the carpet factory. Lunch was delicious but we were Pounced on when we entered the walls of the carpet factory. We were segregated from each other as couples and assured that we had time, although we did NOT. We missed much of Ephesus- the Basilica of St John, the large theater, the Stadium and didn't have time to enter the Celsius Library Because we were being strong armed into buying carpets at $1000 each. We had no idea and NEVER Intended on buying a carpet that day, let alone such an expensive carpet. The Carpet Salesmen were running after us as we approached the van we came in- as we tried to leave. I just kept saying- "We Don't have TIME for this." And We Didn't have time. So sad we missed part of Ephesus and had to spend valuable time fighting off the carpet salemen. The Carpet Salemen were worse than used car salesmen. So BE WARE!!!

 

I have just read your complaint for the third or fourth time on this forum. You are in charge of your own private tour; if you do not want any shopping stops, just say so and you will not have them!