Our Kusadasai/Ephesus tips/experience & pictures

[AttilaTheFun]

Kusadasi/Ephesus

 

Kusadasi was a half-day port, docking at 7am with all-aboard by 12:30pm. However the heat and walking from our Ephesus tour sure made it feel like a full-day excursion!

We joined another privately-organized tour from our roll call with Ekol Tours. There were 7 of us on the tour and the cost was $73 USD per person, payable in cash or by credit card. If you choose not to view the Terrace Houses, it’s $15 less, but I think they were worth it.

If I remember correctly, we actually docked earlier than scheduled, so our group was off the ship right around 7am and we met our driver and guide. As a group, we agreed to request no stops for leather or carpet stores as our time in port was already very limited. When the organizer told the guide this, he seemed a bit offended and put off. He asked a few times if we were sure (“Does anyone know what makes Turkish carpets special? No? And you don’t even want to see them being made?!”) which made for a bit of an uncomfortable start to the day, but he gave up pretty quickly and proceeded to tell us the history of Ephesus during the drive over. His English was a bit hard to understand, but I found myself understanding 90% by the end of the tour – you just have to listen a little more carefully. Overall, he was very nice and knowledgeable.

The ride wasn’t very long – maybe around 20 minutes – and once we arrived, our guide advised us to buy water from the vendors outside the Ephesus site.

After the group re-gathered at the entrance, we weren’t allowed to enter for some reason as they were only allowing cruise tour groups to enter, which upset a couple people on our tour. It was either that we couldn’t enter until 8am or 8:30am, but the cruise groups were allowed anyway, which was annoying. Double-check with your tour company of the real time you can enter – we could have slept in another half hour!

It seemed like we used the “backdoor” entrance of Ephesus, which was more of a downhill walk. The side that we exited had a much larger market with vendors and a free bathroom.

I don’t have many tips for Ephesus other than it’s probably best to join a tour – whether through the ship or privately – as the transportation to Ephesus seems difficult to organize on your own and it’s really worth having a guide explain to you what you’re seeing.

Ephesus is a very large site – our guide said it was the second-largest open-air museum in the world after Pompeii. We liked that some of the buildings were being restored so that you have a better idea of what they looked like, rather than just staring at a pile of rocks.

There were many interesting spots in Ephesus, including the public toilets, supposedly Nike swoosh-inspiring carving of Athena, Terrace Houses, Celsus Library, and a theater where the disciple Paul preached.

The Terrace Houses cost an extra $15 per person, but were very fascinating to see, although required a LOT of stair climbing! The Terrace Houses are being meticulously restored and the whole site is covered, which makes it a bit cooler than the rest of the grounds.

Definitely bring water and a hat to Ephesus and wear comfortable walking shoes. There is very little shade and our guide wasn’t very conscientious of trying to speak to the group in shady areas.

There are a ton of stray cats in Ephesus – we enjoyed seeing them relax among the ruins!

On the way back, the rest of the group members paid the tour price in cash, but my sister and I charged it to a credit card, which required a quick stop at the Ekol Travel offices. We appreciated being able to pay in USD and by credit card - no foreign transaction fees or exchange rates to worry about! We would recommend Ekol as the price was reasonable and the tour guide was good, but be firm about not wanting to stop at a carpet or leather store, even if they insist otherwise. We made it back to the ship around 11:30am and can’t imagine cutting the Ephesus tour short just to look at a carpet/leather demonstration.

After that, they dropped us off at the market just outside the Kusadasi. We found a store where they were very friendly and let us sample Turkish Delight. As we had heard it was customary to haggle and we were buying multiple items as gifts, we tried to haggle down the price a few euros and the shopkeeper’s wife literally rolled her eyes at us and muttered under her breath and proceeded to charge us the full price – so much for haggling! As soon as we were done, none of the staff would even make eye contact with us – so much for being friendly! The fresh Turkish Delight we bought was good, but we ate so much on the ship, we didn’t really need to buy more food. The boxed Turkish Delight I bought was a total rip-off – it looks nothing like the picture on the box and there’s about a 1.5 inch border around the whole inner tray, so there’s barely any candy in there. The candy that IS there was disgusting though – my co-workers politely took a bite and then walked away when I shared it with them. The flavor was like bubble gum even though it was supposed to be fruit-flavored. Blech - never again! Try the fresh stuff, but skip the boxed kind, unless you know a trustworthy brand.

There were also a ton of counterfeit good stores at the market near the port, but the shopkeepers don’t really leave you alone to browse. I was annoyed after a few minutes, but my sister checked out a couple stores and didn’t end up buying anything. This was foreshadowing of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul…

We spent the remainder of the day relaxing on the ship and enjoying our favorite event – afternoon tea! It was great having a half-day in port so that you don’t feel obliged to run around all day.

 

Here are some pictures from that day.

 

Lots of "Genuine Fake Watches" in Turkey...

 

 

 

Do you see a Nike swoosh shape in this carving?

 

 

 

Looking down the pathway towards the Celsus Library

 

 

 

Inside the Terrace Houses section

 

 

 

Celsus Library

 

 

If you're interested in my full review of the Grand Mediterranean sailing aboard Ruby Princess from Venice to Barcelona, you can check it out here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1662641&page=3

[dwaynesworld]

Great review and thanks for the info. We'll be on the Ruby doing the Grand Med in a few weeks and really appreciate your posts!

[Jade08]

The Celsus Library is sure magnificent.

 

I will take your advice not buying any food from Kusadasi port.

 

Also, we'll probably take cruise shore excursion, a sort of self-guided walking tour.

[Berliner]

Hi Atilla,

 

did you by any chance saw some food item called Kebap or Doner Kebap?

 

It's a great turkish meat meal, all around in Berlin but not here so we hope we can grab one/mmmh yum

 

http://www.geobeats.com/video/19c20a/doner-kebab

 

 

thanks and happy cruisin'

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thanks for your post. I was reliving our trip to Ephesus. It was great!

[AttilaTheFun]

Hi Atilla,

 

did you by any chance saw some food item called Kebap or Doner Kebap?

 

It's a great turkish meat meal, all around in Berlin but not here so we hope we can grab one/mmmh yum

 

http://www.geobeats.com/video/19c20a/doner-kebab

 

 

thanks and happy cruisin'

 

We didn't see any food places in Kusadasi/Ephesus, but did see Doner Kebab in Barcelona. It was a good and cheap meal there.

[AttilaTheFun]

By the way, this is the Turkish Delight we bought - compare the box picture to the actual stuff inside. Notice there is only one dark brown square and absolutely no sesame ones as pictured on the box. The yellow and pink ones tasted like bubble gum awfulness. I was so embarrassed after multiple co-workers tried a piece and then just walked away, without saying anything. It was so bad that I just threw away the rest of the box - disgusting!

 

[Langley Cruisers]

...I was so embarrassed after multiple co-workers tried a piece and then just walked away, without saying anything. It was so bad that I just threw away the rest of the box - disgusting!

 

Yes, I had purchased several boxes as well for co-workers, and family... thank God I opened one of them and tried it prior to giving them out. I would have DIED if they'd tasted it. Absolutely awful. NEVER purchase boxed, pre-packaged Turkish Delight.

 

I hear the "good stuff" is available in the bazaar... oh well.... :(

.

[AttilaTheFun]

Yes, I had purchased several boxes as well for co-workers, and family... thank God I opened one of them and tried it prior to giving them out. I would have DIED if they'd tasted it. Absolutely awful. NEVER purchase boxed, pre-packaged Turkish Delight.

 

I hear the "good stuff" is available in the bazaar... oh well.... :(

.

 

Good advice for anyone visiting Turkey!