Ephesus Virgin Mary and St. John Basilica vs. Terrace Houses

[lcccbeloeil]

We'll be on the Navigator for the July 26 Eastern Med cruisetour. Both the shorex tours we like include visiting the interior of Ephesus but we have to decide between one that offers a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary and the Basilica of St. John and another that offers a visit to the Terrace Houses. We are four adults and one 15-year old girl who is very savvy on history.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thanks!

[cruisemom42]

Terrace Houses, without a doubt. If you do a search here I don't think you'll find anyone who hasn't said that seeing these were a real highlight, not just of Ephesus but of the entire cruise.

[SkiCruiser44]

Terrace houses - something special to see

[Go-Bucks!]

Terrace Houses, without a doubt. If you do a search here I don't think you'll find anyone who hasn't said that seeing these were a real highlight, not just of Ephesus but of the entire cruise.

 

 

That's what I've seen in all my research too.

[Alsacienne]

Unless your tour organiser expressly states that ENTRY FEES into the terraced houses are included in your tour, please remember to take some cash to pay for entrance once you reach that part of the Ephesus site.

 

I agree that the terraced houses are great if you can easily 'transform' an architectural site into a real interpretation in your mind - I'm not that good at it, and didn't so appreciated them for what I saw, not what they were. BUT I also visited the St John's basilica (ruined) and the Virgin Mary's house which is cooler and shady being halfway up a mountain, and they are also precious memories too.

[ionian67]

Ephesus and Terrace houses are the most interesting site along the Turkish coast. I highly recomend you to visit St. John Basilica, since Ephesus is one of the 7 churches of Revelation.

[lcccbeloeil]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We can't wait to see all these wonderful sites.

As it turns out, we opted for a private company and we'll see both the terrace houses and the house of the Virgin Mary (we had people who wanted to see one or the other). Looking forward to seeing all that history.

[Twirl]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We can't wait to see all these wonderful sites.

As it turns out, we opted for a private company and we'll see both the terrace houses and the house of the Virgin Mary (we had people who wanted to see one or the other). Looking forward to seeing all that history.

 

Which private tour company did you use as we will probably do a similar tour to you. We go on the August 15th Sailing. I'm a bit worried about how hot it is going to be so would be great to hear how you got on once you get back home

[lcccbeloeil]

I'll certainly post a review when I get back. We'll be back on August 3. We went with http://www.ekoltravel.com based on reviews here. They were easy to deal with. They've promised us a non-smoking guide. Took a few tries to successfully fax the reservation information to them but the confirmation came back to me by email no problem. With them you pay in advance.

 

We're going in July so the heat will be a problem. We have hats and each of us has a belly pack that holds two bottles of water. Someone suggested we bring those battery-operated mini-fans from the dollar store.

[texancruzer]

We used Ekol for our day there in May..... it was hot then :eek:

 

We did the Jeep tour to Sirence and Ephesus with the Terrace houses.

 

WOWZA - what a day. Ekol is a great company and you will enjoy your day !!!!! Let me know if you would like more details :)

[travelite]

We'll be on the Navigator for the July 26 Eastern Med cruisetour. Both the shorex tours we like include visiting the interior of Ephesus but we have to decide between one that offers a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary and the Basilica of St. John and another that offers a visit to the Terrace Houses. We are four adults and one 15-year old girl who is very savvy on history.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thanks!

 

With out question -- the Terrace Houses.

[Bob and Peg]

I'll certainly post a review when I get back. We'll be back on August 3. We went with http://www.ekoltravel.com based on reviews here. They were easy to deal with. They've promised us a non-smoking guide. Took a few tries to successfully fax the reservation information to them but the confirmation came back to me by email no problem. With them you pay in advance.

 

We're going in July so the heat will be a problem. We have hats and each of us has a belly pack that holds two bottles of water. Someone suggested we bring those battery-operated mini-fans from the dollar store.

 

 

We've booked Ekol Travel for Istanbul (also in July). We didn't have to prepay and there are only two of us on the tour. Unfortunately, I didn't think to request a non-smoking guide, but I guess we'll be okay.