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On this tour, you will visit ancient Ionian cities and Temples. Visit Ephesus, Grand Theatre, Arcadian Way, Curetes Street, Latrine, and Library. Then the Ancient City of Miletos was the city of many scientists and philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, Hekataios (principal source to Herodotos), and closer to us, Isidorus, the architect of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. After lunch, you visit the Didyma; Didyma was famous for being an oracle center that was dedicated to the god Apollo, which served a purpose like the one in Delphi of Athens.
On the first day, we will visit the Ephesus area. Ephesus is the most famous historical place in Turkey. It is also Turkey's best-preserved ruins. You will be fascinated by the Temple of Artemis, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St. John, and the ruins of Ephesus. The Seven Churches of Asia Minor are all in Turkey; Ephesus was one of the 7 Churches of Revelation. On the second day, you will visit Priene, the birthplace of the Bias (to be Bias). He was one of the seven wise men.
We will visit the Priene Acropolis, Temple of Athena, Hellenistic theater, Agora, Gymnasium, and town hall. Then we drive Miletus (Miletos), the capital of civilization, culture, art, and science, one of the most critical cities in human history with its 3,500-year history. We see Grand Theatre, Roman Bath, Caravanserai, and Ilyas Bey Mosque. After lunch, our final stop will be Didyma. It is a spectacular ruin with its 2,300-year-old monumental ruins. Didyma is a sacred space dedicated to Apollo, the God of Light, Knowledge, and Enlightened Minds.
We are Castle Travel and an independent Turkish Local Travel Agency. You will be picked up from your hotel in Bodrum and drive to Ephesus.It will takes around 3 hours. During your journey, your local tour guide will give you lots of information about Turkey, such as the climate and different regions in Turkey that holds beautiful full historical places. We will give you unique Turkey and Ephesus Maps as a gift so that you can understand the Ionian tour better and make your trip more conscious.
Our first stop is The House of the Virgin Mary. By the Predominant Christian tradition, Mary was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John after the resurrection of Christ and lived out her final resting years here. It is based mainly on the traditional belief that St. John came to Ephesus and the biblical statement that Jesus consigned her to John's care (John 19:26-27).
After The House of the Virgin Mary, we will head on to the next destination, the Ancient City of Ephesus; the tour here shall be a walking tour and will take you through one of the most magnificent archaeological sites in the entire world. You will be able to see the Odeon, The Fountain of Trajan, the steam baths of Scholastic, the Temple of Hadrian, and of course, let's remember the awe-inspiring library of Ephesus. The library is adorned with columns and statues.
The Grand Theatre, where Saint Paul preached, is the largest in antiquity, with a capacity of 24.000 seats. You will then return to the bus through the Arcadian Way, where Mark Anthony and Cleopatra once rode in procession. After your 2 hour exploration around Ephesus, we will head for a lunch break for about 1 hour.
Then we will continue on tour and head on for our next stop, the Temple of Artemis (Diana); this fantastic temple was built in honor of the Greek Goddess of hunting, wild nature, and fertility, deemed as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The temple of Artemis used to be the largest marble temple in the ancient Greek world since it was four times as big as the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. Offerings by thousands of pilgrims each year enabled the temple to grow so wealthy that it became the world's first bank. Today, little remains of the magnificent structure. Your guide will describe its importance, wealth, and the tension between the Romans and Christians that settled in the area over the centuries. After the Ephesus tour and local lunch, we will drive to Kusadasi. Overnight and dinner in Kusadasi.
After breakfast, we will pick you up from your hotel and drive to Priene. It will take 50 minutes. Priene enjoys a commanding position just below Mt Mykale, giving it a real natural grandeur.
This Greco-Roman site is delightful to explore, with pine trees providing shade while its isolated location deters the crowds. Like Ephesus, Priene was once a sophisticated port city with two harbors. But all that went pear-shaped when the changing course of the Meander River silted them both up. Today it's very peaceful, its elevated position giving stunning vistas across patchwork fields. On a high bluff backed by a stark mountain overlooking what was once the sea stands the ruined Temple of Athena Polias, dating from the 4th century B.C. Priene's most prominent and influential structure had designed by Pytheos of Priene, who also designed the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum).
Priene was important by 300 BC (when the League of Ionian Cities held congresses and festivals here. Priene's theatre (capacity 6500) is among the best-preserved Hellenistic theatres. Nearby lie the ruins of a Byzantine basilica from the 5th century A.D. (note the fine stone pulpit and steps to the apse) and Roman Baths. To the west are remains of private houses and a Hellenistic synagogue; to the south are the gymnasium, stadium, and agora. Also, see the nearby Bouleuterion (city hall). Then drive to Miletus. It will take 20 minutes.
After Priene, we have a short drive to Miletus. Miletus (Miletos), the capital of civilization, culture, art, and science, is one of the most critical cities in human history with its 3,500-year history. It is the home of people who question and observe nature and try to understand it by considering why it has been accepted as the basis of positive science. Miletus, also known as the "city of philosophers," raised many historical figures such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and the city planner Hippodamos. Miletus, dominated by free thought 2,600 years ago, became a center of attraction, the largest city of the Ionian civilization, a cosmopolitan place where people came and lived from all over the world, and became the capital of society.
Miletus Theater was built at the end of the 4th century B.C. and significantly expanded in the 1st and 2nd centuries. The Cavea section is so large that it constitutes a landmark in Miletus and the entire Menderes Plain. In the Hellenistic period, large stoas have been surrounding the South Agora. Although the agora is hidden under lush fields today, the massive infrastructures of the stoas can be easily seen in the area, giving an idea of the size of the city center in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
It is only 150 meters from the Miletus Theater; The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius built the Roman Bath. This bath, which the Emperor made in the name of his wife Faustina, was repaired in specific periods. Nusa statues found here; are currently exhibited in the Istanbul Archeology Museum. Then drive to Didyma. It will take 30 minutes.
Hosting one of the largest temples of the ancient period, Didyma is a spectacular ruin with its 2,300-year-old monumental ruins. Didyma is a sacred space dedicated to Apollo, the God of Light, Knowledge, and Enlightened Minds. In this area, shaped around a magnificent temple, there are small religious buildings and buildings used for daily life apart from the temple. The Apollon Sanctuary, where ordinary people, kings, and emperors consulted for thousands of years, has been a religious center that shapes history with the prophecies of the priests here.
An unforgettable experience awaits visitors in the gigantic Temple of Apollo, whose construction continued for 500 years and never finished. While walking inside the intact temple offers visitors the opportunity to experience the past and travel in time. After the tour, Drive back to the Bodrum or transfer to Kusadasi, , Marmaris, Gocek, or Fethiye.
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