Today we’re welcoming Martin back to the Bodrum Peninsula Travel Guide.  He’s a UK based Travel writer, and has previously written about Travel Suggestions from Milas-Bodrum Airport.

Ancient city of Ephesus

Modern day Turkey is home to the ancient city of Ephesus, which in turn is home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient World and dates back to around 550 BC. A major tourist attraction for many on Mediterranean cruises or Turkey holidays, Ephesus is a sacred city for Christians with its Biblical associations such as St John the Evangelist, St Paul and the Virgin Mary.

A holiday to Turkey just isn’t complete without visiting Ephesus and every visit is filled with amazement, awe and the upmost appreciation of how a place so beautiful could ever have existed.

Bodrum to Ephesus by Day

Ephesus is just 100 miles from Bodrum so you can easily drive there in around two and a half hours. Bus tours are a very popular method of visiting the ancient town of Ephesus from Bodrum and can be found from around 38 euros including pick up and return from and back to your hotel, lunch, a tour of the ruins of Ephesus and the Ephesus museum. The whole tour lasts around 12 hours and normally starts around 7am at your hotel.

If you get a public bus from Bodrum to Selcuk you can enjoy a leisurely walk to Ephesus and stroll through the marvel and splendour at your own pace. Public buses stop at Izmir so you’ll have to change buses. Allow at least 12 to 14 hours for a whole day trip if you’re doing it all by yourself as the journey from Bodrum to Selcuk will take between two and a half and three hours by a direct bus and much longer if you have to change.

Getting to Ephesus from Selcuk

The immediate area around Ephesus has human life dating back to around 6000 BC and is home to so many archaeological relics. It is easily accessible from the town of Selcuk where you can comfortably walk there as it is just 3km away and the walk passes such wonderful relics as the Temple of Artemis, the Selcuk cemetery and rock-cut shrines to mother Goddess.

On the other hand, you can take the easy route by just taking a taxi or minibus from Selcuk to Ephesus which leaves every 10 to 15 minutes. Many hotels are quite small and are known to drop off guests to Ephesus free of charge but don’t assume that this will happen. Plan your Turkey holiday ahead of time and count it as a bonus if you get lucky.

Ephesus Tour Information and Audio Guides

Ephesus was once a port town but with erosion is now located 2km from the coast and entrance to the site costs a little over £5. Great Turkey holiday attractions in Ephesus include the amphitheatre which seated 25,000 people and an awe inspiring three-story library.

Other attractions include the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, the Church of Mary and the House of the Virgin. The murdered sister of Cleopatra, Arsinoe, who was banished to the Temple of Artemis by Julius Caesar and killed on the steps of the temple, is buried in a hexagonal tomb well worth seeing and her story is compelling to say the least.

You can easily hire a tour guide just outside of Ephesus and negotiate prices with them individually or alternatively hire a highly recommended audio guide for as little as around £3.50. This way you can move as quickly or as slowly as you want and just rewind if you miss something. Ephesus is definitely a must-see on any holiday in Turkey.

© Source of Ephesus Library image

© Source of Ephesus Amphitheatre image

 

You can also purchase an Ephesus – Audio Walking Tour from iTunes which includes tracks for each of the locations marked on the Ancient Ephesus map above