izmir

Izmir City Tour

Tour starts with the visit of the Alexander the Great Castle from 4th century BC on the Pagos-Hill overlooking the whole city and ancient Agora (the best preserved Roman Market).
Your next stop is the Archaeological Museum with art-crafts from old Symrna and Ephesus. Proceed to 99 years old Clock Tower, which is the symbol of Izmir and tour continue with the visit Kemeraltı, the Old Bazaar with 2001 shops .

Guests will have free time for little shopping in the bazaar and treditional Turkish tea break.

Virgin Mary’s House & Ephesus Ancient City

Virgin Mary
Located on the top of the "Bulbul" mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere hidden in the green. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in crowded place. The house is a typical Roman architectural example, entirely made of stones. In the 4th century AD, a church, combining her house and grave, has been built. The original two-stored house, which consisted of an anteroom (where today candles are proposed), bedroom and praying room (Christian church area) and a room with fireplace (chapel for Muslims). A front kitchen fell into ruins and has been restored in 1940's. Today, only the central part and a room on the right of the altar are open to visitors. From there one can understand that this building looks more like a church than a house. Another interesting place is the "Water of Mary", a source to be found at the exit of the church area and where a rather salt water, with curative properties, can be drunk by all.Paul VI was the first pope to visit this place in the 1960's. Later, in the 1980's, during his visit, Pope John-Paul II declared the Shrine of Virgin Mary has a pilgrimage place for Christians. It is also visited by Muslims who recognize Mary as the mother of one of their prophets. Every year, on August 15th a ceremony is organized to commemorate Mary's Assumption.
Ephesus Ancient City
Ephesus is an ancient city 1.8 miles (3 kilometers) from the town of Selcuk south of Izmir. During both the Hellenistic and Roman periods Ephesus was the most important port and cultural center of the eastern world. The remains of the city are still spellbinding today. The magnificent temples, public buildings, villas and streets of Ephesus have been excavated and restored by the Austrian Archaeological Institute, and it requires little effort to imagine the city as it was in its heyday.