Journey through Turkey's history on a day trip from Izmir to Pergamon and the Asclepion. Pergamon is a Unesco site that bears traces of the Ionian, Hellenic, Roman, and Byzantine civilizations. After pickup, drive to Pergamum Acropolis. Bergama, with its historical and cultural richness, is one of the most special cities in Turkey with 3,000 years of history. Bergama witnessed many civilizations and continues to share the traces and manuscripts of this background. Arrive in Pergamon and get on a cable car for Acropolis (about a 5-minute ride). See the Altar of Zeus, the Temple of Dionysus, the Temple of Demeter, and the Great Library, containing 200,000 bundles of books. Continue to see the theater, gymnasium, royal palaces, the Temple of Trojan, aqueducts, fountains, cisterns, and arsenals, some of the most important structures constructed in Pergamum Acropolis. Drive for about 10 minutes to the Pergamon Asclepion, one of the first hospitals in history. Ancient historians said this is ”the place where death is forbidden to enter and testaments are not opened.” The Asclepion is accessible from the Sacred Way and is a 1-km-long street. The Asclepion is the largest medical center of the period, including the serpentine column which became the symbol of modern medicine and pharmacies and was named after Asclepios, the god of healing and medicine. Findings reveal that surgical operations were also performed in Asclepion in addition to diets, hot and cold baths, and physical exercises as the three basic components. Patients were treated in this center with medicines, herbs, music, mud and sunbaths, and psychotherapy. Later, make an optional visit to the Pergamum Carpet Weaving School. Pergamum is also an important city for the carpet business. Pergamum carpets are among the most advanced crafts of the city and have an ethnographic value.

Join us on our full-day tour to Pamukkale, which in English means “cotton castle”. You’ll understand why it’s called this when you see the site! This unique site should be on everyone’s “must see” list when visiting Turkey. The thermal spa of Hierapolis dates from dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, and is registered as a cultural and natural heritage site by UNESCO. Your guide will show you the ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments at the site. You’ll see the ruins of the ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis and have time to relax in the warm spring waters. Calcite-laden waters cascade from springs in a cliff towering nearly 200 meters over the plain, creating a surreal landscape of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins. The terraces were formed by the warm cascading waters that contain calcium bicarbonate. As the water loses its carbon dioxide it leaves limestone deposits. During your visit to the open-air museum of Hierapolis you’ll see the massive ancient graveyard that contains over 1200 sarcophagi, many of which are the size of a small house. Other ruins that you’ll visit on this tour include the Great Theatre, the tomb of St. Philip, the Roman Baths and the Temple of Apollo.

Arrive on the outskirts of Bulbul Mountain at the gates of the ancient city of Ephesus. Discover the daily life of Ephesians and visit the most important pagan and Christian heritage sites. Enjoy an included lunch, and take some time to shop afterward before returning back to Izmir. Enjoy pick-up from your hotel and learn the important history and mythology on your one hour drive to Selcuk. Find yourself at the gates of the city, important for its place in the Hellenic world and Roman era. Imagine yourself an Ephesian, and see the most important attractions. Begin at the Governmental Agora, see the Road of Curates, and the Gate of Magnesia. Find the Gate of Hercules, the Traianus Fountain, the Temple of Hadrianus, and checkout how ancient bathrooms worked. Wonder at the Roman Baths of Scholastica, the Library of Celsius, and the Grand Theatre of Ephesus. Leave the city gates and take the option to visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where she spent her final days in peace and mourning. Marvel at the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. View St. John Basilica, an architectural wonder of the Christian world. Light a candle for the Virgin Mary if you like, and experience lunch and shopping before the drive back to your hotel.

In this Izmir Sightseeing Tour, please make your first stop at Kordonboyu, with its transformed coastline, after a short walk from Izmir port. Izmir’s famous Kordon has been the theme of many poems and lyrics and is known for being full of life and culture. There, admire the blue bay, green coast, sunset, and the ships hurriedly coming and going from the bustling port. Enjoy a walk along the strip, where you'll find various restaurants, bars, and cafes. Take the time to taste the city together with residents in Republic Square. There, enjoy a break and take some photos of the statue of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Ataturk, in the center of the square. Next, continue to walk on Kordonboyu until you soon reach Konak Square. See the symbol of Izmir in the center of Konak Square, the Clock Tower, and its close friends, the pigeons. Close by, in twisting lanes and narrow courts, are the shops of Izmir’s Bazaar. Here, you'll find a massive range of goods - everything from flowers to antiques is on offer at a bargain price. After a lunch break, board the ferry for the approximately 40-minute journey to Karsiyaka, one of the finest sites in Izmir. Enjoy a beautiful bazaar, great malls, and lots of shopping possibilities. Then, take a ferry to Alsancak.

After a one hour drive, arrive in Ephesus, which was the Roman capital of Asia Minor, and home to over a quarter of a million people —from slave traders to saints— at its peak between 1 AD and 2 AD. 150 years of excavations at Ephesus have revealed the most complete Greco-Roman classical city on Earth. There are terraced Houses, containing handsome frescoes from the 2nd century CE, which extend up the hill. They once housed the wealthier and more prominent families of the city, who lavished the interiors with superbly preserved frescoes and mosaics. The decor and furnishings of the houses have provided some interesting informations about the life style of the Ephesian elite during the Roman and early Byzantine periods. Inevitably, the houses have been compared with similar buildings found in the parts of the Roman Empire, particularly with the 1C villas of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The consensus is that the Ephesians houses are in no way inferior to these. The next stop will be the Ephesus Archeology Museum. A large part of the museum’s excavations at Ephesus, St. Jean Church, Artemision, and Belevi Grave Memorial  consists of works brought from other nearby ruins. The House of Mother Mary is where Mary was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John after the Resurrection of Christ and lived out her final resting days here in accordance to the Predominant Christian belief. This is based mainly on the traditional belief that John came to Ephesus combined with the biblical statement that Jesus consigned her to John’s care (John 19:26-27). Discover the Temple of Artemis (Diana), an outstanding temple built in honor of the Greek Goddess of hunting, wild nature, and fertility, deemed one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Hear about its significance and the tension between the Romans and Christians that settled in the area over the centuries from your private guide.

Depart from Izmir for a site and history-filled day in Ephesus with a private guide and vehicle. Visit the House of Virgin Mary, the Temple of Artemis, and the Ephesus ruins. Get a real feel for this unique area and its history. Get picked up at the Izmir Harbor, Izmir airport, or your hotel in Izmir and head off to Ephesus on an approximately 1 hour and 20-minute drive. En route, hear about the locations you'll visit. Arrive at the House Of Virgin Mary and tour the fascinating and spiritual location. Head on to the next destination which will be the Ancient City of Ephesus. Take a walking tour through one of the most magnificent archaeological sites in the world. Marvel at the Odeon, The Fountain of Trajan, Scholastica Baths, the Temple of Hadrian, and of course the very impressive library of Ephesus. Return to the van through the Arcadian Way where Mark Anthony and Cleopatra once rode in procession. After your 2-hour exploration around Ephesus, take an hour for lunch. Continue to the next stop, the Temple of Artemis (Diana), built in honor of the Greek Goddess and deemed one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Your guide will describe the significance of this massive structure, which was the largest marble temple in the Ancient Greek world and of which today little remains. After your full-day private tour of Ephesus, relax on a comfortable drive back to your preferred drop-off location in Izmir.

Ephesus is a city created by the Ionians in the 11th Century BC and later expanded by the Romans. Now considered one of the grandest reconstructed sites in the ancient world, the region also hosted the likes of Cleopatra, Mark Antony, the Virgin Mary, and John the Apostle. After a pick-up from Kusadasi port or your city hotel, you will be driven to the Ephesus region to start your tour. Your first stop will be the Temple of Artemis, considered one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Next, you will explore the old Greco-Roman city of Ephesus. See the magnificent Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk into the ruins of the former Roman provincial capital. Your route will take you past the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan, the Great Theater, and the spectacular Celsus Library, one of the best-preserved buildings among the ruins. Visit the Odeon, Bouleterion, Temple of Hadrian, Serapis, and Domitian. Continue to the Great Theater, the Double Church, and Arcadian Way. Walk along Marble Street and get fantastic views, whichever way you look. Keep your eyes and ears open for gladiators! By the end of the tour, some of you may feel like a true Greek, and some like an Ancient Roman…