Neat ruin site. Admission covered by museum Turkey pass. Not a ton of interpretive content on…read moresite so read background before visiting. Parking near site available. Not a destination but a nice stop if in Ephesus.

Another great place! So cool to visit where John, the beloved, was laid to rest. It's known he…read morereturned to Ephesus, after being exiled on Patmos, and that was where he passed away. So this is where his tomb is and in the 6th century, this large basilica was built over his tomb. However, earthquakes and the encroachment of the Turks resulted in the church being abandoned and relics lost. The original design of the church was laid out like a cross. Most of it is gone today, but you can still kind of see how it was set up. They have a replica of the grounds for Ephesus and the basilica so you can have an idea of what things looked like and how far apart they were. The renderings of the buildings are pretty cool. Such amazing history here!

We took a private tour with another couple with whom we cruise. It was fantastic! Our guide…read moreBarbaros drove us by the upper part of Ephesus, which we saw only from the car. We did not walk this section due to time constraints and our advanced age. Sad, but true. We did hear about the upper part as we drove past it. Our guide Barbaros explained that 90% of Ephesus is not the original city built by the Macedonians. What we see today was built by the Romans. We drove past a sign for the Grotto of the 7 Sleepers, which he explained to us. These 7 slept for 100 years and awoke to new rulers! Perhaps another trip will take us there. We arrived at the lower part of Ephesus, which Barbaros tells us was first excavated 100 years ago during WWI. He explains that today 85% of Ephesus is under the soil, unexcavated! Once inside, our guide showed us the map of where we are and how it has changed. Our first stop was at the Great Theatre, where concerts are performed in this century. My favorite part was when we came to the third largest Library in the world, of its time. Sadly, no books remain. Just memories. Despite my age, I climbed up the stairs, with help from my husband. Note to singles: marry someone younger! One person in our group wanted to see the public toilets, and they were fascinating. We saw hole after hole, with each hole almost on top of the next. Underneath was a drainage system, to wash away bodily waste. When asked about the bodily waste, our guide told us they used sticks with sponges on the end that they dipped into the water in front of them before wiping their behinds. These public toilets are next to the Roman baths, which seemed appropriate. We walked to the modern museum, which was free with Ephesus tickets. We got headsets, programmed for English. In each of the three rooms we entered, we saw immersive films. The films educated us about the Gods and Ephesus. It was beautiful and overwhelming. It was also air conditioned, which was nice on this hot day! We exited through a bookstore, purchasing bookmarks for the many books we read. As we walked to exit Ephesus, we spotted more cats. They seem to love their lives here. This tour was educational and fun, and we know that when we return we will want to see the parts that we missed. We'll be older, but we'll not have to see this part again.

Ephesus is a historic landmark in Turkiye, founded around 600 BCE. Originally an ancient Greek…read morecity, it became under Roman rule in 129 BCE. Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire in Asia after Constantinople in the 5th and 6th centuries. Ephesus commanded the west end of a trade route to Asia so it was an important port city in its heyday. It boasted a Temple to Artemis, a Temple to Hadrian, a Library of Celsus, the massive Oedon Theatre, the last known home of the Virgin Mary, and some of the earliest Christian churches. Mark Antony was welcomed by Ephesus when he was proconsul and in 33 BC with Cleopatra when he gathered his fleet of 800 ships before the battle of Actium with Octavius. Ephesus is an ancient city with much historical significance. When we visited with our tour group, we were given a quick overview, entered the state-of-the-art museum, and explored the grounds. The site is massive. The ancient ruins are in fairly good condition considering and it is still an active archeological site. When you visit, marvel at the expansive stone lined streets of the agora, peer up at the arches, and wonder at how far humankind has come over the centuries.

Game of Thrones fans will be as excited as I was when I saw the word "kalesi" - woohoo, dragons!…read moreAlthough here it just means castle, and there are no dragons. BUT, there is a sphinx wearing a polo and a beard. I'm not lying, check out the photo. Bodrum Castle is the most spectacular landmark of Bodrum, especially if you're staying somewhere that has a view of it. We gazed at it every night and day, and it was great to be able to go to visit it. It's open every day except Monday and costs 25 lira pp (£7pp) for adults. There are a lot of stairs and it can get a bit tiring in the heat - I'm a wimp, ok? It was a great place to wander around and if you follow the two sets of arrows, you'll get the short or long version depending on your stamina. There's a cafe in the castle as well so you can stop for a refreshing drink when it all gets too much. There are lots of displays, as well as the option of an audio tour which I decided not to get this time. There are a lot of displays of items recovered from underwater - vases, jugs, glasses, boat bits, etc. I can't say that this is high on my list of interests, but the castle was good for a visit all the same. There are really great views at the top of the castle and I'd say it's worth the admission fee just for that. There's a gift shop on the way out but it didn't really have any decent "tat" which I was a little disappointed by. I love gift shops! Tip: watch where you're going, otherwise you might fall off a high ledge while not looking. Thankfully I didn't break my ankle.

This is my second time here. I was here 9 years ago. I really enjoyed the views and walking along…read morethe battlements. Fun. A crusader castle. I think Herodotus is from Bodrum and he wrote about the history of this city.

Small collection but informative indeed. Has a colorful Eros statue collection. Centrally located…read more Just across Aydın Forum.