Step ashore Kusadasi: Temples of Ephesus

Información

Step ashore to Kusadasi from your cruise ship and step back in time with a visit to ancient Ephesus, in particular the Basilica of St John, the Temple of Artemis and the Isabey Mosque. The Basilica of St John was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apostle. It was modeled after the now lost Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

The Temple of Artemis, also popularly known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was located in Ephesus and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction either during or after the third century AD. Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain. The first sanctuary predated the Ionic migration and dates to the Bronze Age. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed it to the Amazons. In the 7th century BC, the old temple was destroyed by a flood. Its reconstruction began around 550BC, under the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes, at the expense of Croesus of Lydia: the project took 10 years to complete, only to be destroyed in an act of arson by Herostratus. The 14th century ?sabey Mosque is one of the oldest and most impressive remaining examples of Anatolian beylik architecture. The mosque is situated in the Ayaslu? Hills at Selçuk.

Meeting/pick-up point: Port pick-up and drop-off.
Start/opening time: About 9am.
Duration: Four hours.
Languages: English, German and French.