Welcome to Turkey and the Ephesus region. You arrive in the morning and will begin your tour today, starting with a tour of the Ancient city of Ephesus and some of the highlights of the region.

The Ancient city of Ephesus is one of the best-preserved ruins of a metropolis, during the height of its power, there were over 200,000 people living in the city around 3000 years ago. The main street offers a look at the ruins of the ancient businesses and homes, including; Public Latrines, Homes, with gates showing the ways the street heads to different parts of the city. Outside the city centre, you will find gymnasiums and 25,000 seat theatre.

During the Greek era, they built many opulent and grand temples to the Gods and Goddesses, however few rivals the Temple of Artemis. One of the Seven Ancient Wonders, the temple was described by an ancient Greek poet to put the other monuments, including the statue of Zeus, to shame saying only Olympos the home of the gods surpasses its grandness. Today the ruins do not show the true beauty that was once the temple, however, the foundations and pillars that remain give an idea of how imposing the building would have been original.

From ancient religion to one that has lasted the test of time, you will head to a humble home hidden in the hills. This home may not seem much when you first arrive, giving an air of simple times have had enough but not too much, this home belonged to the Virgin Mary. As you look around the house there is not a lot of excessivenesses; a food and eating room, a living and sleeping room, and an altar for prayer to good with images of Jesus. The one extravagance for the time is a personal well just outside the building.

IsaBey Mosque is an ancient place of worship that was designed for the leader of this region of the Aydinid Dynasty. This mosque was built with the leader Isa Bey in mind, with two entrances to the East and West both with fountains to allow for pre-prayer washing to be undertaken. Originally there were two minarets where the call to prayer would have been sung, however, one has been totally destroyed and the other has the top section missing. Inside the open hall, the tall ceilings and large windows offer plenty of light to walk around this ancient place of worship.

Tonight, you will spend the night in Selcuk or Kusadasi

Today you will be heading to the beautiful sights of Pamukkale and visit the Ancient Hierapolis City.

You will start with a journey through the stunning and varied when you arrive in Pamukkale a buffet lunch will be served to allow time to relax and enjoy your first look at the region.

Following lunch, you will begin with time at the Pamukkale white stepped pools. These warm pools offer a spectacular place to take in the view while relaxing. The mineral-rich waters have created the white rock formations that look like fluffy cotton, which gave them the name Cotton Castle or Pamukkale in Turkish. As the water has flowed down over the generations it has created a natural set of stepped pools with natural waterfalls for the water to continue is the task of creating more of these travertine rock formations.

After your time in the natural pools, you will head to the ancient city of Hierapolis. This ruined city was home to the normal arts and sports that were being explored during the period, however, this centre was also popular thanks to the waters of Pamukkale. The mineral water was thought to have healing powers, due to this many come here with illnesses that had no cure, this misconception led to many dying here rather than their hometowns. A large necropolis was created by laying people to rest here. The town also had many bathhouses that used the water from Pamukkale, due to the reputation they were opulent with some still being able to be entered today.

While exploring you will find a wonderful Roman Theatre while parts of the build are destroyed much of the seats and stage are still intact and visible. Two different types of the temple can be found in the city, the temple of Apollo is a classic temple although only the foundations are left now. The other place of worship is the Plutonium, this unique place is found next to the temple of Apollo, it is a small cave, only large enough for one person to enter, with stairs leading down to an underground opening. Inside this opening is a chamber with poisonous gas. This gas was thought to be sent up from the underworld and those who managed to survive were thought to be divinely protected.

After your tour, you will be taken to Denizli bus station or airport. If you have any more questions or queries about further travel in Turkey feel free to ask.