Published on Nov, 2024
A trip to the ancient city of Ephesus is the main attraction of a visit to Kusadasi. What Ephesus Port Tours provided was exactly how it was described on Trip Advisor. When I booked this tour, I was not sure of just what to expect as to a “private tour,” but indeed it was private for just Barbara and me. The vehicle was like a small limo, so that the guide sat in the back with us and facing us to talk, while a very courteous driver drove us to the many locations. Having a separate guide and driver was fabulous.
Our scheduled start time was noon, based upon our ship arrival time. It was easy to find the check-in spot, and the tour began right away. There was no waiting around, no wasted time. We were introduced to the guide, Banu, and off we went. On the way to Ephesus Banu explained that she would take us to the sites we wanted to go to, and outlined the possibilities. Ephesus was of course first on the list, and beyond that, we sought her advice, and we made selections along the way. [Mary’s House was one of the popular choices, but we decided to pass on that.] Being able to discuss with Banu while the driver was driving, made the tour extremely efficient – no standing around like you may experience on many group tours.
Banu was very personable, easy to understand, and very fluent and enthusiastic about the touring. As we toured Ephesus, she explained what we were seeing, not just talking about the history (which we could read by ourselves in a book at home). Explained in an understandable manner, at a good pace - not hurried, but not plodding.
We then stopped at a place that sold Turkish rugs, and that featured showing us some of the steps in the weaving of the rugs – women weaving them on a large loom, the process of making the silk fabric from strands from silk worms, and coloring the resulting silk fabric. [This is a destination I understand most guides will take tourists to. Very fascinating - but we didn’t buy any!]
Next we stopped at a similar place that sold Turkish pottery, and that featured showing us some of the steps in making the pottery – fashioning the vase on a wheel, while another was being painted with a delicate design. We then wandered through the store to view the beautiful products. Very fascinating - but we felt a little bad not buying any!
We then made two other brief stops, and it was time to return to our ship.
We departed feeling Banu was a good friend. We highly recommend this tour, and if you book it, see if you can request Banu as your guide.
