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EPHESUS


Celsus Lıbrary, Ephesus

A complete ancient city in intact form as if the life is still going on today.  A one prosperous capital of the Roman province in Asia Minor is proud to posses the Artemis Temple, to welcome St.Paul. St. John accompanied Virgin Mary on her voyage to Ephesus where both spent the last days of their lives.  Ephesus is one of the Seven Churches of Revelation and housed the Third Ecumenical Council.

Ephesus is one of the ancient world's largest and most important archaeological and religious sites, second only to Pompeii. It is also one of the busiest and takes 2/3 hours to visit and a bottle of water. Most tours will start at the upper entrance so that it is a downhill walk through the site. As you walk in, circling the Upper Agora you will find the restored Odeon, Domitian Temple, prytaneum and Varius baths. Then along Curetes Street there are the public latrines, Trajan's Fountain and the Temple of Hadrian, behind which are the Scholastica Baths. At the end of Curetes Street are the Terraced houses and the impressive frontage of the library of Celsus and the Serapis Temple. On Marble Street you will find the lower agora and the extensively restored Great Amphi-theatre, where St Paul was arrested. Just before the exit to the right are the Harbour Baths and Gymnasian, approached along the Arcadian Way. From the path here you can get a good photo of the huge Amphi-Theatre before you leave the site.

In nearby Selcuk, you can visit Ayasoluk hill and the Basilica of St. John, where the Apostle is buried, and the Archaelogical Museum that features lots of items found at Ephesus. On the road to Ephesus are the scanty remains of the Artemision (Temple of Artemis), considered in its time to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. South of Ephesus is Meryemana, the site of the supposed House of the Virgin Mary. Although most believe that Mary was buried in Jerusalem, some Christians believe that she travelled with St John and spent her last years here. The house, now a chapel, probably dates from the Byzantine era.

According to legend, Ephesus was founded by Androclus and the Ionians settled here during the 11th century BC, building monuments dedicated to Artemis, goddess of chastity, the moon and hunting. Because it was not fortified, it passed between Greek and Persians until Alexander the Great arrived. During the Roman imperial era the fine public buildings were added and it was called the capital of Asia. Boasting a mixed population, Christian preachers including St. Paul and St. John visited the area, establishing the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse. St. John addresses this city in his Book of Revelation, after preaching in the Theatre of Ephesus and St Paul lived here from 51 to 53 AD until he was expelled for causing controversy with the silversmiths. Silting up of the harbour here resulted in a population drift to the nearby town of Selcuk.



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Opinions of some of our guests from our services:
I wanted to drop you a fast note to thank you for the two days of touring that you arranged for us in Istanbul and Ephesus on October 15 and 18. We returned last night from our three week journey, and I am just now able to write to you.

 

Pat Atherton

Insignia

Oceania Cruises

 

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We are now back from our trip, and I wanted to let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed the tours that you arranged for us in both Istanbul and Kusadasi. I will gladly recommend your services, and we wish to thank the very knowledgeable and professional guides you arranged us.

 

Martin King

Royal Princess

Princess Cruise Line 

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Just a wonderful reminder of the wonderful time we had with you. It was delightful meeting you and the dinner was like none other we have ever had. You were so gracious and we certainly appreciated all you did to make our trip to Turkey so terrific. 

 

Jolton Family

Wind Spirit

Wind Star Cruise Line 

 

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Tour was great. The driver, Oughz (spelling ??) (name is in our cabin) was great. We had very nice talk on the way. Willl definitely recommend your service when we get back and on the internet. Thank you very much for arragning this tour

 

Stan Vermeers 

Nautica

Oceania Cruise Line

 

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We will highly recommend your services. Our tour guide was excellent and very knowledgable. Thanks for the superior service.   

 

Melissa Kimble 

Insignia

Oceania Cruise Line

 

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We were all pleased with our tour of Ephesus and Kusadasi. Ayshayn (spelling?) did a marvelous job. She was very knowledgeable and articulate, with a wonderful command of the English language. We would all be very happy to recommend your company to 

 

Jennifer Cleeton 

Seabourn Spirit

Seabourn Cruise Line

 

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We were most pleased with the services of your tour company. Both Oz and Erol were true professionals who knew exactly what to take us to see and what to tell us about. They were both delightful.

 

Joanne and Alan Feldman 

Seven Seas Voyager

Radisson Seven Seas Cruise Line

 

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We all thoroughly enjoyed our trip and think that Hankan (or similar - Im very bad at remembering names!) was the best guide we have had. He was very, very informative and took great care to ensure we kept out of the hot sun as much as possible.

 

Julie Dofort 

Wind Spirit

Wind Star Cruises

 

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Thank you for your wonderful service. Your guide was very professional and knowledgable, and we had an amazing time touring Ancient Ephesus with him! Wed definitely recommend him to anyone we know who will be travelling to Turkey.

 

Rudy Gonzalez 

Wind Star

Wind Star Cruise Line

 

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I was very pleased with the tour. Thank you for all your help. I will be sending notes to Cruise Critic.com recommending your services. 

 

Melinda Steffey. 

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

 

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We just returned from our cruise this morning. I plan to post cruise reviews on several boards and will say that our tour of Ephesus with Mr. Oz ( I apologize for the bad spelling) was the very best excursion of our entire trip.

 

Ashley Richardson

Emerald Princess

Princess Cruise Line

 

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I wanted to take this opportunity to express my deep satisfaction. We just returned from an East Mediterrean cruise on Legend of the Seas. You arranged for our private tours in Ephesus. The guide we had on the trip was very knowledgable, personable and very accomodating to our needs. Your prices beat the cruise ship everytime and we had our own private van for four which was such a treat. We were able to stay as long as we wanted at each site and walked at our own pace. We never felt rushed!!

I have recommended you to all my friends and travel agent. We plan to return someday to your spectacular country on a land tour so we can concentrate on Turkey which has so very much to offer its visitors. We will definitely be contacting you for our future plans. I wish you continued success in your endeavors. Keep up the great work!!

Wilf Rothstein

Legend of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

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Greetings. Just to say thank you very much for organising our tour. We had a wonderful time in your beautiful country and would just like to say that our guide and driver were superb, courteous, very reliable and exceedingly helpful for our mission – filming at relevant places in Ephesus. I would highly recommend you to anybody. So many thanks again. 

David Wilde

Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

May 2007

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Just wanted to thank you and your professional guide for a wonderful tour….We will continue to refer your services and try other guides in different regions. Professional, knowledgeable, courteous and efficient

Larry Goldberg

Galaxy 

Celebrity Cruises

Sept. 2007

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I wanted to let you know what a great tour we had to Ephesus. Our tour guide was fantastic and he brought everything to life! I can't remember his name but it started with a S.

Elizabeth Desmond

Cristal

Louise Cruise Line

August 2007

 

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We just got back Friday needing some sleep after the conclusion of our cruise. I'd like to express my sincere thanks to you and your excellent and knowledgeable guides for giving us an interesting experience of Turkey. Both were wonderful and real prefessionals and gave us a well-conducted tour. Although we did not really explore Kusadasi and Istanbul especially, more extensively, because of time constraints my group was satisfied and has a new knowledge about your wonderful country.

Anthea Roberts

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

August 2006

 

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I just wanted to let you know that our guide was a great. She was so informative and made Ephesus come alive for us. I would recommed your service to anyone who asked. 

Robert Davis 

Emerald Princess

Princess Cruise Line

August 2007

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We want to thank you so much for the wonderful tour that you took us on

to see Ephesus, the Terrace Houses and the House of the Virgin Mary. We

really were overwhelmed with all the beauty there, and we learned so

much history from you. We can't stop talking about it to everyone here,

and now we have the photos to enjoy too. We did see the skull

and arm of St. John in the Topkapi Palace. Istanbul is such a beautiful

place also, with so much to see.

 

Linda Crow

Norwegian Jewel

Norwegian Cruise Line

July 2007

 

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Just got back from our trip, thank you so much for terrific guides, and great times in turkey, will recommend you to everyone who is going to your corner of the world.

Linda Crow

Carnival Freedom

Carnival Cruise Line

Sept. 2007

 

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Just wanted to let you know that Sam (nickname) did an EXCELLENT JOB of being our guide. He was able to answer all of our questions, and it was obvious that he was very knowledgeable about the sites we were visiting. We had a fantastic tour with him and it was 20 times better than the cruise shore excursion would have been. All of the reviews we read on your website definitely held true. We would definitely recommend you to any of our friends visiting Turkey.

John Rochelle

Seabourn Spirit

Seabourn Cruise Line

June 2005

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We just came back from our trip and thanks to you we had a wonderful time in Istanbul and Ephesus. Your guides were great and just as you said, spoke English beautifully and were super informative. I appreciate your handling our tour and making our trip more enjoyable. Thanks again.

Claire Reynolds

Seven Seas Navigator

Regent Cruise Line

June 2006

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We wanted to send you a follow-up e-mail to let you know how pleased we were with the tour of Ephesus we had with your guide. Everything about the tour was just perfect. Sam was so nice and helpful. He loves his country and made us feel the same way. He was very flexible in his schedule to allow us plenty of time to do and see all of the things in which we were interested. We were so happy that we chose you and we will recommend it to others. We were very impressed with the beautiful van designed especially for touring. 

Jonathan Borrows

Millenium

Celebrity Cruise Line

Oct. 2007

 

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I am writing on behalf of our group to tell you how much we enjoyed our visit to Kusadasi and how wonderful our guide was in seeing that we felt welcomed in your country and made sure we enjoyed ourselves. We were impressed and pleased with the knowledge, the enthusiasm and the helpfulness of our guide. He was outstanding and went out of his way to show us a wonderful time. We cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed our visit there and we will certainly recommend your service to any of our friends who may be considering traveling there. Thank you so much!

 

Don Schaffer

Silver Whisper

Silverseas Cruise Line

June 2006

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I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful time we had in Ephesus. Our guide was very informative and flexible and made the ruins of Ephesus a very special experience.

 

Linda Jackson

Orient Queen

Louise Cruise Line

July 2007

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We were in Istanbul and Kusadasi on the Noordam for the past two weeks and just arrived home last night.I wanted to let  you know how much we enjoyed our tour in Ephesus with you. Our guide was terrific, knowledgeable and informative. We will certainly recommend your firm to any of our friends who travel to your part of the world. 

 

Lee Woodard

Noordam

Holland America Line

May 2006

 

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We would like to thank you for the wonderful tour. Our was very pleasant and

knowledgeable and we enjoyed her company. The driver was right on the ball and very

polite.  Please extend this message to the others in your office as I

will try my best to give your agency an excellent review online. 

 

Teresa Stone

Legend of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

May 2005

 

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We so enjoyed our trip to Ephesus and seeing the Turkish countryside.  Thanks for all the information.  The day was just perfect.  Our visit with you was a highlight of the trip. We are back home in Pheonix with many good memories.

Susan Nixon

Galaxy

Celebrity Cruises

June 2005

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We all enjoyed our day with you in Ephesus.  We were very impressed that you were there at the dock to greet us, Sam is a dedicated guide and an excellent ambassabor for Turkey.  Thank you so much for your speedy responses to us by email as we were making our plans and for making sure that we had a wonderful time in Turkey.  We hope soon to be back to visit other places in Turkey, especially Istanbul, and hope that you will be there to help us when we return.

 

Sandy Cohen

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

Sept. 2007

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We absolutely loved our day in Ephesus.  Our guide, Sam and driver were both very cordial and kind, we loved the countryside and everything we were taken to see.  In fact, of all the stops on our Mediterranean cruise (Rome, Florence, south of France, Naples, Athens, several Greek Islands), Ephesus was our favorite place. What a wonderful surprise Turkey was to us!  I even wandered to the market afterwards (a single woman, alone) and the people at the market were very friendly and nice to me as well, not bothersome as in some other country's markets.  We were very impressed with Turkey and would love to come back.  I would not miss an opportunity to advise others to use your company, Please know that I will take advantage of all chances this Winter and Spring (when people are planning their 2007 cruises) to recommend your company.

 

John Riordan

Rotterdam

Holland America Line

June 2006

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I want to let you know that we greatly enjoyed our excursions in Ephesus and Istanbul.  The guides (and our transfer to the airport) arrived promptly on time, and were most friendly and helpful.  The tours were much more informative, personal, entertaining, and leisurely than those done through our cruise ship.  If our future travels find us in Turkey, we will certainly contact youl for assistance. Also, I would like to thank you again for all of your assistance in

arranging the tours, including our last minute request for an airport transfer.

Sharon Alesso 

Princendam

Holland America Line

July 2006

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I wanted to write a thank you for the wonderful tour you gave us to Ephesus on September 27.  Julia was our guide and she was fantastic, so knowledgeable and such a great sense of humor.  She was a delight!   I have already given her name and your company name to two people who will be in Kusidasi in October of this year. Your company is first class and I hope we can use your services again.  We definitely want to return to Turkey and Greece.  Thanks you so much,

Carol Steinberg

Prinsendam

Holland America Line

Sept. 2006

 

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We just returned last night safely and wanted to write and express our gratitude.  All ten of us were impressed by the knowledge and professionalism of your guide.  We enjoyed ourselves and learned a great deal and appreciated your efforts.  Thank you to all your staff.  When we come back, together or individually, we will certainly call you first.  Thanks again.

Susan Shapiro

Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Nov. 2007

 

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We truly enjoyed our time with your company and felt we were well informed and had the opportunity to really enjoy the day.  Hope to see you all again soon.  We will certainly recommend your services as we felt you were warm, sincere, honest and professional.

 

Jim Dean

Galaxy

Celebrity Cruise Line

 

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The services rendered by your tour agency were very good and we appreciate the guides assigned, and the drivers.

We will recomend your services to your embassy in our country and to our travel agency. And Istanbul and Ephesus great places, we appreciate your country and your culture,

 

Steven Cohn

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

 

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Wanted to thank you for arranging for our Ephesus tours.  Sam was a great tour guide and very knowledgable.  I will recommend your company to my travel agent as well as anyone I know travelling to Ephesus.  Thank you again!

 

Tom Brooks

Seven Seas Mariner

Regent Cruise Line

 

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I want to thank you very much for taking care of our tours in Istanbul...We had a wonderful time and loved the city.  Our tour guide, Dennis, was fantastic...very accommodating, easy to get along with, and very knowledable...We were able to see everything we had planned...and we are greatful for assuring that everything went smoothly.  Best regards,

Thomas Sigfried

Wind Spirit

Wind Star Cruises

 

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We just returned from our European vacation and wanted to let you, and anyone else who plans to visit Turkery, know how pleased we all were with the two tours we booked with you. We were the first ones off the boat and were gone while all those who booked with the cruise line were still gathering in the ships lounges. We docked earlier than expected and your guides were already there with their signs to meet us. Through out the day we were always a step ahead of all those big groups who booked their tours with the cruise line so we had extra time at the end of the day. Your guides showed us other sites and we went shopping!  We know, being from the most popular vacation destination in the world ourselves, how there is so much to see in the short time allowed for shore excursions. We would let others know that these are unsolicited comments and that we would highly recommend your tours to anyone planning to visit your country.

Alan Sparrow

Wind Star

Wind Star Cruise Line

 

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Just a note to let you know that we had a fabulous time in Ephesus.  Our entire group enjoyed the tour and Dennis was a great guide.  He was flexible, accomodating and did everything he could do to make our day in Turkey a terrific experience.  Thank you again for your great tour and making our visit so enjoyable.  We can't wait to come back.

Stacy Chen

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

 

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Just to give you a quick report that we had such a wonderful time

with Sam in Ephesus. He was so professional, on-time, courteous.

We would  cetainly recommend you to other passengers and friends for future trips.

Thankyou again for making our trip in Kusadasi so enjoyable.

 

Michael Ho

Seabourn Spirit

Seabourn Cruise Line

 

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Thank you so much for arranging the wonderful time we spent in Kusadasi on our recent cruise. Dennis was great, so informative and lovely to talk to, he made the tour a day to remember. I will recommend you to my friends and if we are lucky enough to plan another trip which includes a visit to Turkey we will most definately be in contact with you.

Sharon Leung

Milenium

Celebrity Cruises

 

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I wanted to thank you for making our trip so wonderful.  We couldn't have been happier. 

We received excellent treatment that far surpassed the cruise ship tours.  I only wish we were able to use your tour company for ALL the excursions.  I am highly recommending you to my travel agent here in the USA.

Paul Simpson

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

 

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Just wanted to thank you for the great service you provided on our trip to Kusadasi. Your service far surpassed our expectations. We would highly recommend your services to everyone.

 

Jean Russell

Emerald Princess

Princess Cruise Line

 

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Just wanted to write and tell you how much we enjoyed our tour of Ephesus.  Our guide was a great and gave us so much interesting information. We will highly recommend your company to future cruisers!  Thank you for helping make our visit to Ephesus a completely memorable trip. 

 

Jonathan Sears

Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

 

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Both my family and I were truly impressed by both of these wonderful, gracious and knowledgeable guides. The experience of sharing both your country and their knowledge was far more than we had expected. On at least 8 occasions since our return to Canada we have raved about their abilities as well as their hospitality. In addition, at least 4 people have already asked for your web site info as well as your direct e-mail address. Simply put, we could not have been treated better. The drivers were courteous and efficient, the AC vehicles were spotless and comfortable and the guides were, as Omar would put it, truly "world class". On any return to your country, you would be the first people we would turn to for guidance and assistance in putting together a Turkish Experience.The experiences with them were the absolute highlights of our 7 day journey to the Eastern Med.

 

Jim Duncan

Noordam

Holland America Line

 

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It's been two months since you arranged our day tour in Kusadasi.  I've been wanting to write you to tell you how much we enjoyed our short stay there.  It was so nice to meet you there at the dock.  We could immediately tell we were well taken care of.  The van was nice and very roomy and our guide.  Our guide was so friendly and knowledgeable. His love of Turkey was very apparent and very infectious.  If you have an email address for him I'd appreciate it.  We were all so impressed with your beautiful country and would like to return again someday soon.  If we do we will definitely call you to make the arrangements.  We have friends who travel quite a bit.  

 

Sam Edmonds

Orient Queen

Louise Cruise Line 

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I just wanted to thank you for making our Turkey trip so marvelous--everything you planned went beautifully.  We both fell in love with your country, and if I ever return, I will definitely contact you immediately.

 

Alex Chambers

Cristal

Louise Cruise Line

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We just returned from our tour and wanted to waste no time in telling you how wonderful it was.  The guide and driver were first rate.  Our tour went smoothly, we were able to see all the sites we planned and more.  Thank you for all of your help. 

 

Dennis Woods

Star Princess

Princess Cruise Line

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We would like to thank your agency,  for the very prompt response to our inquiry.  We had a wonderful tour in Ephesus on April 9 with Sam. He was very professional and knowledgeable, and very

responsive to our needs. We received service, that we honestly did not expect to

get and we will use and recommend your agency in the future.

 

Adam Nichols

Carnival Freedom

Carnival Cruise Line

 

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About 3 weeks ago, my husband, Dave, and I had a wonderful fullday tour including lunch. We were on Oceania Cruise and your tour exceeded our best expectations.  We have dear friends who live in Alabama and will be arriving in Kusadasi on the Seven Seas Voyager, Regent lines, on October 9th, arriving in port at 8AM.  They would like to have a wonderful day in Ephesus, as we experienced it, including a tour of Ephesus, Virgin Mary's House, and the Basilica of St. John.

Lee Adams

Nautica

Oceania Cruise Line

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On behalf of my family:I would like to extend my appreciation.. From the time we arrived in Kusadasi until we left we were treated very well. .Our guide was very knowledge of the area and shared so many good stories with us. We will never forget his kindness to us! It is indeed rare to go on tours who have such in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of the region.

Bruce Shields

Nautica

Oceania Cruise Line

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Many thanks to you for making our one day in Turkey a truly wonderful experience. Our every need was met with a smile and our expert guide Dennis was so well informed and personable. He has endless knowledge and great a sense of humor. The Mercedes Benz van was an excellent vehicle and very cool and comfortable. Five Stars !!

 

Jack Hood

Siver Whisper

Silverseas Cruise Line