Best thing about cruising, sleep late, eat a large breakfast before going on the tour. The cruise ship docked at Kusadasi. There is no easy public transportation to get to Ephesus. So I joined a guided tour. First stop is the legendary house of Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus.  

The House of Virgin Mary 
After getting off the bus, we were led through a path up a hillside to the last home of St. Mary. Outside the front there was a sign that told the story of how the house was found. There was also a statue of St. Mary before you reached the house. It is a small stone house. The house consists of a small living area, a hearth and a small bedroom. The extremely long line of tourists threaded through the house so we were quickly moved through and out the other side of the house. Outside the house there were some glass covered stands for candle offerings. Along a wall outside the house pilgrims placed wishing notes on white ribbons on the wall. We were lucky to have arrived early. By the time we exited the house the line of tourists was stretching out a long long way down the path back to the entrance.

Ephesus
Ephesus must have once been a vibrant town back in ancient times. 

Odeion - After passing through some scattered ruins, we reached a small theater Odeion.

Temple of Domitian - One prominent feature was a double columns topped with two statues.

Prytaneion - Beautiful carving of the Winged Nike Goddess of Victory. 

Curetes Street - A main road lined with columns. 

Trajan Fountain - Sculpted columns was reconstructed to show what it might have looked like but much smaller with shorter column sections. 

The floor was tiled in very intricate mosaic patterns as colorful as a carpet. The patterns were quite varied. It almost seemed like the artists were trying to showcase a variety of patterns. 

Temple of Hadrian - four columns with Corinthian capitals supports a triangular pediment. Above the two columns in the middle, there is an arch which curves down from the pediment, and the bust of Tyche, the goddess of the city, which adorns the center of the arch. On the second semi-circular frontal over the door, the figure of a maiden resembling Medusa is depicted among flowers and acanthus leaves.

Latriana - public toilets of Ephesus.

Ephesus Library of Celsus- the façade is two stories high decorated elaborate carvings. The columns are arranged in pairs and between them there are three doors with richly decorated frames. There were four statues in the alcoves. The back of the facade was reenforced with reconstructed stones. There were inscriptions on two large plaques about the site.

Ephesus Theatre - The theatre was consisted of three main sections, the stage building, the orchestra and the auditorium. This was supposed to be where St. Paul or St. John had preached. This theater was rather big and was built along a hillside. The lower tiers were reconstructed. We walked down to the center, around the benches and looked through some passageways. But the upper tiers were fenced off. It could be seen that the loose stones in the fenced off area were rather crumbled up. The center area was flat and was already repaved with new stone flags. Many columns remained at the stage building section. 

Harbour Street - There was another column lined path out the other side of the amphitheater. Off the side of the path there were some sarcophagus laid out in a roped off area. This looked like a burial ground. 

Basilica of St. John
This church was built over St. John’s burial ground. There is an large gateway under what looks quite like fortress walls. Inside the most we saw were columns, archways and sections of the walls. There was a sign that outlined the layout of the church. Near the center we found the tomb of St. John marked by four columns and a stone plague. Some of the columns were carved with a spiral pattern and topped with an inscription of a sign that seems to be combination of letters and symbols. From here looking up a hill I could see a fortress in a distance. I don't know what that was and our tour did not go there.   

After a bus ride back we stopped at the port Kusadasi and walked back to the cruise ship.

Read more about Ephesus here.  http://www.kusadasi.biz/