Two-day Ephesus and Pamukkale Tour from Fethiye

The Ephesus tour from Fethiye is an absorbing journey into the past, a full immersion in the Roman era. After walking the ruins of the ancient city you will want to swim and enjoy the natural surroundings. Pamukkale is not far from Fethiye either — so why not take a two-day tour and see both famous places?

The two-day tour price covers:

• transfer from the hotel and back by comfortable coach;
• the services of a Russian-speaking guide;
• the entrance ticket for Ephesus;
• hotel accommodation in Pamukkale;
• meals (2 breakfasts, 1 dinner);
• the entrance ticket for the Pamukkale travertines;
• insurance.

You will spend a lot of time in the sun and on your feet. See to a hat, comfortable shoes and sun protection. At Pamukkale you will need swimwear and a towel. Bring money as well, because bathing in Cleopatra’s Pool, lunches and drinks are paid for separately.

Artefacts in the open air

Early in the morning the transfer collects everyone from their hotels. Two and a half hours later you are on the main road of Ephesus — the road by which people arrived in this city several thousand years ago.

For two hours you walk the paved streets and see the largest ancient amphitheatre in eastern Turkey, where gladiators fought, the famous Library of Celsus and the Temple of Artemis — the one burned down by Herostratus before our era and later rebuilt. Of that magnificent ancient building only one column out of 127 remains.

It is also curious to look at the ruins of the Roman baths and of a brothel built seventeen centuries ago.

Sitting side by side

The ancient public lavatory for men, with fifty seats, raises plenty of smiles. Stone podiums with openings run along the walls. The absence of partitions let the men of antiquity sit in their places and hold polite conversation at the same time. Before they did, servants sat on the stone seats to warm them. A fountain once played in the middle of the building.

You then have lunch at a local restaurant (a buffet of Turkish dishes) and set off for the House of the Virgin Mary. On the local Wishing Wall you can leave a note to the Mother of God with a request of your own — in this place of prayer, they say, every wish comes true.

In the evening you move on to Pamukkale and check in to your hotel, where a thermal-water jacuzzi makes a pleasant end to the first day.

The cotton castle

That is what the Turkish name Pamukkale means. This natural site, part of the UNESCO World Heritage, has long been a centre of mass tourism. After breakfast you have three hours to see the snow-white travertines in all their glory — frozen cascades of limestone waterfalls — and to bathe in the mineral thermal springs. You will walk the ruins of ancient Hierapolis and see Cleopatra’s Pool, where bathing is said to strengthen health and prolong youth. After lunch the coach takes you back to Fethiye.

Covering more than 700 km on this tour, you will see historic places and unearthly scenery, do your body and spirit good, and come away with knowledge and impressions that stay with you. Do not miss the chance.