We left Pamukkale around midday after a morning exploring Hierapolis and began our drive west to the Aegean port town of Kuşadasi. If you missed the details of our previous stop, check out my page “Road Trip to Pamukkale and Hierapolis”.
The drive from Pamukkale to Kuşadasi is another 3-hour journey, mainly on highways of various sizes. Not quite the same picturesque journey that we enjoyed during our drive up from the Mediterranean coast several days prior, this drive was a bit more cumbersome due to the constantly-changing speed limits. Finally, though, after spending an unanticipated hour with non-English speaking, Turkish traffic officers who wrote us a speeding violation, we arrived in Kuşadasi.
Villa Ephesus, the perfect Aegean boutique hotel
At first we struggled to find a place that excited us for our two night stay in Kuşadasi. But then we came across Villa Ephesus. Inspired by the ornate terrace houses of Ephesus and located steps away from markets, restaurants, and the cruise port in the center of Kuşadasi, this boutique hotel left a lasting impression as one of our favortie hotels we’ve ever found. The first detail, and truly the only negative that we encountered during our stay, is that Villa Ephesus is quite difficult to reach by private vehicle due to the narrow, confusing streets one must meander in order to get there. It is not impossible, though, so don’t let this deter you completely. I’d just recommend contacting the staff ahead of time in order to arrange a parking and meeting spot.
Upon entering the hotel, you’ll quickly discover that the Villa is actually a combination of multiple old, private dwellings restored and combined to produce one hotel with 16 different but equally charming rooms. This means plenty of stairs and a maze of alleyways between rooms, but the staff did a stellar job of touring us around and helping us settle in. We booked the Zeus room, a premium room with king bed, marble bath, balcony, and, most importantly, a great sea view. Knowing that we were celebrating a wedding anniversary, hotel staff Melek and Hussein made our time here unforgettable with details such as decorating our bed with fresh flower petals and framed pictures of us and a complimentary bottle of house-made wine. Our private balcony overlooked the beautiful mosaiced swimming pool and fountain, but the most spectacular view was obtained from the hotel’s statue- and column-lined rooftop terrace. In true Turkish style, breakfast was also quite special each morning and served in a lovely breakfast room. I cannot recommend this hotel enough, as it is certainly the only of its kind in Kuşadasi.
After checking in to the hotel, we spent some time exploring the city of Kuşadasi. The proximity of our hotel to the bustling streets of Kuşadasi could not have been better. We enjoyed some freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice and learned our way around the city. Most of the shops in the bazaar area sold various knock off versions of brand-name goods. The shop owners liked to heckle a bit, but they weren’t too pushy as we walked right by. We stopped in very few shops because not many seemed to offer anything unique. After purchasing some pomegranate wine that caught our eye, we returned to the hotel to enjoy it on the balcony with our stellar view. A battle ensued with the cork, however, due to a cheap wine bottle-opener. Despite ultimately winning the battle, the wine was pretty terrible, so we just relaxed a bit until it was time for dinner.
After some time to rest up, we took in the stunning Aegean sunset from the rooftop of the hotel. During the time since our afternoon exploration, a cruise ship had come to port which made Kuşadasi feel busier than it had earlier in the day. We took the recommendation of our hotel owners and went to Kazim Usta for dinner which we thoroughly enjoyed. The staff members were so friendly and fun, making for a very memorable first night in Kuşadasi. The seafood was great as well, and we tried many things on the menu.
A Tour of Ephesus and a Turkish Winery
In addition to its beauty, the main draw to visiting the Aegean coast of Turkey is the ancient city of Ephesus. Although we had a car with us, we chose to hire a guide for Ephesus because we wanted to know more about the ruins we were walking through and gain a true understanding of the importance of this historical place. We booked a Private Shore Excursion: Epehesus and Lunch at Seven Sages Winery as a way to combine the trip to Ephesus with a chance to see another something unique to the region.
Our amazing guide, Betul, met us at our hotel and led us to our private Mercedes van that drove us to Ephesus. I must say, we usually do not book private tours due to high prices and the enjoyment we get out of meeting other tourists on group tours. In Turkey, though, private tours are quite affordable, and each and every guide we worked with during our trip was such a pleasure to meet and spend time with. Betul was our favorite of these; we instantly clicked with her after our meeting. We enjoyed her bubbly personality and wealth of information that she shared throughout the day, always reminding us to stop her if we were bored with her stories (which we never did since they were all great!).
The 30-minute drive to Ephesus dropped us at the entrance by about 10:00 AM. This UNESCO World Heritage Site and ancient powerhouse city was most famous during its peak in history for the Temple of Artemis, named one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today, this temple has been dismembered down to a single pillar and some scattered ruins and is no where near the most impressive or well-preserved ruins in the city. Instead, the greatest spectacle, the Library of Celsus, will leave you speechless with its intricate carvings that are nearly 2,000 years old.
What completely captivated us about Ephesus was the size and sophistication of the city. As Betul described, the city prospered throughout the ages and was quite organized and modern compared to other ancient cities. Still very much an active archaeological site, more and more of Ephesus is being uncovered and demonstrating precisely how important this city once was. It is impossible to visit here and not feel a connection to the ancient past. When walking down the original market streets from centuries ago and looking at clear remnants of shops, homes, and even a public latrine, the hustle and bustle of this gem of antiquity is pervasive.
We loved our morning at Ephesus and how much it was enhanced by the knowledge of our guide, Betul. Below are many pictures of the ruins at Ephesus, some of which I can recall better than others. Still, the most impressive part of Ephesus is not each individual building or ruin but how they combine to give an experience of time travel back to the ancient Roman world.
After leaving Ephesus and on our way to lunch, our tour worked in a stop at a school where women are trained in the art of Turkish rug making. This was not an advertised stop on our tour, but we enjoyed seeing the facility. Emily got to try her hand at rug weaving, and we got to see how silk is spun into thread. After witnessing the steps in the rug-making process, we were escorted inside where a very savvy salesman worked to sell us a Turkish rug. Luckily for us, it was a priority of ours to buy a small rug on this trip, but unluckily for him, we weren’t in the market to spend several thousand dollars. After we made our intentions known, the chummy gentleman who had just recently spoiled us with delicious Turkish coffee because quite a bite more sullen. Of no consequence to us, we settled on a lovely, doormat-sized rug that we plan to use as wall art.
We continued on to Seven Sages Winery for lunch and a wine tasting. The grounds of this winery were beautiful, as it was set in a remote location among rolling vineyards and grassy hills in the distance. It was getting quite warm outside, so we sat inside the restaurant which was also very nicely decorated. We’ve been on plenty of tours that included lunch; thus, we were expecting a decent but mediocre meal served to keep us from going hungry but not to impress. But this lunch was one of the best meals we enjoyed in all of Turkey. We each got to choose a starter, main, and dessert plus a pairing of either red, white, or mixed wines. The food was all impressively prepared and delicious, and the desserts were equally enjoyable. We are not wine aficionados, but we certainly enjoyed drinking each glass, as well. Most memorable, though, was our lovely lunch conversation with our new friend, Betul, who shared with us everything from social and political opinions in Turkey to recommendations for the remainder of our trip. This meal at the winery was a perfect end to the daytime excursion.
Pigeon Island and Sunset Dinner
After being dropped off back in Kuşadasi, we took took a little breather before getting back out to explore Pigeon Island. The island is connected to the mainland by a manmade walkway and houses a castle from the Ottoman times. There’s nothing spectacular to see on Pigeon Island, but it was a nice way to pass some time before dinner. We also around through Kuşadasi’s cruise port and down to a second port area and enjoyed some street performers along the way. The city was decorated for Youth and Sports Day, a commemoration of the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence celebrated on May 19th each year.
We chose to eat at Ali Baba on the pier by the Aegean Sea. The restaurant staff swooned us by offering a table by the water, and the fresh fish and lobster displayed on ice certainly helped as well. We were joined for most of our meal by a friendly feline who stayed with us through a gorgeous sunset.
The next morning was our last in Kuşadasi, and we started the day with another lovely breakfast at Villa Ephesus. We then spent several hours by the hotel’s pool relaxing before walking down to the waterfront to get a kebab. We packed up the car and, after quite the struggle to get the vehicle out of Kuşadasi’s old town, we drove about an hour to Izmir to catch a flight to our next destination in Turkey, Cappadocia.
