We love Kuşadası
Port of Call Kuşadası, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, derives its name from the small, bird-head-shaped Pigeon Island in its harbor. It literally means “Bird Island” and as a destination, it was new to both of us. A true jewel to discover and we both fell in love with the city, its people and history.
Settled as early as 3000 BC by Lelegians and Carians, it was later known as Ephesus Neopolis (Byzantine era) and Scala Nova (Genoese/Venetian period) before becoming a major Ottoman, then modern Turkish, coastal city. In ancient and earlier times the town was known as Ephesus Neopolis during the Byzantine era, and later as Scala Nova or Scala Nuova under the Genoese and Venetian merchant rulers.
Kuşadası is mostly famous for its beautiful beaches, vibrant holiday atmosphere, shopping and easy access to world-class historical Roman, Minoan and Greek sites. Its combination of natural beauty, cultural landmarks, shopping opportunities, seaside dining, and family attractions makes it one of the Aegean coast’s most versatile destinations. At the time we arrived, the Russia-Ukranian war was several weeks old and Kuşadası was feeling its effects. One jewelry shop owner told us that normally at this time of year, many Muscovites would spend their winters here, but now neither Russians nor Ukrainians were arriving and business was way down.
The ancient city of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, and the Dilek Peninsula National Park are important spots of Kuşadası. The population of Kuşadası, which is around 100 thousand during the winter months, exceeds 2 million with the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists in the summer months.
The tour at the top of the things to do in Kuşadası, and offered by the cruise ship is the Ancient City of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis Tour. It’s pricey, like $200/$300 per person, which is why we, with a limited retirement budget, try to find alternative tours, but it’s well worth the money. It includes a professional guide and a lunch break. You will first visit the Virgin Mary’s House. After the resurrection of Jesus, Mary, who had to flee from the dominant tradition, was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John. It is said that she lived her years of rest in this house located near Ephesus. The next stop will be a visit to the Ancient City of Ephesus. This fascinating historic city is on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List. During the walking tour you will be hard pressed not to admire the extraordinary archaeological remains of the city. Buildings such as the Odeon, The Fountain of Trajan, the Steam baths of Scholastic, the Temple of Hadrian and the magnificent Ephesus Library, have become symbols of the Wonders of Ephesus. The library welcomes its visitors almost completely preserved. Then the tour will take you to The Grand Theatre, where St. Paul preached in time. This 24,000-seat theater has the distinction of being the largest theater of antiquity and hosted the Gladiator Wars during the Romans period. After lunch, the tour will continue with the Temple of Artemis. Also known as the Temple of Diana, the temple was dedicated to the Greek Goddess Artemis. Considered as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple was also accepted as the largest temple. Then after the lunch break, you will be exposed to the Temple of Artemis, also known as the Temple of Diana (Romans counterpart to Greece’s Artemis). Considered as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple was also accepted as the largest temple; as well a marketplace for your souvenir shopping.
Our own day turned more inward. We first walked the magnificent waterfront with its numerous statues all the way down to a small open air market center. Then we had a great Turkish lunch at a restaurant on the Waterfront boulevard for maybe $10 FOR THE TWO OF US and then we walked into some shopping streets and conversed with shop-owners and locals. It was nice to hear they had good things to say about their local government and how they actively supported tourism.
Next thing we took a taxi and stopped at the Ladies Beach hidden behind the big bend in the waterfront Road. From there we walked to Pigeon Island along the cay filled with pleasure boats and tourboats for rent. Walking up to the fort entrance was a challenge but we made it and enjoyed it. It’s good to see how well pets like cats and dogs are treated in this part of the world. They don’t go hungry or homeless. City budgets include pet care and the people genuinely care and appreciate their two and four legged pets.
Kuşadası is the third largest port in Turkey and as a cruise ship port I welcomes 400-500 ships per year. The city however deserves a two week destination visit, because of its magnificent beaches, unparalleled shopping, great hotels, splendid nightlife and some of the best spellbinding archeological finds anywhere in the world..
Ephesus, a Unesco-listed World Heritage Site, it’s the best place in the Mediterranean to get a feel for what life was like in ancient times. Ancient Ephesus was a great trading city and a centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess. And it’s located a mere 8 miles from the city.
Priene was once (300 BC) a sophisticated port city with two harbors. But all that went pear-shaped when the changing course of the Büyük Menderes River silted them both up. Today it’s very peaceful, its elevated position giving stunning vistas across patchwork fields.
Büyük Menderes National Park is a spectacular 277-sq-km mountainous reserve on the Dilek Peninsula has walking trails, stunning vistas, azure coves for swimming, and deep-green forests inhabited by wild boar and fallow deer and more than 250 species of bird, including cormorants, ospreys and flamingos. It encompasses an important wetland zone and a lovely old Greek village. The national park is easily accessible from Kuşadası, just 15 miles away.
Other magnificent historical attractions you have to visit when you’re there are the famous terraced Roman houses, built over a graveyard; the 1034m-long Evpalinos drinking water Tunnel constructed in 534 BC; the Kamal Atatürk Monument overlooking the harbor.
One day Port of Call was simply not enough for us, so in order to keep with the idea of rest and recreation we just visited the city with all its attractions, spoke with local shopkeepers and taxi drivers and had a great local lunch before heading back to the “boat”. Maybe one day soon we’ll return and check out the rest of the attractions. It’s definitely budget friendly.
