The Cruise Ending: Ephesus, Türkiye & Return to Athens: Greek Cruise Part Six

Bryan Johnson
Sep 4, 2024
8 min read

If you're reading this, I just wanted to say thanks for sticking this out! This has been one of our longer blog series since this trip spanned 14 days and over three countries. There was a lot to see and a lot we wanted to remember through these blog posts, so thank you! This is the final part to our Greek Cruise series!

Saturday, August 17: Kusadasi & Ephesus

For the last port call of our cruise, we pulled into Kusadasi, Türkiye (Kush-ah-dah-see) where Katie and I had a tour of Ancient Ephesus.

Kusadasi Cruise Pier

At 8 am we departed the ship where we met up with our tour guide Asim (Ah-seem). We then boarded a bus for a 30-minute ride to the excavation site. Along the way, Asim verbally painted a picture of what Ancient Ephesus would have looked like over 2,000 years ago.

Ephesus Archaeological Site

Ephesus, now over 3 miles inland, was originally a harbor city on the Aegean Sea. It played an important role in trade due to its location on the Silk Road (trade routes between China and the Far East, all the way to Europe) and it's location on the Aegean Sea. During the Classical Roman Period, Ephesus was the capital of Asia Minor (present-day Turkish peninsula). Due to sediment deposits from the Küçük Menderes River, the harbor silted up in the early 7th Century AD, causing the city to decline from its important role as a major commercial center.

For those reading, you probably recognize the name Ephesus from the book of Ephesians in the Bible. According to some historians and theologians, Apostle John and the Virgin Mary traveled to Ephesus following Jesus's Ascension. Some believe that Mary lived out the rest of her life in Ephesus and was even buried there, but this is widely disputed.

As we neared the city, Asim told us that only 11% of the city has been excavated to date and that the current remains are some of the most well-preserved ruins in the world!

Odeon

As we entered the archeological site, Katie and I were immediately blown away at how beautiful these ruins were! We have visited a lot of old rocks during our travels, so that's saying a lot! The marble streets were so clean and well-defined, making it so easy to imagine what the city looked like a few millennia ago!

The Odeon of Ephesus, similar to the Odeon of Athens that we visited during our Acropolis tour, played a dual purpose in the city. Not only was it a theater, but it also served as a site for political gatherings and parliamentary procedures, which were open to the public.

Hercules Gate

The next stop along our tour was the Hercules Gate, two pillars located in the street with reliefs of Hercules on them! You can spot be below pushing those pillars apart!

Further down the street, we were treated to beautiful mosaic tiles in front of what would have been storefronts. Given the level of detail still within the marble columns, arches, and streets, Katie and I could feel like we were walking the streets with Apostle John during the height of the city!

Of course, like Istanbul, Ephesus was littered with stray dogs and cats! Fortunately, these animals seemed well cared for with ample food and water available whenever they needed it!

Rimska Latrina

The next, and one of the more interesting stops of the tour, was the Rimska Latrina, better known as the public toilet. We learned that public bathrooms were gathering places to discuss politics, religion and everyday Ephesian life while conducting their "personal business."

The preserved latrine was the town's men's bathroom, even though some towns opted for a single, shared bathroom for both genders. Wealthy men were even known to send their slaves ahead of them to warm up their stone toilet seat and to save the best spots. I can't imagine how bad this place must have smelled during the heat of the summer!

Library of Celsus

Arguably the most beautiful, and Katie's favorite part of the tour: the Library of Celsus! This beautiful library was built in the second century AD and was home to over 12,000 scrolls during its heyday. This structure was rebuilt using 60% original pieces and was a true show-stopper building facade in Ephesus!

Ephesus Ancient Greek Theatre: Efes Büyük Antik Tiyatro

As we neared the exit, we walked past the Great Theatre of Ephesus, a huge 24,000-seat, open-aired auditorium. This theater is still used to this day for concerts and theater productions; Asim said that he has been to numerous shows at this venue over the years! It's hard to imagine seeing a modern-day musical performance in this ancient structure, but it happens!

Visiting Ancient Ephesus was one of the true highlights of the entire cruise!

Naturel: Turkish Rug Co-Op

Following our tour of Ephesus, we had another Turkish Rug demonstration, similar to the one we had following our mosque tours in Istanbul. Katie and I immediately liked this co-op significantly better than the shop in Istanbul. We learned that this facility hires women from all around Turkey to design and construct their rugs for the co-op to sell. We learned that the women collect a large portion of the profits, which is incredible given the amount of time and energy it takes to make one rug! The co-op benefits as well by having rug designs that are only made in various villages across Turkey.

We started our demonstration by learning how silk is harvested from silkworm cocoons. Next, we saw some of the women from a nearby village demonstrating their craft as one of the co-op owners explained the detailed work! These women are so quick, efficient, and talented!

We were then led into the showroom where they rolled out the red carpet for us (sorry, bad pun). This part of the demonstration was very similar to the one from Istanbul, so I'll save you those details again.

This time around, we were treated to Raki, the Turkish national drink. Raki is a milky white liquor that is 45% ABV and tastes like licorice. It was honestly horrible and difficult for Katie and I to finish the one glass we shared! Fortunately, they did give us some Turkish Apple Tea and a local red wine to wash it down. I guess all those drinks were to entice us into making a purchase!

After the demonstration, Katie and I were interested in pricing out some rugs. (When in Rome, right?) We were helped by a nice Turkish gentleman, whom we found out during the course of our chats, was also an American citizen with a North Carolina driver's license. Who would have guessed that nearly 5,500 miles away from home, Katie and I would be talking to a Turkish man in a rug store who also lived in Pittsboro, NC. The world truly is small!

We knew that area rugs would be out of our budget, so Katie and I were interested in some blue and teal wool runners. After finding out the listed price of the runner we were interested in was €4500 and after much negotiation, the lowest they could go was €2500, we knew we were way out of our depth! When asked what our maximum budget was, I refused to share because I knew it would be disrespectful!

Katie and I walked away giggling like schoolchildren- we either could buy a runner for a hallway or go on another 11-night Mediterranean cruise during peak season! I guess you can tell where our priorities lie!

Grand Bazaar

After making our way back to Kusadasi and parting ways with Asim, Katie and I decided it would be time better spent exploring the town a little bit before returning to the ship. The bus dropped us off directly across from the Grand Bazaar, so we decided to have a quick look around!

Kuşadası Castle: Kuşadası Kalesi

Following our walk around the bazaar, as we were making our way back to the pier, we came across Kuşadası Castle. Katie and I quickly walked around the castle grounds, which are now a public park.

When we returned to the ship, Katie and I enjoyed another round of happy hour and bingo before enjoying a delicious Turkish dinner at the buffet restaurant on the top deck. What an awesome way to end another fantastic cruise!

Sunday, August 18: Back in Athens, Greece

The next day, unfortunately, was time to say our last goodbyes to the Holland America Oosterdam. We made our way to the sit-down restaurant for one last breakfast before waiting for our disembarkation group to be called.

Stow Your Bags

At 9 am we disembarked the ship, grabbed our luggage, and took an Uber from the cruise port to Athens! We found a baggage storage facility in the center part of town, close to where our hotel was when we first arrived in this town almost two weeks ago.

Panathenaic Stadium: Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο

Katie and I agreed that it's best to do all of your self-guided traveling before the cruise because once you disembark, all you want to do is get home! Since we had a full day in Athens, we decided we needed to do something to make the day worth it, and that something was visiting the Panathenaic Stadium.

Constructed in the 4th Century BC, the Panatheneic Stadium was the host site of the original Olympics for the Ancient Greeks. After centuries of use, the stadium was abandoned and fell into ruin during the 4th Century AD. Following the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, the stadium was refurbished and hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

To this day, the stadium has a capacity of over 50,000 people and is the only stadium in the world to be built entirely of marble. During the 2004 Olympics, the stadium hosted the archery events and served as the finish line for the men's and women's marathons.

One of the coolest exhibits within the stadium showcased all of the Olympic torches and posters. Katie and I spent a lot of time here marveling at the cool designs and how the Olympics have evolved in their torch designs! It's kind of crazy, three weeks ago we were attending the 2024 Olympics in Paris and now we are visiting the OG Olympic Stadium in Athens! That's wild!

The James Joyce Irish Pub

Following our tour of the Panathenaic Stadium, we found an Irish pub to relax and enjoy a few drinks. Oh, and soak in the air conditioning. In case you forgot, Greece is HOT in August.

Garden House, Spata

Around 3:30 pm, we jumped on the metro and a bus and made our way to the Athenian suburb of Spata. After the nearly 1:15 journey, we dropped our bags at this small guest house and worked on finding dinner!

Πάμε Πλατεία

While looking on Google Maps, Katie and I discovered there were less than five restaurants in this small town, but there was a highly-rated gyro restaurant! Katie and I enjoyed an authentic chicken and pork gyro; the reason why I say this was authentic is because there were zero tourists in this town and no one at the restaurant spoke English. That told us this food was about to be bomb! It tasted amazing! As our last meal in Greece, this gyro really hit the spot.

Monday, August 19: Back Home

After a short night's sleep, we caught a ride to the airport and arrived around 4:15 am to check in for our 6:30 flight! After a 3-hour layover in Vienna, we made it back to Malaga around 2:30 pm. Now it's time for a LONG three-hour drive back home!

But the three-hour drive was well worth it in the end when we made it home to our precious puppies! Thanks to the best dogsitter in Spain, Jessi, who loves on our babies while we are out of town. I swear they always look a little disappointed to see us, knowing their long afternoon walks with Jessi are over!

Looking back on this cruise, I realize how truly blessed Katie and I are to travel. In 14 days, we visited three new countries and experienced a huge chunk of both Greece and Turkey.

Just look at our map: