I will be takin a trip to Greece in September with a day trip to Ephesus on my way to Patmos. I will only have about 5 hours in Ephesus. What should I do?

Be sure to start at the top end, and work your way down. Takes forever going the other way. Make sure your guide understands what you want, and will have transport laid on at the bottom.

We spent about 5 hours in Ephesus starting from the bottom. If done early enough, it gives you the opportunity to see the library before the cruise crowds arrive. So we started at the bottom, went to the top and walked back down to the bottom. If you do it only one way, you should also have the time to visit the museum in Selçuk which contains the statuary recovered in Ephesus.

To whet your appetite:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623057771012/

Michael your pictures are amazing! Thank you.

To preserve your sanity and give you a 'feeling' of what
Ephesus was, make sure you get there at the crack of dawn to
avoid the horror of running with the bulls - thousands of
cruise ship people. And find time to pay the extra to see
the terrace houses - they are absolutely amazing. As is the
museum.

At the top of the hill is a small shop that sells illustrated guides. We were self-touring, so it was avery good idea to get soemthing. Five hours is a good amount of time

<i>To preserve your sanity and give you a 'feeling' of what
Ephesus was, make sure you get there at the crack of dawn to
avoid the horror of running with the bulls - thousands of
cruise ship people.</i>

Michael and immimi (outstanding pix, Michael)...to punctuate the comments both of you had made regarding the never-ending crowds pouring in from the cruise ships...by all means get there very early to avoid this...but Michael's superb pic of the mobs descending en masse toward the library tells it all!

Thanks again, Michael...

Stu t.

Yes, lovely photos, Michael.

My advise about starting at the top and going down is mostly aimed at old farts such as myself. Since you will be visiting in September, the weather may be cooler, but let me tell you that climbing that hill in August can be a real trial for the less than athletic.

Crack of dawn is somewhat of an exaggeration. I think we got there around 9 a.m. and hit the crowds half way up the hill. There were none in the terrace houses.

<i>My advise about starting at the top and going down is mostly aimed at old farts such as myself.</i>

We are on Medicare.

Top down, then. Save your energy for a but of wine at the bottom.

That's "bit" of wine. A whole butt might be too much.

With five hours, you should be able to see the terraced houses. They're an extra fee, but it's worth it. They're near the library on the left if you start at the top and go down. I agree with the other posters about starting early. We were there at the end of this past October (it was Turkey's Independence Day). The cruise ship crowds were amazing. The day we were there happened to be unusually warm (HOT) for that time of the year. I don't do heat well, there's little shade and a lot of walking, so as wonderful as it was, I was ready to sit down at the end. There are a lot of shops and some places to eat at the lower end.

Ephesus is wonderful; you'll love it!

Ellen

also recommend starting your tour of Ephesus at the top of the site, so that you are walking downhill. And bring a hat, comfortable shoes, and sunscreen!

At the Ephesus site, for the audio tours, you pay for a paper map and the rental of the audio guide. You must leave something of value (such as your driver's license) as security for the return of the audio device. I was told you can rent the audio device at once entrance and arrange when renting it to return it and retrieve your driver's license at the other entrance. There are guides for hire at the site; I had already arranged for one through my travel agency.

As mentioned, the Ephesus Museum is well worth it, and doesn't take a long time. ,

I've been to Ephesus twice. The first time we did the "top down" trip with a guide. The second time, we parked at the bottom and went "bottom up" on our own with a good guide book. We saw the amphitheater and the library before anyone else got there. Once we saw/photographed those two places, we hoofed it to the top and then slowly worked our way down, doing the terraced houses on the way.

I much preferred the "bottom up" approach, mainly because we got great photos of the two main attractions. But, I can understand that the "top down" way might be better for some.

The audio guide is 10TL to rent. You pay a cash deposit (I think it was 50TL, but I'm not sure). They give you a receipt which you turn in at the other entrance with the audio guide and they give you your deposit back. I managed to get a good picture of the library with no people in it, but I got lucky. If we are fortunate to be able to go again, I'd be there when it opened, start at the bottom, then "hoof it up" as Grcxx3 said, hire a guide and make our way slowly down.

We were almost the only people in the terraced houses which was nice. They were definitely worth the extra 15TL.

Ellen

I agree with ellen about the Terrace Houses.

Thank you for all the info. Im getting excited!