Ephesus in the List of Top 17 Attractions in Europe
Ephesus was featured in the list of 17 best destinations from CNN's travel edition, and this post shows what the ancient city has to offer.
Tag: turkish tour guide
Feasts in the Ancient City of Ephesus
An ancient Greek feast in Ephesus was mostly a men’s dinner party with two parts. Guests lay on couches called klines and ate first. Then came…
The World’s Largest Ancient Floor Mosaic in Turkey
The largest ancient floor mosaic in Turkey was found in Antakya in 2010 and is now shown in a museum on the ground floor of a hotel.
Ephesus Meets The Sea Again
Ephesus meets the sea again through the Ephesus Ancient Canal Project, which plans to bring boats back toward the ancient city from the Aegean coast at…
Shocking Revelation About Ephesian Gladiators
A Shocking Revelation About Ephesian Gladiators was made. Analysis of the bones of Roman gladiators buried in the ancient city of Ephesus shows that these warriors…
2300-year-old Mini-heart Found in Troy
A three-centimeter clay mini pottery, about 2,300 years old, was found in the ancient city of Troy in Turkey. It was probably a votive offering.
An Amazing Night and a Private Event in Ephesus with Hasan Gulday
A private event in Ephesus is a visit arranged for one group only. This one was a night organized by Tekfen Foundation: a guided walk, the…
Leonardo da Vinci in the Ottoman Empire
Leonardo da Vinci never worked for the Ottomans, but around 1502 he offered Sultan Bayezid II a design for a bridge over the Golden Horn in…
Epictetus of Hierapolis
Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher born a slave in Hierapolis, now Pamukkale. Read about his life, his main idea and some of his best known sayings.
A Private Guide for a very Private Guest
I guided two private guests on a trip along Turkey's west and south coast, from Ephesus and Izmir to Pamukkale and Antalya.
My article in Jerusalem Post
I was recently contacted by Judith Sudilovsky from Jerusalem Post newspaper which is the most read English newspaper in Israel and asked to contribute to an…
Saint Paul Trail in Turkey
The Saint Paul Trail is a marked walking route of about 500 km through the Taurus Mountains between Antalya and Isparta, partly following the first journey of Paul in Anatolia.
12 Famous Turkish TV Shows
Twelve famous Turkish TV shows, from Persona and The Magnificent Century to The Gift and The Protector, with a short summary of each.
9 Outstanding Cities in Turkey for Foodie Travelers
Gastronomic tourism, one of the popular trends of recent years, is perfect for those who love to travel and eat. I will try to point out…
Surgery in Ancient Turkey
Surgery in ancient Turkey was done by Greek and Roman doctors with bone drills, forceps and hot irons. Read how the craft grew and where to see it today.
World’s Oldest Emoji was Discovered in Turkey
The “smile” emoji on the 3,700 years old jug, which was unearthed by the Turkish – Italian team of archeologists in Karkamış, one of the most…
The Siloam Inscription and Its Journey Back to Israel
I would like to tell you about the story and journey of the Siloam Inscription, which is a very important historical artifact for Hebrew and Biblical…
Top 7 Creative Museums of Turkey
Concept and modern museums, which specialize in expanding areas of interest, changing technologies, and certain subjects, are candidates to become popular museums with new exhibition techniques…
12 Interesting Alternatives to Traditional Museums in Istanbul
Istanbul is an amazing cultural mosaic because it has been the center of many states for centuries. You can see the minarets and synagogues rising just…
Amazing Drone Footage Over Hierapolis Ancient City in Turkey
I recently guided a tourist group in Hierapolis Ancient City. A person in this group happened to have a sophisticated drone with him. We shot a…
15 Interesting Facts About Cisterns of Istanbul
Fifteen facts about the Byzantine and Ottoman cisterns of Istanbul, from rooftop rainwater tanks to the Basilica Cistern.
A Tour Under the Rain in Ephesus
Rain in Ephesus falls mostly from late autumn to early spring, and a wet day can be a good day to visit. The marble gets slippery,…
Top 18 Sacred Attractions and Routes in Turkey
Anatolia, the first place where civilization was born, became a landscape where the events that shaped world history and magnificent cities with magnificent sacred monuments came…
Amazing Turkish Honey
You already know what an important part of Turkish culture honey is when you come across the legendary Turkish breakfast which is dominated by honey. Also…
Thyatira the Misled Church
Thyatira was an ancient city where the town of Akhisar stands today. It is the fourth of the Seven Churches of Revelation, and the home of Lydia and of the woman Jezebel.
Manisa City of Princes
Manisa is the ‘City of Princes’, where the sultans, who were the sons of the Ottoman emperor, spent their princely period. Manisa is an important historical…
Philadelphia Church of Seven Churches from Revelation
The Philadelphia church of Revelation 3:7-13 stood in today's Alaşehir: what its letter says and the Byzantine piers you can still see there.
Galen the Greatest Doctor of Antiquity
Cassius Claudii Galenos or more commonly known as Galen was born in the year 130 in the City of Pergamon (Modern Bergama of today’s Turkey). His…
Sardis Ancient City Turkey: Lydia Capital, Temple of Artemis & Synagogue
Sardis was the capital of ancient Lydia, near Salihli in western Turkey. It is the home of the first coins, a very large synagogue and the Temple of Artemis, and it joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2025.
Pergamon Ancient City
Pergamon was the capital of the Pergamon kingdom and stands above the town of Bergama near Izmir. UNESCO listed Pergamon in 2014.
Lagina Ancient City And The Temple of Hecate
Lagina is a Carian sanctuary of the goddess Hecate near Yatağan in Muğla, once the religious center of the ancient city of Stratonikeia.
Hecate the Virtuous and the Sinful
Hecate was an ancient goddess of crossroads, torches and the moon, probably Carian in origin, and later linked with the dead and witchcraft.
Education and Literacy in Ancient Times
Who went to school in ancient times, what children learned, and how books, papyrus and libraries worked in Greek and Roman cities, with examples from Anatolia.
Cats of Ephesus
Cats have been beloved companions of humans for thousands of years, and the ancient city of Ephesus in modern-day Turkey was no exception. The cats of…
Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern is a 6th-century underground water reservoir in Istanbul, near Hagia Sophia, with 336 marble columns and two Medusa head column bases.
Sultanahmet Square
Sultanahmet Square, which is among the most important squares of Istanbul, sheds light on how deep and rich the history of Istanbul is. Having hosted many…
Spice Bazaar of Istanbul
Spice Bazaar, one of the oldest covered bazaars in Istanbul, attracts the attention of many local and foreign tourists with its orientalist atmosphere. So much so…
Attractions Around Sultanahmet Square
Sultanahmet Square remains to be one of the most visited spots in Turkey. Sultanahmet Square is situated in the center of the Historic Peninsula of Istanbul…
Turkish Tourism Of The Year 2021 in Numbers
Tourism was one of the sectors that suffered the most in 2020 due to the global pandemic. With the measures taken and the acceleration of the…
10 Ancient Philosophers of Anatolia
The ancient philosophers of Anatolia in this post are Thales, Anaximander, Anaxagoras, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Aristotle, Diogenes, Strabo, Galen and Epictetus. They lived from about 600 BC…
Slavery in Anatolia During Antiquity
In the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., the Anatolian economy was in very good condition and was experiencing its golden age in almost every field. With…
Menorahs in Ephesus
Menorah has many symbolic meanings. Its first meaning is to symbolize the “Perpetual Light”. After God created heaven and earth, he first said “Yehi ‘Or —…
Top Tourist Scams in Turkey
Simple habits for a relaxed trip in Turkey: use the taxi meter, watch your bag in crowds, use ATMs inside banks and check your restaurant bill.
Zerzevan Castle and Mithras Temple
Zerzevan Castle, which was built by the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) as a military base on the ancient trade route between Diyarbakır and Mardin, and…
Differences Between Greek and Roman Theaters
Greek vs Roman theater: Greek seats lean on a hillside, Roman seats stand on vaults. See how to tell them apart at Priene, Miletus, Ephesus and Aspendos.
Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was a Roman general, writer and dictator. Read about his reforms, his death on March 15, 44 BC and his victory at Zela in Turkey, where he is said to have written Veni, vidi, vici.
Afro-Turks
Afro-Turks are usually the children and grandchildren of those who settled in Anatolia from Africa mostly came through the slave trade or other means during various…
Roman Empire
Et tu, Brute? (You too, Brutus?) Roman Emperor Caesar Founded in the 1st century B.C. under the leadership of Augustus, the Roman Empire ruled in the…
Nightingale Mountain
Nightingale Mountain, the ancient Mount Koressos, is the high ridge south of Ephesus, with the House of the Virgin Mary on top and the Terrace Houses on its slope.
Panayır Mountain
Panayır Mountain, the ancient Mount Pion, is the hill behind the Great Theater of Ephesus, with a palace and a rock sanctuary of Cybele on its slopes.