The single best reason many people come to Kusadasi is sitting just twenty kilometres inland: Ephesus, the greatest classical city in the Mediterranean and one of the most rewarding archaeological sites on earth. It is an easy half-day trip, barely thirty minutes by car or organised tour, which is exactly why the cruise ships dock here. Wandering its marble main street you pass temples, fountains and public buildings before reaching the magnificent reconstructed facade of the Library of Celsus and the vast hillside Great Theatre that once held 25,000 people. A visit combines beautifully with the nearby sights around Selcuk: the pilgrimage chapel of the House of the Virgin Mary in the hills above, the lone surviving column of the Temple of Artemis, and the excellent Ephesus Museum in Selcuk town, which holds the finds. To enjoy it, avoid the middle of the day: arrive first thing when the ruins open, before the tour groups pour off the ships and before the fierce Aegean sun turns the shadeless site into an oven.
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