Just got back from Turkey, and one of the highlights of our trip was the tour of Ephesus. We were picked up right at our hotel in Kusadasi by Anil and proceeded to the House of the Virgin Mary, which is in a lovely setting on a mountainside. We then headed for our tour of Ephesus, followed by a trip to the Temple of Artemis. Anil was a fantastic guide -- he's very knowledgeable about each of the sites, as well as the country's amazing history, and it's clear that he just loves what he's doing. We had a lovely lunch in the midst of the day and rounded out the tour by seeing some of the local artisans at work -- weaving carpets and making beautiful ceramics. Thank you Anil, for a terrific day! I would not hesitate to recommend Anil and VIP Ephesus Tours -- they run a thoroughly professional operation.

My wife and I went on a tour with Selçuk to Ephesus. We were picked up in Izmir in a private van and taken to the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis. Selçuk knew so much about the history of the ancient cities and also about the history of Turkey, we really learned a lot. He was also very nice and easy to get along with. Ephesus was incredible; we had a lot of fun walking through it and Selçuk was there to guide us along. I definitely recommend taking a tour to Ephesus with Selçuk.

We did a shared tour for 8 total people in Istanbul and Ephesus on 9/14 and 9/15.

In Istanbul we had Esra as our guide in addition to the driver of the comfortable Mercedes mini-bus. We got to see everything we wanted and had a tasty Turkish lunch that was covered as well as entrance fees to sites by the tour fee. Esra spoke excellent English and was very friendly and had lots of information about each site. She was also very willing to answer our questions about culture and about the recent happenings with protests in Taksim Square.

In Ephesus Anil was our guide for the day. We took the long walk through the ruins of Ephesus which were a pleasant surprise to me as I didn't know what to expect. They are digging up new things all the time it seems and the Terrace Houses have been restored partially and it was really interesting to see the ancient artwork and how they lived so far back. There is the Celsus Library and a huge old amphitheater as well which are just part of the experience. At the end of the tour we sat down and had a beer at a local bar which was a nice way to relax before heading back to the port. Anil spoke great English having lived in the US for a time and was full of information both about their culture and the sites.

If you are worried about being taken to carpet factories we did go to one in Istanbul only because Esra asked the people in our group and they said yes It was a very nice store right in the city near the tourist area and they gave us drinks while they demonstrated. The process was very interesting and they do of course give you the hard sell(nothing too pushy) but we declined and no big deal. It did not ever come up in Ephesus. They are beautiful and if we had the money I would certainly buy one but they aren't cheap.

These two tours were among the highlights of our trip and I would definitely recommend them.