Day 5: Ephesus
On day 5 of your one week in Turkey, it’s time to visit another of Turkey’s most famous historical sights: Ephesus.
The history of Ephesus
Ephesus has a fascinating history, stretching back over 1000 years. It’s one of the best preserved and impressive cities of the ancient world. Originally founded by Ionian Greeks around the 10th century BC , it flourished as a major port and cultural hub.
Later, the city was under Roman rule and became an important city in the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The city was also an important centre in early Christianity; it’s believed that the Apostle Paul preached there and also that the Virgin Mary spent her final years nearby. Earthquakes, shifting trade routes, and the silting of its harbour eventually led to its decline, but its ruins are still impressive today and give a glimpse into what life must have been like in Roman times.
The top sights in Ephesus
You could easily spend a whole day in Ephesus, as it’s a large site with lots to see. At the minimum, you’ll need a full morning to explore. Make sure you arrive early, so you can enjoy the cooler air before the sun gets too hot, and before it gets too crowded with tour groups from cruise ships.
As soon as you enter Ephesus, you’re greeted with impressive columns that show the scale of this city, and how impressive it must have been.
Some of the city is really well preserved, with beautiful statues.
And don’t forget to take plenty of photos of the cats as well! There’s something really lovely about seeing the cats just chilling as they sit on a 1000 year old statue.
The Library of Celsus is one of the most iconic structures in Ephesus. This beautifully restored façade once housed thousands of scrolls and served as a mausoleum for the Roman senator Celsus. Its ornate columns and statues make it a stunning centrepiece of the ancient city.
The Great Theatre is another truly impressive part of Ephesus. With seating for up to 25,000 spectators, this massive amphitheatre hosted everything from dramatic performances to gladiatorial contests. This place also holds biblical significance, as St. Paul is said to have preached here. You can explore the theatre and climb up the seats to get an amazing view over the whole site.
After exploring the archaeological site, head to the Ephesus museum. This impressive multi-media experience helps you to visualise the history of Ephesus and what life would have been like living in the city in Roman times. The museum also explains about Artemis, which is the perfect introduction to visiting the Temple of Artemis afterwards.
To make the most of your visit to Ephesus, I definitely recommend taking a guided tour. This tour of Ephesus is a great option (affiliate), or this similar tour of Ephesus (affiliate).
Temple of Artemis
Near Ephesus is another place that you have to visit. The Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The temple was built as a sanctuary dedicated to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and fertility. Originally built around 550 BCE by the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes, it was funded by the wealthy Lydian king Croesus and stood as a marvel of Ionic architecture, adorned with sculpted columns and intricate reliefs.
The temple was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, with its most magnificent incarnation boasting over 120 columns, each standing 18 meters tall. In the ancient Greek world, the temple served not only as a religious centre but also as a hub of commerce and culture, attracting pilgrims and merchants from across the Mediterranean.
Today, only a single column remains. but you can still see the footprint of where the temple would have stood. So you can stand there and imagine what the Temple of Artemis would have looked like in all its grandeur. Even though so much of it has been lost and destroyed, it’s still an impressive site, and humbling to stand in a place filled with so much history, where you can imagine how many thousands of people have stood in that place over the millennia.
Lunch in Selcuk
After exploring the history of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis, head back to Selcuk for lunch. A great lunch option is Pide, known as Turkish pizza. You can choose your own toppings for the Pide at Tat restaurant in Selcuk.
Head over to Cappadocia
After lunch, it’s time to head over to Cappadocia. This famous region of Turkey is definitely worth a visit when you have one week in Turkey – it was my favourite place in Turkey. But it’s quite far away from the Eastern coast of Turkey. So you have a few different options of how to get there.
One option is to get the overnight train from Izmir to Konya, and then drive a few hours from Konya. This would have been my preferred option, as it means a lot of the travelling is done at night. However, the sleeper compartments on the train weren’t available when I went, and I didn’t fancy a 13 hour overnight train journey in a seat. So I didn’t take the train, but I think it would have been fun.
Another option is to fly to Cappadocia, You could take an internal flight from Izmir to Kayseri airport. Kayseri airport is less than an hour’s drive from the Cappadocia hotels. This option is definitely the quickest and the most time efficient. But you would miss out on seeing some of the sights along the way in and around Konya.
The option of driving to Cappadocia…
The option I took was to drive from Selcuk all the way to Cappadocia. It was a long drive. A very long drive. Even with an overnight stop just outside Konya, it was still a lot of driving.
It I was to repeat this trip, I don’t think I’d choose to drive from Selcuk to Cappadocia. Instead, I would choose to take the train or fly. But I did the driving option, and it was painfully exhausting…but I got there! but at times, instead of the trip feeling like the ‘Highlights of Turkey’, it did start to feel like it was just the ‘Highlight’s of Turkey’s Gas Stations’…
I stayed in a hotel about 2 hours outside of Konya for an overnight stop. It was an interesting hotel…with interesting decoration. It was called Tarihi küçükağa konağı. The decoration was interesting…as was the restaurant filled with men smoking…and the staff who didn’t speak English…and the lack of basics in the rooms such as toilet paper or towels…and the smell…I could go on. It was definitely the type of hotel that becomes a good story afterwards. But when you arrive late in the evening after a long drive, it took a lot of energy to find the funny side.
Day 6: Konya to Cappadocia
If you chose to fly from Izmir to Cappadocia, then this day of my itinerary for one week in Turkey won’t be applicable. Instead, you’ll already be in Cappadocia so you can enjoy an extra day there.
However, if you chose to take the train or drive to Konya, then you can spend a few hours exploring the sights in Konya before continuing the drive over to Cappadocia.
Konya and the Mevlana Museum
The main sight in Konya is the Mevlana Museum. The Mevlana Museum in Konya is a spiritual and cultural landmark that’s an important pilgrimage site for Muslims. The museum honours the life and teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic known for his profound verses and founding of the Mevlevi Order, the Whirling Dervishes.
The site was originally Rumi’s lodge and tomb. The site was transformed into a museum in 1926 and now draws pilgrims and visitors from around the world. The highlight of the museum is the turquoise-domed mausoleum, which houses Rumi’s sarcophagus. The mausoleum is surrounded by the tombs of his family and followers.
And the adjoining rooms are some of the Whirling Dervish lodges, which display manuscripts, musical instruments, and ceremonial garments that illuminate the mystical practices of Sufism.
There’s a mosque here as well, so women will need to ensure they have a headscarf to wear to be able to visit the mosque.
The museum’s serene courtyards and gardens are also nice to explore as well. This site feels slightly away from the main tourist track in Turkey. It feels more popular with local and Muslim tourists. But it was really interesting, and a good way to learn more about Rumi, his founding of the Whirling Dervishes, and his peaceful messages of love, unity, and divine connection.
Lunch in Konya
After exploring the Mevlana Museum, stop for lunch in Konya. The Sifa restaurant in Konya is a great place to try Pide again, with a different range of toppings. And you can also try the Turkish dessert called Helva here – made from a base of semolina flour with ice cream inside.
And Konya is a nice place to walk around, with lots of souvenir shops that are more reasonably priced than in the tourist hotspots.
On the road to Cappadocia, with a stop at Sultanhanı Caravanserai
It’s then time to get back on the road for the final long drive of the trip, to Cappadocia.
On the way, make sure you make a stop at Sultanhanı Caravanserai. It’s one of the largest and best-preserved Ottoman caravanserais in the country. It was a rest stop on the famous Silk Road that followed this exact route. It was built in the 13th century, and served as a fortified rest stop for merchants, pilgrims, and travellers journeying across Anatolia.
Built from sturdy stone with an impressive entrance gate, the structure includes a spacious courtyard and a covered hall for winter lodging and stables. Today, there’s a museum of Turkish carpets in the large covered hall.
It’s not a huge place so doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to walk around. But it’s a fascinating historical site, that again feels like it’s off the main tourist track in Turkey. It was really interesting to visit what, in the 13th century, would have been seen as a sort-of hotel along the Silk Road trading route.
Kaymakli Underground City
Before you get to your hotel in Cappadocia, stop off at Kaymaklı Underground City. It’s another fascinating historical site in Turkey.
In the centre of Cappadocia, Kaymaklı Underground City is a remarkable place. It’s literally an underground city. Carved into soft volcanic rock, this subterranean labyrinth dates back to the Hittite era but was expanded significantly during the Byzantine period, serving as a refuge for early Christians fleeing persecution.
The underground city spans eight different levels, though only four are open to the public. As you walk around, you can see the living quarters, kitchens, stables, storage rooms, and even a church, all connected by narrow tunnels and ventilation shafts. And there are rolling stone doors to seal off sections in times of danger.
Kaymaklı Underground City is a fascinating place to visit. But it’s not easy to walk around. The underground tunnels are narrow and small. There are many times where you’ll need to be bent over or crouched down to be able to get through the narrow passageways. It’s definitely not a good place to visit if you struggle with claustrophobia. But if you can manage tight underground spaces, then it’s fascinating.
I spent about an hour underground, and I was hugely relieved to be back in the open air afterwards. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for the people who lived in this underground world. It really is a testament to ancient ingenuity and resilience. Exploring Kaymaklı offers a hauntingly immersive glimpse into a hidden world where entire communities once lived, worshipped, and survived beneath the earth. It’s just amazing how people will live, when they are battling for their beliefs and survival.
It can be easy to get lost in the Underground City, so a guided tour can be a good idea. You can book this one through Get Your Guide (affiliate) or this similar tour through Viator (affiliate).
Sunset over Cappadocia
When you finally get to Cappadocia, find a spot to enjoy the sunset. The Cappadocia region of Turkey is one of the most impressive landscapes in the country. Volcanic eruptions and thousands of years of erosion have carved a dreamlike terrain of towering fairy chimneys, honeycombed hills, and undulating valleys.
From a viewpoint, you can begin to see the beautiful landscape that makes this part of Turkey so famous. And although the drive to get here from Ephesus was long and arduous, seeing the sunset made it all feel worth it.
Whirling Dervish ceremony in Cappadocia
After a quick dinner in Cappadocia, I recommend spending your evening enjoying some traditional Cappadocia evening entertainment. As you’ll have learnt at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, the Whirling Dervishes are an important group in this part of Turkey.
Whirling Dervishes are members of the Mevlevi Order, a Sufi tradition founded by the followers of the poet and mystic Rumi. Their mesmerizing spinning dance, known as the Sema, is a form of spiritual meditation symbolising the soul’s journey toward divine love and unity.
You can go to see a performance of the Whirling Dervishes to see what it’s all about. Dressed in flowing white robes and tall felt hats, the Dervishes rotate with arms extended – one hand reaching upward to receive blessings, the other downward to share them with the earth. This ritual, performed to hauntingly beautiful music, is both a prayer and a poetic expression of surrender to the divine.
The performance lasts about 45 minutes in total. The music is beautiful, and I found the whole thing very relaxing to watch. You’re not allowed to take photos and videos for the majority of the performance. But at the end, they perform for a couple of minutes extra, and you can take photos and videos here. It was a different way of spending an evening, but I found it enjoyable.
Book your Whirling Dervish ceremony in Cappadocia here (affiliate), or this option that also includes a hotel transfer (affiliate).
Keep reading on the final page for your final day in Turkey, and the absolute highlight of your trip – a hot air balloon in Cappadocia.