Tourism is down in Turkey in general, and especially so in Ephesus. This is because people are unnecessarily afraid to come here, and this has caused all the cruise ship companies to cancel their cruises to Turkey for the year of 2017.This makes it a completely great experience right now and an opportunity to see these amazing ruins without elbowing aside other tourists. Take a leisurely tour through Ephesus, with a great personal guide for a reasonable price, and you will have had an experience you will cherish forever. Don’t be afraid, the Turkish people will make sure your stay is great.

 

We hired our guide Ertunga Ecir, to guide and teach us about all we were seeing at Ephesus. I had done some homework by reading the guide books, but he was so knowledgeable and kind enough to explain everything so well. It really tied together what I was seeing and what I had read about before touring Ephesus.

He communicated so well before we arrived and was promptly at the gate despite us being 10 minutes earlier than the agreed upon time. He first made sure our arrangements for our cab to return to pick us up was understood by the cab driver and got the driver’s number to let him know when we were about done so we wouldn’t wait. This service alone was so appreciated and was a precursor to the attention we received on the whole tour.

You have to understand that guides in Turkey are the best in the world because they are professionals who must have a degree from the university and proven language skills. They must pass a battery of rigorous testing to qualify for a guides license. We met many Turkish people that were working toward this goal and all said it’s difficult to become a guide due to these standards. That means that when you hire someone like Ertunga Ecir, you are getting the very best. This was even more true when we hired a guide in Istanbul for two days.

Hire a guide in Turkey, it’s the best money you will spend on your vacation! I promise!