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Overview

Introduction

The hectic port town of Kusadasi (pronounced cusha-daser) makes a popular base for visits to Ephesus, especially with those on package holidays and cruise ships for whom hundreds of identical high-rise hotels were built in the 1980s-90s.

Today the port plays host to numerous cruise ships throughout summer, which means that the shops in the center are often frantically busy for a few hours in the middle of the day. Their prices inevitably reflect the presence of a captive clientele with little time to compare.

Kusadasi is one of Turkey's coastal megaresort citiess and is particularly popular with visitors from Northern Europe who throng its lively Bar Street in summer. At first glance, little remains of Scala Nuova, the town that stood there in the Middle Ages. However, near the port stands a massive 17th-century caravanserai (caravan traveler's inn) that today plays host to "Turkish Night" entertainment.

Kusadasi will not appeal to everyone, mainly because it is so built up and dedicated to tourism. However, it does make a good base for exploring other nearby sites, including the ruins at Priene, Miletus and Didyma. Local travel agencies also sell tours to the Travertines at Pamukkale, although this makes for a very long day out.

Geography

Kusadasi is about 50 mi/80 km southwest of Izmir and13 mi/22 km southwest of Selcuk and Ephesus on the Aegean coast facing the Greek island of Samos.

The town spreads inland from the port with much of the older part uphill. historic town based around a small hill near the port. Kusadasi also sprawls along the coast to north and south for a total of about 6 mi/10 km. However, a lighter sprawl of hotels and shops continues even further, running north all the way to several big resorts at the southern end of Pamukale Beach and southward another 12 mi/20 km, swallowing Sevge Plaji and Guzelcamli as suburbs.

A pair of causeways running offshore link it to Guvercin Adasi (Pigeon Island) and Yilanci Burnu (Snake Headland), and Ladies Beach (Kadinlar Denizi) can be found near the center of the city, 2 mi/2.5 km to the south of the port.

Location

Kusadasi is a popular port of call for luxury cruise liners, and its population swells from 63,000 to half a million between May and October.

The town is also the port where Aegean cruise liners drop anchor for their day visits to Ephesus.

Known officially as Ege Port, The Port of Kusadasi is a modern facility that can berth Oasis class cruise ships, four large vessels, or four smaller vessels and two large vessels, at once.

Inside the passenger terminal, duty-free shopping, first aid, internet access, and booths for travel operators abound. https://www.globalportsholding.com/ports/7/ege-port-kusadasi.

Shore Excursions