Tripadvisor Review about our Ephesus Tour Guide: Mehmet Cibikci

If I had to pick one favorite day of our one month vacation in September 2013, it would be our day at Ephesus we booked with Denizhan Pekoz TransBalkan Tours. Our group of 4 able adults docked at Izmir Port and only had a 5.5 hours stop. Since Izmir is 1 hour 15min drive to Ephesus, we only had 3 hours to tour. Many ship and private tours could/would not accommodate my request. We wanted to see the Ancient City of Ephesus, INSIDE the Terrace Houses with a very short stop at Mary's house or Temple of Artemis. We did not want the carpet or leather factory tour or lunch since our time was short. Our driver was Samet and guide was Mehmet. They were both very nice.
Mehmet picked us up in a new air conditioned touring van & brought water. He was so knowledgeable on many world and local topics, spoke very good English and passionate about his country, that we almost missed the beautiful countryside out the window! (Rolling green hills with fruit, nuts, olives and agriculture). We had a brief stop at the Temple of Artemis which was excellent. We then went to the Ephesus city ruins which is very large. Be sure to gain entrance to the 'Terrace Houses'. This is an extra fee and well worth it!! The preservation of the frescos, mosaics and indoor plumbing/heating is incredible as is the Celsus Library. We have been to Pompeii and Athens, but Turkey has taken far better care with their historic sites. We were so impressed we would definitely come back to Turkey and do much more exploring with the same guide. This was our hottest day all month so be sure to bring a hat and sunscreen.
Thanks again to Samet and Mehmet for the great day! It was even better than I hoped!