On day fiave of the lanned tour you will awake aboard your cruise ship on the beautiful Aegean Sea. The first port of call will be the resort town of Kusadasi, Turkey, where you can enjoy the sights of an ancient city that was settled by many civilizations since being founded in 3000 BC. It has been a centre of art and culture for thousands of years and in 334 BC was conquered by Alexander the Great. Now a major tourist port, it is also known as the gateway to Ephesus.

There will be two optional tours offered to visit the ancient area of Ephesus where history truly comes to life. It is believed that St. John took the Virgin Mary to Ephesus to live out her final years. One of the tours will take you to a small valley with a humble chapel that lies on the site of the little house where the Virgin Mary is believed to have spend her last days.

You will then travel on to Ancient Ephesus where you can view the magnificent excavations including the Temple of Hadrian, the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre, which had a capacity of 24,000 seats where St Paul preached. Walk along the Arcadian Way where Mark Anthony and Cleopatra once rode in procession.

A short tour is also offered in which you can spend approximately three hours in Ephesus and the surrounding area along with free time in Kusadasi getting a cultural taste of Turkey.

The next stop will be the Isle of Patmos known as the site of the apocalyptic revelations of St. John the Divine, written during his exile from the Roman Empire. Many of the Jewish leaders hated John for his unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ and enlisted the Roman Empire in their efforts against him. Even though John defended himself in a clear and convincing manner, the emperor Domitian exiled him to the Isle of Patmos to work in the copper mine.

While there it is believed that he received his revelations while living in a cave near the present day site of the Monastery of the Apocalypse, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

While on Patmos you may enjoy the local sites or take optional tours to the Monastery and Grotto of the Apocalypse, a Scenic Island Tour or relaxing on the beach. Then back to the ship for R & R and overnight travel to the exciting destination of Rhodes!

What I loved about my visit to Greece:

Three years ago, Marian and Doug Smoot spent about three weeks in Greece and the Aegean Sea. They were with a group from BYU. “We experienced essentially all of the sites, venues and tours identified in the Hafen-Dallin Guild tour this year. I rate this international trip in the top three or four of all the opportunities I have had abroad. And, I have travelled over much of the world, professionally and as a tourist.”