Kusadasi

Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast. Kuşadası lies 95km south from İzmir.

Ephesus is the main pull for visitors to Kuşadasi. It's the best preserved ancient city in the Eastern Mediterranean. Note: the site gets very crowded and extremely hot in the summer months, so plenty of water, sun cream and hats are recommended.

The House of the Virgin Mary, located on top of Nightingale Mountain (Bulbul) is a humble, one story brick house that is supposed to be the place where she spent her last years.

Other options include Guversin Adasi (Pigeon Island), the ruins of Aphrodisias and Priene and Didyma, an ancient Greek city home to a vast columned temple to Apollo (about an hour away).

The Dilek Peninsula National Park offers beaches, hiking, biking trails and forests.

The Grand and Orient Bazaars are the main shopping areas, selling everything from traditional crafts such as copper, painted ceramics and jewellery to the usual tourist souvenirs. Turkish honey makes a nice gift.

Local dishes include 'doner' (lamb and beef combination), 'kokorec' (skewered lamb intestines), 'kumpir' (baked potato with variety of fillings) and 'hamsi' (fish).

Cruise ships dock at a terminal built on an "arm" stretching out into the main harbour.

Part of the new terminal incorporates Scala Nuova, a shopping mall with a mix of western chain shops and Turkish boutiques.

It is an easy walk into the heart of the action.