Kusadasi is your gateway to Ephesus, a city created by the Ionians in the 11th century B.C. and later expanded by the Romans.
Now considered one of the grandest reconstructed sites in the ancient world, the region also hosted the likes of Cleopatra, Mark Antony, the Virgin Mary and John the Apostle.

Kusadasi is about a 15-20 minute drive away from the Ephesus site, so en route our tour guide gave us a wonderful description of Turkey, Turkish culture, and what they are all about.
Kusadasi is on the Asian side of the country, so you get the chance to spend a day walking around Asia (which, at least for me, is a fun thing to say I did!).
The Roman ruins at Ephesus are among the worlds best preserved ancient city. And I do mean "city". The site goes on for miles and is so well preserved, you'd think the Romans moved out only a few months ago. It is absolutely incredible. I'm not sure why this isn't more well known. The Library of Celsus is amazing, as is the open air theater. Don't be fooled by the excursion's description of "museum". This is a "museum" as much as Central Park, NY is an "environmental center." The area of Ephesus is great, and the Terrace Houses are unbelievable.
You can see mosaics from before Christ, graffiti left by children thousands of years ago, and get a real sense of what life in ancient Rome was like.
After the guided tour, we got about a half hour to 45 minutes to explore on our own, which is about all the time needed to take some digital pictures of the place.
On way back we stop for a presentation of carpets, leather or jewelry and refreshments in Kusadasi.
A hanging lampshade/ chandelier caught our fancy, so it's our souvenir for the trip. Lots of walking about 2 miles outside in the heat on uneven step / cobblestones and several flights of stairs on the Terrace house.