Skydive EFES

Hi, I'm an Italian living in Turkey and I requested this sky diving to attend an AFF course (8 international people in total). at the beginning they assured their availability but at the end they told us "we are not able to perform any course in English and we can not provide you any insurance". someone knows other places where to have AFFc?

DZ Ephesus is one of the major DZ's in Turkey. They have world-class facilities, and a large, open landing area. The runway is less than a mile from the ancient and stunning ruins of Ephesus, all of which can be clearly seen at altitude. The climbout over Izmir and the surrounding turquoise blue coastline was worth the jump ticket alone.

I was welcomed graciously, and rented a near new Javelin with PD main and Cyprus. I'm glad I'd e-mailed in advance, since I was scheduled to arrive on Saturday, and was told they couldn't set up your Turkish insurance (around $20) on a weekend. USPA insurance is not valid, though I did nonetheless have to show my USPA D license and logbook. I don't know if there is some sort of waiver of the Turkish insurance requirement for tandem passengers.

Prices seemed quite reasonable, around $45 for jump ticket and gear rental. On the particular day I was there, I visited the nearby ruins in the morning and was able to see the loads going up and down. May not have been their usual pace, but didn't seem like a DZ where you could get in more than a handful jumps in a day. The loads seemed to be mostly tandems and AFF, with a few fun jumpers.

All in all, definitely worth a visit, particularly if you're visiting the ruins.

WOW!!!

Jumping over the ancient city of Ephesus is spectacular, looking at a colosseum as your tracking is something everyone should experience! Really friendly vibe once they're sure you have a safe mind-set. Nice free gear rental too! Got a Javelin container with a Sabre2 190 and PD reserve - really sweet. Very welcoming people. Nice cheap "Skydivers lunch" available during the TWO HOUR LUNCH BREAK they take, which was a new experience for me (lunch break on a DZ???) - but what the hell, when in Rome....

I would have jumped my socks off had the load turnaround been faster but they're not about the numbers in this place :) The pilots stopped for traditional Apple tea between every load.

All in all a really friendly experience and I'd definitely consider returning to this place for a jumping holiday, even though you won't get many jumps the whole place is unfathomably beautiful and the atmosphere is a real winner :)

Blue skies

I recently stayed in Selcuk for 9 nights in August and visited this DZ almost every day. I was very happy when I recognised Meryem from Empuria who was now working on staff back in her home country. She made sure I understood everything and was kept briefed as I don't understand any Turkish.

The loads start around 8:30 at the weekend or 9:00 during the week and seem to run in pairs, with the first being to 12,000 and the second to 10,000. Unless you have a second rig and can run fast, it's unlikely you'll get on both loads. Then there's a pause for packing before loads 3 and 4, which finishes around 12:00 at which time there's a THREE HOUR lunch break - I'm serious, the DZ doesn't start up again until 3:30.

Unfortunately by this time the winds have started up, and they don't seem to subside for another couple of hours, when if you're lucky there's another pair of loads back to back before the day's over. The manifest board only has space on it for 8 loads, I never saw that many. As with some other activities in the area, the DZ is closed on Tuesdays.

I'm not a fan of the C-208s, although they seem to fit in with the relaxed pace of the DZ and appear to my untrained eye to be well maintained and cared for.

Jump tickets are 53 or 58 TL for 10k or 12k, unless I understood incorrectly this includes free rental gear if needed, not as much of a bargain if you have your own. Curiously I never saw or heard another audible other than my own, despite the regular 3 & 4 ways on the loads.

The view of historic Ephesus is spectacular, and you can pilot your canopy directly over the site, although landing off in that area would be seriously frowned upon. As for hazards generally you are very well off. Curiously there was a policy of keeping the C-208 away from the DZ until the last jumper had landed, so there was no 1000 ft runway rule, that must be expensive on fuel.

The two packers who were there during my stay were regular jumpers, so not always available. But the pack jobs were cheap and gave me sweet on heading openings.

This is a great DZ, with very friendly staff and fun jumpers, but don't go expecting to run out of jump money.

While on a weeks holiday in turkey recently I visited dz ephesus . My biggest regret is that I only got to do one jump (girlfriend in tow) . When I arrived I was met by an instructor who checked all my paperwork (licence , log book and insurance )and they registered me , then handed me over to another instructor with a girl who could speak English . After a full safety and landing brief of the drop zone of which they were very patient and made sure I understood everything , they got a rigger to get me geared making sure I got a similar canopy to what I had flown before . After a bit of a weather delay we got to go up , and what a great view from the air . In the cessna caravan we were at altitude in no time . Great jump . Could not fault this place , from the very helpful and pleasant people to the brilliant weather and views . I'll be back .

Operating two turbine cessna caravans, with a maximum of ten jumpers to a load there is plenty of space to relax on the ride up to altitude. Helpful, friendly staff and members. Packing for around £3 if you can't be bothered. Huge covered packing area with a restaurant huge plasma screen to watch if you need a rest from jumping. Will definitely visit again. The DZ is really easy to find as it is right on the side of the main road to the ancient ruins.

i met a lot of friendly and helpful locals on the dropzone. the scenery is spectacular but when u are planning on jumping there u have to be aware that you wont be able to do 10 jumps a day or so and the exit altitude is usually below 3500 meters.