Kusadasi
Encyclopedia
Kuşadası (ˈkuʃadasɯ) is a resort town
on Turkey
's Aegean
coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province
. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 95 km (59 mi) to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir
, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın
situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. Her neighbours are Germencik
district from northeast, Söke
one from southeast, Aegean Sea from west and Selçuk
district from north.
It is 95 km (59 mi) south of İzmir
, the region's largest metropolitan center. It is 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın
situated inland.
times, it was known as Ephesus Neopolis; under the Genovese
and Venetians
, Scala Nova or Scala Nuova. Kuş-Adası was adopted in its place at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, citizens of Kuşadası often shorten the name to Ada.
people in 3000 BC. Later settlers include the Aeolians
in the 11th century BC and Ionians
in the 9th century. Originally seamen and traders the Ionians built a number of settlements on this coast including Neopolis.
An outpost of Ephesus
in ancient Ionia
known as Pygela (Πύγελα), the area between the Büyük Menderes and Gediz
rivers, the original Neopolis is thought to have been founded on the nearby point of Yılancı Burnu. Later settlements were probably built on the hillside of Pilavtepe, in the district called Andızkulesi today. Kuşadası was a minor port frequented by vessels trading along the Aegean coast. In antiquity it was overshadowed by Ephesus
until Ephesus' harbor silted up. From the 7th century BC onwards the coast was ruled by Lydians
from their capital at Sardis
, then from 546 BC the Persians, and from 334 BC along with all of Anatolia the coast was conquered by Alexander the Great. From then onwards the coastal cities were the centre of the mixed Greek
and Anatolia
n culture called Hellenistic.
took possession of the coast in the 2nd century BC and made it their provincial capital and in the early years of Christianity
. St John the Evangelist and (according to Roman Catholic sacred tradition
) Mary (mother of Jesus)
both came to live in the area, which in the Christian era became known as "Ania".
Later the port was a haven for pirates.
As Byzantine
, Venetian
and Genoese
shippers began to trade along the coast the port was re-founded (as Scala Nuova or Scala Nova - "new port"), a garrison was placed on the island, and the town centre moved from the hillside to the coast.
and the coast again came under Byzantine control until 1280 when first the Menteşe and then the Aydinid Anatolian beyliks took control. Kuşadası was brought into the Ottoman Empire
by Mehmet I in 1413. The Ottomans built the city walls and the caravanserai
that still stand today.
In 1834 the castle and garrison on the island was rebuilt and expanded, becoming the focus of the town, to the extent that people began to refer to the whole town as Kuşadası (bird island). However in the 19th century, trade declined in favor of İzmir
with the opening of the İzmir
-Aydın
railway, as Kuşadası had no rail connection.
During the Turkish War of Independence
Kuşadası was occupied from 1919-1922 first by Italian (till 1921), then by Greek troops. The Turkish troops won control of the city on September 7, 1922.
Under the Turkish Republic the Greek population was exchanged for Turkish people as part of the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
in 1922. It was a district in Izmir Province
until 1954 and become the district of Aydın Province
. Until the first holiday apartments were built here in the 1970s Kuşadası was a fruit-growing rural district, it then grew into a small resort town with holiday flats. These were built as housing co-operatives, membership sold to families in Ankara
, Izmir
, Denizli
and other Turkish cities. From the mid 1980s Kuşadası grew again into the centre of mass tourism that we have today.
In 2005, the town was the location of a bomb attack
causing five casualties, three Turkish nationals, British citizen Helen Bennett and the Irish student Tara Whelan.
passengers heading to Ephesus. In a controversial deal in 2003 the previously public-owned port was leased to a private company and renovated to attract luxury cruise liners. The Grand Princess
docks here, along with other cruise ships.
There are beaches including the Ladies Beach
, the beach at the centrum, the beaches between the Batıhan Hotel and the Nazilli Site, Guzelcamli Town beach and the Dilek Peninsula National Park
beach.
Agents sell holiday flats and villas.
There are vendors of ice-cream, carpets, leather, and software, and bookshops selling books in English, German, Russian and other languages.
Old houses near the seafront, some of them converted to bars and cafes, are the remnants of old Kuşadası, which has become a modern-European looking town. The hills behind are built up with big hotels and blocks of holiday flats. The building boom in the late 80s and onwards has been continued into the hinterland of Kuşadası.
(minibus). There are bus and taxi services to the nearest airports, in İzmir
and Bodrum
. Day trips are available by boat from Kuşadası and Güzelçamlı.
The city is a port of call for cruise ships. The port is linked by a six-lane highway to İzmir's Adnan Menderes Airport
There are daily ferry services to the nearby Greek
island of Samos
.
Kuşadası's bus station
acts as a transport hub. Buses connect to various parts of the country.
, Greece Marl, Germany Sinaia
, Romania Monterey, California, USA Gjorče Petrov
, Macedonia
Resort town
A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...
on Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
's Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province
Aydin Province
Aydın Province is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...
. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 95 km (59 mi) to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. Her neighbours are Germencik
Germencik
Germencik is a town and a district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.- Geography :Germencik is located in the middle of the fertile Büyük Menderes plain, inland from the Aegean coastal town of Kuşadası, on the Aydın-İzmir highway from the city of Aydın...
district from northeast, Söke
Söke
Söke is a town and a large district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 68,020 population in 2010.- Geography :...
one from southeast, Aegean Sea from west and Selçuk
Selçuk
Selçuk is the central town of Selçuk district, İzmir Province in Turkey, 2 km northeast of Ephesus.Its original Greek name, Agios Theológos referred to John the Theologian. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Ayasoluk...
district from north.
Geography
The city stands on a bay in the Aegean with the peninsula of Guvercin Ada sticking out into the sea at one end, and the mountain of Pilav Dağı behind.It is 95 km (59 mi) south of İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, the region's largest metropolitan center. It is 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
situated inland.
Demographics
Kuşadası has a residential population of 64,359 rising to over half a million during the summer when the large resort fills with tourists (from Turkey itself, northern Europe and the Balkans), plus the hotel staff, bar staff, construction workers, and drivers who are needed to work in the restaurants servicing all these visitors. In addition to the visitors from overseas there is a substantial community of foreigners resident in the area.Etymology
The name comes from 'kuş' (bird) and 'ada' (island) as the peninsula has the shape of a bird's head (as seen from the sea). During ByzantineByzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
times, it was known as Ephesus Neopolis; under the Genovese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
and Venetians
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, Scala Nova or Scala Nuova. Kuş-Adası was adopted in its place at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, citizens of Kuşadası often shorten the name to Ada.
Antiquity
The area has been a centre of art and culture since the earliest times and has been settled by many civilizations since being founded by the LelegesLeleges
The Leleges were one of the aboriginal peoples of southwest Anatolia , who were already there when the Indo-European Hellenes emerged. The distinction between the Leleges and the Carians is unclear. According to Homer the Leleges were a distinct Anatolian tribe Homer...
people in 3000 BC. Later settlers include the Aeolians
Aeolians
The Aeolians were one of the four major ancient Greek tribes comprising Ancient Greeks. Their name derives from Aeolus, the mythical ancestor of the Aeolic branch and son of Hellen, the mythical patriarch of the Greek nation...
in the 11th century BC and Ionians
Ionians
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...
in the 9th century. Originally seamen and traders the Ionians built a number of settlements on this coast including Neopolis.
An outpost of Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
in ancient Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
known as Pygela (Πύγελα), the area between the Büyük Menderes and Gediz
Gediz
Gediz may refer to:* Gediz, Kütahya, a district of the Kütahya Province of Turkey* Gediz River, a river in the Aegean region of Turkey...
rivers, the original Neopolis is thought to have been founded on the nearby point of Yılancı Burnu. Later settlements were probably built on the hillside of Pilavtepe, in the district called Andızkulesi today. Kuşadası was a minor port frequented by vessels trading along the Aegean coast. In antiquity it was overshadowed by Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
until Ephesus' harbor silted up. From the 7th century BC onwards the coast was ruled by Lydians
Lydians
The Lydians were the inhabitants of Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian group....
from their capital at Sardis
Sardis
Sardis or Sardes was an ancient city at the location of modern Sart in Turkey's Manisa Province...
, then from 546 BC the Persians, and from 334 BC along with all of Anatolia the coast was conquered by Alexander the Great. From then onwards the coastal cities were the centre of the mixed Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n culture called Hellenistic.
Rome and Christianity
The Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
took possession of the coast in the 2nd century BC and made it their provincial capital and in the early years of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. St John the Evangelist and (according to Roman Catholic sacred tradition
Sacred Tradition
Sacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a theological term used in some Christian traditions, primarily in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, to refer to the fundamental basis of church authority....
) Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
both came to live in the area, which in the Christian era became known as "Ania".
Later the port was a haven for pirates.
As Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
, Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
and Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
shippers began to trade along the coast the port was re-founded (as Scala Nuova or Scala Nova - "new port"), a garrison was placed on the island, and the town centre moved from the hillside to the coast.
The Turkish era
From 1086 the area came under Turkish control and the Aegean ports became the final destination of caravan routes to the Orient. However this arrangement was overthrown by the CrusadesCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
and the coast again came under Byzantine control until 1280 when first the Menteşe and then the Aydinid Anatolian beyliks took control. Kuşadası was brought into the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
by Mehmet I in 1413. The Ottomans built the city walls and the caravanserai
Caravanserai
A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
that still stand today.
In 1834 the castle and garrison on the island was rebuilt and expanded, becoming the focus of the town, to the extent that people began to refer to the whole town as Kuşadası (bird island). However in the 19th century, trade declined in favor of İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
with the opening of the İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
-Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
railway, as Kuşadası had no rail connection.
During the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
Kuşadası was occupied from 1919-1922 first by Italian (till 1921), then by Greek troops. The Turkish troops won control of the city on September 7, 1922.
Under the Turkish Republic the Greek population was exchanged for Turkish people as part of the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
in 1922. It was a district in Izmir Province
Izmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
until 1954 and become the district of Aydın Province
Aydin Province
Aydın Province is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...
. Until the first holiday apartments were built here in the 1970s Kuşadası was a fruit-growing rural district, it then grew into a small resort town with holiday flats. These were built as housing co-operatives, membership sold to families in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Denizli
Denizli
Denizli is a growing industrial city in the Southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region.The city...
and other Turkish cities. From the mid 1980s Kuşadası grew again into the centre of mass tourism that we have today.
In 2005, the town was the location of a bomb attack
2005 Kusadasi bus bombing
Kuşadası minibus bombing occurred on July 16, 2005, when a minibus carrying locals and tourists to the town's famous "Ladies Beach" exploded in Kuşadası, Turkey. Five people, four women and one man, were killed in the blast....
causing five casualties, three Turkish nationals, British citizen Helen Bennett and the Irish student Tara Whelan.
Industry
Kuşadası caters to tourists, arriving by land, and as the port for cruise shipCruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
passengers heading to Ephesus. In a controversial deal in 2003 the previously public-owned port was leased to a private company and renovated to attract luxury cruise liners. The Grand Princess
Grand Princess
Grand Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises. Built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone , Italy, at a cost of approximately US$450 million, she was the largest and most expensive passenger ship ever built at the time...
docks here, along with other cruise ships.
There are beaches including the Ladies Beach
Ladies Beach, Kuşadası
Ladies Beach is a beach in Kuşadası, Aydın, Turkey. The beach is visited by local residents especially on Sundays.The beach is sandy...
, the beach at the centrum, the beaches between the Batıhan Hotel and the Nazilli Site, Guzelcamli Town beach and the Dilek Peninsula National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
beach.
Agents sell holiday flats and villas.
There are vendors of ice-cream, carpets, leather, and software, and bookshops selling books in English, German, Russian and other languages.
Old houses near the seafront, some of them converted to bars and cafes, are the remnants of old Kuşadası, which has become a modern-European looking town. The hills behind are built up with big hotels and blocks of holiday flats. The building boom in the late 80s and onwards has been continued into the hinterland of Kuşadası.
Transportation
Transport around the town is by dolmuşDolmuş
In Turkey and Turkish controlled Northern Cyprus, dolmuş are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities.Departing from the terminal only when a sufficient amount of passengers have boarded, their name is derived from Turkish for "apparently stuffed" for this reason.In some cities...
(minibus). There are bus and taxi services to the nearest airports, in İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
and Bodrum
Bodrum
Bodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
. Day trips are available by boat from Kuşadası and Güzelçamlı.
The city is a port of call for cruise ships. The port is linked by a six-lane highway to İzmir's Adnan Menderes Airport
Adnan Menderes Airport
İzmir Adnan Menderes International Airport is an airport serving İzmir and is named after former Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes. It is located in the Gaziemir area of İzmir....
There are daily ferry services to the nearby Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
island of Samos
Samos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
.
Kuşadası's bus station
Bus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
acts as a transport hub. Buses connect to various parts of the country.
Places of interest
In the town- The City Walls - There were once three gates. One remains today.
- Kaleiçi Camii - the mosque built in 1618 for Grand VizierGrand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
Öküz Kara Mehmed PashaÖküz Kara Mehmed PashaKara Mehmed Pasha or "Öküz" Mehmed Pasha was an Ottoman statesman and military commander of the early 17th century, who held the office of Grand Vizier twice, the first time from 17 October 1614 to 17 November 1616 , and the second time from 18 January 1619 to 23 December 1619, Kara Mehmed Pasha...
. - The Öküz Mehmet Pasha caravanseraiCaravanseraiA caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
is near the docks. It was built in 1618 as a strong-room for the goods of seamen. - Guvercin Adası or "Pigeon Island" in English - the peninsula at the end of the bay, has a castle and swimming beaches, including a private beach and cafe with a view back across the bay to the harbour of Kuşadası. There are public beaches at the back of the peninsula, towards the open sea.
- Kirazli Village - traditional Turkish koy 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Kuşadası.
- Yılancı Burnu - a second peninsula beyond Güvercin Ada. Possibly the location of the original settlement of Neopolis. Some walls are visible. There are beaches and beach clubs here.
- Pygale - 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north. Once the refuge of AgamemnonAgamemnonIn Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
. Not yet excavated. - Several aqua-parksWater parkA waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...
with wave-pools, white-water slides are located near the town. - Ladies Beach - near town.
- Kadıkalesi - Venetian/Byzantine castle, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)along the Kuşadası-Davutlar road,
- PanioniumPanioniumThe Panionium was an Ionian sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios and the meeting place of the Ionian League. It was on the peninsula of Mt. Mycale, about south of Smyrna—now İzmir, in Turkey...
- 25 km (16 mi) south of Kuşadası, on the Davutlar-Güzelçamlı road. Once the central meeting place of the Ionian LeagueIonian LeagueThe Ionian League , also called the Panionic League, was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC comprising twelve Ionian cities .These were listed by Herodotus as*Miletus, Myus, and...
. The ruins are in poor condition and their authenticity is disputed. - Dilek Peninsula National Park. South of Kuşadası, begins at the town of GüzelçamlıGüzelçamliGüzelçamlı is a sea-side town with own municipality in the district of Kuşadası in Turkey's Aydın Province, and a rising tourists' resort...
. Bays and beaches, including the bay of Kalamaki.
Twin Cities
VathyVathy, Samos
Vathy is a town and a former municipality on the island of Samos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Samos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital and main town of the island. The municipal unit comprises numerous towns,...
, Greece Marl, Germany Sinaia
Sinaia
Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. The town was named after Sinaia Monastery, around which it was built; the monastery in turn is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai...
, Romania Monterey, California, USA Gjorče Petrov
Gjorce Petrov municipality
Gjorče Petrov is one of the ten municipalities that compose the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. It is named after the revolutionary Gjorče Petrov.-Geography:...
, Macedonia
See also
- Blue CruiseBlue CruiseA Blue Cruise, also known as a Blue Voyage , is a term used for recreational voyages along the Turkish Riviera, on Turkey's southwestern coast...
- Foreign purchases of real estate in TurkeyForeign purchases of real estate in TurkeyPurchasing property in Turkey has become more popular with holiday home owners and investors around the globe. Several factors have contributed to the popularity and the trend displayed by foreign purchases and have had important repercussions within Turkey. The issue is especially notable given...
- GüzelçamlıGüzelçamliGüzelçamlı is a sea-side town with own municipality in the district of Kuşadası in Turkey's Aydın Province, and a rising tourists' resort...
- Marinas in TurkeyMarinas in TurkeyMarinas in Turkey refer to Turkey's ports of call for international and local yachtsmen equipped with modern services routinely expected in recreational boating industry, and they are presently found either in or near Istanbul or İzmir, the two largest port cities of the country, or in or near...
- Turkish RivieraTurkish RivieraThe Turkish Riviera is a term used to define an area of southwest Turkey encompassing Antalya, Muğla and to a lesser extent the provinces of Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin...