Izmir Tepekule - Recent excavations at Tepekule Hill near Bayraklı have shown that the Izmir region has been inhabited since around 3000 BC. The city's original name was "Smyrna," meaning "place of the holy mother."

Allianoi - The most recent reports from Turkey about the Roman spa complex, sent by the local Allianoi Initiative led by the archaeologist professor Ahmet Yaras, says that now only the tops of excavated walls and columns poke through sand that workers employed by the Turkish State Waterworks are laying.

Great Meander - After the Euphrates and Tigris, Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers, the Great Menderes River also belongs to the group of rivers that are extremely important for agriculture and thus for the development of humanity, because when people became sedentary, they were dependent on fertile soil and a constant supply of water.

The tip of a real admirer of Greek cultural buildings, whom we met in Euromos, led us to take a detour over the mountains to the coast: Iasos was the next destination.

Ancient Mylasa, today Milas, was one of the most important cities in the interior of Caria. Early, insufficiently published finds date from the late Bronze Age, including some fragments of Mycenaean clay vessels, probably from the 15th to 13th/12th centuries BC.

Our visit to Izmir this time was also to take us to Karşıyaka, one of the two largest districts of Izmir, because we accepted our friend Mehmet's invitation for tea, after our last meeting was almost 6 months ago.

The cute Aegean town of Urla is located about 38 km west of the city center of Izmir and stretches about 11 km parallel to the main road towards Izmir.

Cesmealti, which is about 35 kilometres from Izmir, has become a lively, natural centre of tourism.

Seferihisar is a small town on the coast of the Aegean region. The town is located on the southeastern coast of the Cesme peninsula, which is the largest peninsula in the Aegean with a coastline of around 1695 km.

The archaeological Museums in Izmir is located in the cultural park of the city of Izmir, where finds from the western Anatolian, Ionian cities and the surrounding area can be seen, even if you prefer to visit the original sites, a worthwhile alternative.

Visiting the excavations of the Hellenistic - Roman city of Ephesus between Izmir and Kusadasi, which we visited several times during our travels, is always a special experience.

Not far from Kusadasi and another highlight of a trip to Turkey could be a visit to the town of Sirince near Selcuk for every tourist.

The small town of Akköy is located in the heart of the Meander Delta nature reserve on the Dilek Yarimadasi peninsula in the Izmir area, about 5 km from the ancient city of Miletus.

There is hardly any place around Bodrum (formerly called Halicarnassus) in which you will not find at least the foundations of a temple or the remnants of an ancient settlement. If you look at lot of the known names of Greek scientists, artists and scientists, you need to learn, that lot of them lived in today's Turkey.

As a port town, İzmir has always been strategically important for trade between Anatolia and other Aegean cities. Not surprisingly, the region of Kemeralti on Izmir's shore is a bustling business centre.

A very big town with the welcoming atmosphere of a village. We stayed out of town in a suburb called Buca in the apartment of our Turkish friend's mother. Everybody was very friendly and we experienced the genuine Turkish way of life, with mealtimes especially being a real family occasion.

Turkey is one of the countries with the largest areas of floodplains and wetlands in Europe and the Middle East. These wetlands have a great influence and importance for wildlife as well as for the local economy.

Pergamon was famous in ancient times primarily for its extraordinarily extensive library. Today in Pergamon (today's name: Bergama) you can still visit the Acropolis (the castle hill), the former city and the Asklepieion.

About 16 km southwest of the centre of Bodrum and somewhat hidden by two mountains, lies the small town of Karaincir with its approximately 500-meter-wide fine sandy beach, which is one of the best in the region,

The former metropolis Ephesus was located in a valley between two mountain ridges, whose slopes today are still without firming forests because of the once densely constructions, so the ridges are still in motion.