The Turkish Aegean Sea offers bathing bays with crystal-clear, blue water, a hinterland with pine forests and olive groves and ancient sites. The holiday region in the southwest of Turkey makes a wonderful beach, active and cultural holiday possible and boasts a mild climate even in winter.
Outside the cities such as Izmir, Aydin, Kuşadası and coastal towns you will also see ancient sights. Not far from Kuşadası you will find the ruins of Ephesus. The Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Julius Caesar already walked the so-called Curete Street. A theater, the Celsus library and a public toilet also survived the centuries.
In the very south, where the Turkish Aegean Sea merges into the Turkish Riviera, there are also interesting remnants of antiquity in Dalyan. If you climb up to the theater, you not only have the venue in front of you, but you can also let your gaze wander over the mouth of the Dalyan into the Mediterranean. Other ruins include a Roman bath and a temple complex.
High in the north of the Aegean coast, at the western end of the Dardanelles, you can see the remains of Troy. The altar of the Artena Temple can still be seen. There are models of the city in the excavation house. Also on site is the Pithos Garden with large storage jars used to store olive oil, wine and grains. By the way, between Troy and Izmir is Bergama, where you can walk among the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Pergamon.
The Turkish Aegean Sea delights beach vacationers with its often-romantic bays and rugged coastline. Tourists have the choice between sandy and pebble beaches. The mountains of the Taurus Mountains tower in the background. People like to go swimming in places like Bodrum, Kuşadası, Çeşme, Mamaramis and Fethiye, located at the southeastern end of the Aegean Sea.
In Bodrum, water lovers are more likely to go to the surrounding beaches than to the city beach. Popular is e.g. B. Camel Beach, which is suitable for family vacations with small children due to its shallow entrance.
The ruins of the ancient cities of Klazomenai and Erythrai lie not far from the modern city of Urla, around 30 and 50 kilometers from the gates of Izmir.
We have just received another short interim report by email from Sylvia and Anselm, who set off from Pamucak towards Izmir in their motorhome early in the morning. They had asked for tips on parking and a city tour in Izmir, which we were of course happy to pass on.
We had passed the town of Dikili several times during our tours along the Turkish Aegean, but it was never a good place to stop. Now we were again coming from Ayvalik on the road 550 towards Izmir when we were overcome by a “little hunger”
It took many years and enormous costs until finally in Kadifekale, a district of Izmir, the excavation of one of the most important ancient theatres of Roman origin could begin.
On the way to Çanakkale, we had passed the previously unknown place Menemen several times before already, which seemed neither to be particularly inviting as a modern town along the main road nor showing any special features.
The goddess Sekhmet is well known from Egyptian mythology because of her lion form in connection with her attribute "The Mighty One" through a multitude of different representations.
A few days ago we were lucky enough to be invited to a concert in the round tower of the Red Basilica of Pergamon in the town of Bergama. We wanted to take the opportunity to explore the immediate surroundings of the Red Basilica a little more closely. But let's start with the reason for this visit to Pergamon.
Selçuk, a small town near the Aegean Sea, is a meeting place of different civilizations, cultures, languages and religions. Selçuk is about 73 kilometres south of İzmir and only 17 kilometres from Kuşadası.
As already described in the first part of my report, during the summer vacation of 1989 we decided to look for a holiday home in the greater Ayvalık area.
At this point, we want to meet the wishes and inquiries of some alaturka readers and give you, as a hobby author, the freedom to portray yourself and report on your move to or settlement in Turkey.
We were on our way to the well-known porcelain exhibition of Kütahya (a separate report will follow later), the provincial capital of the eponymous province of Kütahya with 214,000 inhabitants, which had been hit by strong earthquakes in 1896, 1930, 1944 and 1970. The last major earthquake alone killed 1,100 people.
A few days' stay in Izmir also allows us to take a day trip to Akhisar, the county seat of the district of the same name in Manisa Province, about 90 kilometers from Izmir.
For almost every Turkey traveler, they are still the number 1 destination to visit while staying in Turkey, Pamukkale travertine terraces.
Coming from Lebedos we continue along the west coast towards Kusadasi. After about 22 kilometers you can see the remains of the town of Notion, slightly elevated on a hill, which was of great importance as a former port of the metropolis of Colophon.
We had heard several times about the second tufa region, comparable to Cappadocia, the Phrygian Valley (Frig Vadisi), but so far without ever having visited the area around Afyon.
It is just about 28 kilometers from Teos to the ancient Greek city of Lebedos, always following the coastal towards Kusadasi.
The Ionian city of Teos was located directly on the Bay of Sığacık, only about 35 kilometers away, at that time a day's journey from the gates of ancient Smyrna.
Together with our friends Tony and Linda, we decided to do a small spring tour starting from Izmir, which should take us to Bozdağ, the ski area right in front of the gates of the metropolis of Izmir.
It was pure curiosity that made us follow the sign pointing to the ancient city of Tripoli. Coming from Izmir, we were still about 21 kilometers from Denizli when this street sign made us curious and, as so often, the decision was made quickly.
Coming from Akşehir Lake on the D300 towards Afyonkarahisar, we also make a short stop at Eber Lake, which was once, due to the huge amounts of meltwater from the mountain range of Emir Dağları in the north and the mountain range of Sultan Dağları in the south, connected with the Akşehir Lake.