SÖKE
SÖKE
The Aegean region hi mt name is rich in history and natural beauty and Söke is a large town right in the centre of it, the market town at the heart of a wealthy agricultural district, with a dramatic backdrop of mountains. Furthermore, although eclipsed by the nearby centres of tourism on the coast, Kuşadası, Didim and Bodrum, Söke does catch passing trade from the many visitors to the area, including visitors to the nearby historical site of Priene. There are a number of amenities on the highway for tourists passing through from Izmir airport to the coast, these include restaurants, service stations, and outlet stores selling cut-price clothing. The local cuisine includes "çöp şiş" (a shish kebab of small pieces of lamb) and pide (a flat bread pizza).
DIDYMA
(12 miles south of Miletus) Didyma is famous for its magnificent Temple of Apollo. As grand in scale as the Parthenon-measuring 623 feet by 167 feet-the temple has 124 well-preserved column, some still supporting their architrave; its oracles rivaled those of Delphi. The popularity of the oracle dwindled with the rise of Christianity, around AD 385. Fragments of bas-relief on display by the entrance to the site include a gigantic head of Medusa and a small statue of Poseidon and his wife, Amphitrite.
KUSADASİ
One of the most popular resorts in the southern Aegean is an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding area. It is 80 km south of Izmir, which is the 3rd biggest city of Turkey, at the Aegean coast. A small fishing village as late as the 1970's, Kusadasi is now a sprawling, hyperactive town packed with curio shops and a population of around 55.000.
The cheery holiday atmosphere is hugely popular with tourists.
EPHESUS
(20 km. north of Kusadasi)
Ephesus is the best preserved ancient city in the eastern Mediterranen. Ephesus, on the sea at the time, quickly became a powerful trading port and sacred center for the cult of Artemis. Like most Ionian cities in Asia Minor, Ephesus became a Roman city, and a Christian one though not without a struggle. Ephesus was doomed by the silting in its harbour. By the 6th century the port had become useless and the population had shifted to what is now Selçuk; today, Ephesus is 5 km from the sea. Ephesus is the showpiece of Aegean archaeology and one of the grandest reconstructed ancient sites in the world. The site is a pleasure to explore: Marble-paved streets with grooves made by chairot wheels take you past buildings and monuments that have been partially reconstructed.
VIRGIN MARY'S HOUSE
(7 km to Ephesus) is becoming an increasingly popular pilgrimage for Catholics. Many believe it to have been the place where Saint John took the mother of Jesus after the crucifixion and from which she ascended to heaven. Pope Paul VI visited the site in 1967
and confirmed its authenticity.
SIRINCE
(9 km to Selcuk) A well preserved Greek Village from 6th Century. It is now under the protection of the government. In 1926 the Greeks living there went back to Greece, and the Turks living in Greece came here.
PRIENE
(23 miles south of Kusadasi)
Priene sits in a spectacular location atop a steep hill above the flat valley of the Meander River. Dating from about 350 BC, the city you see today was still under construction in 334, when Alexander the Great liberated the Ionian settlements commerce moved to neigboring Miletus, and the city's prosperity waned. As a result, the Romans never rebuilt Priene, and the simpler Grek style predominates as in few other ancient cities in Turkey. Excavated by British archeologists in 1868-69, it's smaller than Ephesus and far less grandiose.
MILETUS
(10 miles south of Priene) Miletus was one of the greatest commercial centers of the Greek world before its harbour silted over. Saint Paul preached here before the harbour became impassable and the city had to be abandoned once and for all.
