The Turkish Aegean is characterized by 2,808 kilometres of coastline and a variety of ancient sites. A history over 2000 years old awaits you here on the Turkish Aegean. Centrally located in this region is Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, which is also known as the "Pearl of the Aegean".
The ancient cities of Ephesus, Troy and Pergamum located here are world-famous. The cities of Marmaris and Bodrum are also located here with their beaches that invite you to relax.
The large city of Izmir, located directly on the coast, with the nearby seaside resorts of Cesme and Kusadasi is well known. The climate on the Turkish Aegean is significantly milder than on the Turkish Riviera. Popular travel months are May to October, and July is recommended for bathers.
Iztuzu Beach in Dalyan: Natural beauty. This jewel in Dalyan in the province of Mugla in the southern Aegean is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Turkey and one of the most beautiful natural beaches in the world: it has already been officially named the most beautiful beach in Turkey.
The Blue Lagoon in Ölüdeniz is considered the place with the most beautiful beaches in Turkey. That's exactly why the seaside resort on the Lycian coast is probably one of the best travel destinations for sun-hungry tourists.
Most of the region's olive oil is produced in Ayvalık and Edremit. There are several sugar factories in Afyon, Kütahya and Uşak, although there is also a sulfur factory in Kütahya.
The city of Denizli is the region's main textile centre and exports most of its products abroad. Carpet weaving is particularly present in Demirci, Gördes, Kula, Simav and Uşak. There are significant deposits of marble in Afyon, so production facilities have been set up on site. Cotton weaving is widespread in Aydın, Denizli, İzmir, Nazilli and Uşak.
Our journey takes us along the country road between Selcuk and Söke near Izmir, where the ruins of the old Hellenistic settlement town of Magnesia can be seen from afar.
Priene rises just behind the small town of Güllübahçe on the road from Söke to Milet and is one of the most magnificent and best-preserved cities of ancient Ionia and is one of the most beautiful archaeological sites and sights in the region.
The Apollo temple of Didyma (the Didymaion) is located within the boundaries of the Yenihisar (Didim) district which is in the province of Aydın.
Our tour into the valley of the Phrygians (Frig) in Afyon, the valley extending from Döğer (in İhsaniye district) over Alanyurt until after Seydiler, should also lead us to the famous monuments of the Phrygians, the Lion- and the Serpent stone.
Sirince is a small Aegean village visited by many people because it preserves its historical architecture. It became famous as being the location where the story of the novel called “Farewell Anatolia” takes place. The novel was written by Greek author Dido Satiriou.
The idyllic fishing town of Foca, just 70 kilometres from Izmir, is a popular holiday destination with beautiful and clean sandy beaches, well-kept restaurants, accommodation and several other attractions.
It is possible to find various sandy or rocky beaches all around the town of Kuşadası. Some of them are private beach clubs where you have to pay an entrance fee to use the facilities and some are free public beaches.
The centuries-old tradition of camel fighting in Western Anatolia has its origins in the time when nomadic peoples led their caravans thousands of kilometres across the country on their way from the Orient to the West.
Decades ago, a prehistoric settlement from the Bronze Age was found near the city of Limantepe, now Urla, on the west coast of Turkey, which also had an artificial, ancient harbour.
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.