Izmir: The third largest city of Turkey is also in Aegean region which used to have the ancient name Smyrna, an Amazon woman warrior, grows wheat, barley, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, olives, grapes and figs. It is located in the west central Turkey on the Aegean Sea at the eastern of Izmir Gulf. Except from the Agora, the ancient Aqueducts and the Museum of Archeology, Izmir is not rich in archeological remains. Smyrna was also one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. It is 90km to Kusadasi.

Izmir

Sardis: One of the other ancient cities in the region is Sart (Sardis) which used to be a political and cultural center of Anatolia. It was the capital of Lydia. It was also one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. The ruins in Sardis that are worth seeing are the Synagogue which used to be a part of gymnasium, the Gymnasium was a complex of symmetrically arranged rooms and the Temple of Artemis which was one of the largest ancient temples.

Priene: The last three ancient cities in the region are Priene, Miletos and Didyma. To begin with Priene, it was an ancient harbor city which had to change its location because of the alluviums the Meander River carried. It is 35km away from Kusadasi. The city was founded by the inhabitants of an abandoned Ionian city that had the same name. The city was assigned by Alexander the Great to watch the unreliable city Miletos. Among the ruins that are worth seeing are the Theatre which had the capacity to hold 5000 people was one of the finest theatres of Hellenistic Kingdom and although it was rebuilt in the Roman period it still remained as a typical Hellenistic theatre, the Bouleterion which was used for the meetings of the town council, the Prytaneion was the seat of the elected city administration in the east of the bouleterion and the Temple of Athena Polias which was the temple dedicated to the goddess of Priene, Athena Polias, to protect the city.

Miletos: Miletos, near the village Akkoy, had the fame because of its location on trade routes.  In the ancient city, the Theatre which was a small hellenistic theatre that had the capacity of 5300 people, Byzantine Fortress which is located at the top of the theatre hill is thought to be built mostly with the stones of the theatre, Harbor Monuments, the Delphinium which was a Hellenistic outdoors shrine, the Bouleterion which consisted of a propylon, courtyard and auditorium, the Nymphaeum facing the bouleterion had three stories with statues of gods, the South Agora, the North Gate which was destroyed during the construction of the Mosque Ilyas bey, the Temple of Serapis between the south agora and the Faustina Baths, the Baths of Faustina which were built by Faustina in the 2nd century AD, the Ilyas Bey Mosque which was built in the 15th century by the ottoman Military Commander Ilyas Bey and the Caravansary.

Didyma: And lastly Didyma which meant twins as being the meeting place of Zeus and Leto for their twins Apollo and Artemis. It is 75km to Kusadasi. The city had the fame to be a prophecy center which was dedicated to Apollo. In the ancient city the most important ruin is the Temple of Apollo which was an unusual temple not only because of its huge size but also for its antechamber Cresmographeion.

   The Anatolia had been home to many ancient cities and civilizations. Briefly Aegean Region consists of the cities above. For further information you can click on the names of the ancient cities.

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