Turkey - The Central and Southern Aegean

193 Pages·2016·13.4 MB·English

Contents
How to use
Introduction to The central and southern Aegean
İzmir
The Çeşme peninsula
Selçuk and around
Kuşadası and around
Didim and around
Bafa Gölü
Milas and around
Bodrum
The Bodrum peninsula
Marmaris
The Hisarönü peninsula
The Datça peninsula
Pamukkale
Around Pamukkale
Turkey Basics
Maps
Small print
HOW TO USE THIS ROUGH
GUIDES SNAPSHOT
This Rough Guides Snapshot is one of a new generation of informative and
easy-to-use travel-guide ebooks that guarantees you make the most of your visit.
An essential tool for pre-trip planning, it also makes a great travel companion
when you’re on the road.
Introduction to the central and southern Aegean is a good place to start, with an
overview of the region’s big attractions and a list of highlights. From the table
of contents, you can click straight to the main sections of the guide, which
includes features on all the major sights. You’ll find practical information on the
country as a whole, including details on flights, in Turkey Basics. Shorter
contents lists appear at the start of every section in the guide to make chapter
navigation quick and easy. You can jump back to these by tapping the links that
sit with an arrow icon.
Detailed area maps can be found in the guide and in the dedicated map section,
which also includes a full country map, accessible from the table of contents.
Depending on your hardware, you can double-tap on the maps to see larger-scale
versions, or select different scales. There are also thumbnails below more
detailed maps – in these cases, you can opt to “zoom left/top” or “zoom
right/bottom” or view the full map. The screen-lock function on your device is
recommended when viewing enlarged maps. Make sure you have the latest
software updates, too.
Throughout the guide, we’ve flagged up our favourite places - a perfectly sited
hotel, an atmospheric café, a special restaurant - with . You can select your
own favourites and create a personalized itinerary by bookmarking the sights,
venues and activities that are of interest, giving you the quickest possible access
to everything you’ll need for your time away.
INTRODUCTION TO THE
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
AEGEAN
Highlights
The central and southern Aegean coast and its hinterland have seen foreign
tourism for longer than any other part of Turkey. The territory between
modern İzmir and Marmaris corresponds to the bulk of ancient Ionia and
just about all of old Caria, and contains a concentration of Classical Greek,
Hellenistic and Roman antiquities unrivalled in Turkey. Of these, Ephesus
is usually first on everyone’s list, but the understated charms of exquisitely
positioned sites such as Priene and Labranda hold at least as much appeal.
Of course, most visitors are drawn especially by the beaches – Kuşadası,
Bodrum and Marmaris are among the largest resorts in all Turkey,
bursting with cruise passengers and package tourists but rather likeable
places nonetheless. Independent travellers may prefer to seek more secluded
sections of coast: the resort of Çeşme is certainly not overblown, the Datça
peninsula is unspoiled and quite spectacular, and the towns and villages on
the Çeşme, Bodrum and Hisarönü peninsulas are highly popular with
moneyed locals.
There’s plenty to see once you get away from the coast, too. Sprawling İzmir,
the third-largest city in Turkey, is an earthy place that attracts almost no foreign
visitors – swing by to see how “real” Turkey functions, and for an excursion
west along the peninsula to Alaçatı, a well-preserved former Greek village that’s
now a weekend magnet for affluent Turks. The territory of ancient Ionia begins
to the south, bookended – in travel terms – by little Selçuk, most famed as the
jumping-off point for Ephesus but a delightful place in its own right. South of
here is Kuşadası, an unabashedly utilitarian resort that serves well for
excursions to the major antiquities and the nearby Dilek National Park. Ruins
spanning numerous eras pepper the former coast – now some way inland – as
you head further south, including Priene, perhaps the most dramatic site of all
the Ionian cities; sprawling Miletus; and Didyma, with its gargantuan temple.
South of the main Ionian sites, the southern Aegean begins with reminders of
another ancient civilization – the Carians, a purportedly barbarous people
indigenous to the area (a rarity in Anatolia) who spoke a language distantly
related to Greek. The waters of Bafa Gölü, and ancient Heracleia ad Latmos
on its northeast shore, make a suitably dramatic introduction to this once-isolated
and mysterious region. From Milas, the nearest substantial town, a cluster of
ancient sites provides tempting excursions. South again, party-hard Bodrum and
its peninsula are the big event on this coast. While the tentacles of development
creep over the surrounding land, the features that first attracted outsiders to the
area still occasionally shine through. Next up is Marmaris, another big, rather
overblown resort; the Hisarönü peninsula beyond, bereft of a sandy shoreline
but blessed with magnificent scenery, offers the closest escape – Datça and the
remote beaches nearby are more rewarding than the much-touted ruins of ancient
Knidos. Lastly, inland you’ll find the otherworldly travertine terraces that
surround the hot springs of Pamukkale – picture-perfect proof that beaches are
not the only natural attraction in this spellbinding region.
If you’ve been travelling in other parts of Turkey, the Aegean area’s high
accommodation prices may come as an unpleasant surprise – rates at the
coastal resorts go through the roof in summer, though inland (including İzmir,
Selçuk and Pamukkale) you can find budget rooms at any time of year. As for
Aegean cuisine, it’s unusual in placing far less emphasis on meat, and far more
on fresh herbs and vegetables.
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EPHESUS
Highlights
1 Alaçatı This marvellous little village has become one of the best places in
which to sample the Aegean area’s unique cuisine.
2 Selçuk More than a mere base for visiting ancient ruins, this is one of Turkey’s
most pleasant small towns, and a great place to shack up for a few days.
3 Ephesus Hot, crowded and exhausting it may be, but you simply can’t miss
Turkey’s best-preserved ancient city – a magnificent monument to the wealth of
Rome.
4 Priene Scramble over the ruins of a superbly preserved Hellenistic town and
gaze out over the Meander basin.
5 Bodrum Spend a few days sampling the nightlife at Turkey’s most fashionable
and sophisticated beach resort.
6 Pamukkale Visit the geological oddity that has found its way onto every
Turkish tourism poster.
7 Aphrodisias New excavations at this beautifully sited Roman city are
revealing a site to rival Ephesus in grandeur and importance.
For details on getting to the central and southern Aegean and travelling across the rest of Turkey, as well
as information on entry requirements and currency, plus travelling with children, national holidays and
sport, turn to the Turkey Basics section.
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