Kuşadası

Located 71 kilometers from the Aydin provincial capital, the county of Kusadasi includes the eastern and southeastern coastal plain of the Kusadasi gulf as well as the low plateau immediately inland of it. The county is enclosed by mountains to the east and south.
The driving force of the county’s economy is tourism and the businesses and services associated with such enterprises, though agriculture is still an important activity.
The county seat borders on Selguk and Pamucak to the north and terminates in the Dilek peninsula on the south. Because Ku§adasi is so conveniently located for access to such important touristic areas as izmir, Efes, Meryem Ana, Selguk, Milet, Didim, Pamukkale, Marmaris, and Bodrum, it is unquestionably the most important tourism center in western Anatolia. Owing also to its proximity to the Greek island of Samos, it also serves as crossing-point for tourists passing between Turkey and Greece.
The abundant availability of means of transportation has been one of the most important factors contributing to the county’s development. Highways provide convenient connections to Menderes International Airport (Izmir) and work is underway on a project for a local airport serving Kusadasi. Ku§adasi also contains two main harbors, one of them being a yacht basin offering full international-class services.

Within the town and in its immediate vicinity there are a large number of beaches, hotels, motels, camping grounds, holiday villages, and other places of entertainment and for this reason, life here during the summer months is quite active and varied.
While there are a number of different theses concerning when and by whom the town was originally founded, its location between the ancient Ionian settlement of Pygela nearby to the north and Panionium to the south in the town of Davutlar as well as the substantial development here both indicate that Kusadasi must be quite an old settlement.
Kusadasi came under Ottoman control in 1413 and a number of public improvements were made by Oküz Mehmet Pasha. Under successive Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman control, Kusadasi fulfilled a number of important duties as a port and military base. It became part of the province of Aydin in 1954.
Panionium
The Panionium was a temple built by the twelve cities of Ionia located in what is now the town of Davutlar. The lonians gathered here to hold the festival called the Panionia and also to deliberate and come to decisions on matters affecting them all.
Neapolis
Neapolis is located on Yilanci Burnu quite near Kusadasi. It is believed to be the oldest Ionian settlement in the area.
Küçük Ada Kalesi
Located on Guvercin island in the bay, this fort is a rather old structure. In the 19th century, it was used by the Ottomans as on advanced outpost against possible attacks from the islands during the Morean rebellion. When the island’s pier was built, the island was connected to the mainland by means of a breakwater and a road.

Okuz Mehmet Pasha Kervansarayi
Located near the Kusadasi pier, this caravanserai was also built in 1618 by Okuz Mehmet Pasha. The structure is surrounded by high crenellated walls like a fortress and has two stories and an interior courtyard. It is used as a hotel nowadays.

Kaleiçi Camii
Located within the Kusadasi shopping area, this mosque was built in 1618 by Grand Vizier Okuz Mehmet Pasha. The doors on the entrance are decorated with interlocking geometric patterns and are inlaid with mother of pearl.
Kaleiçi Hamami
Another addition to Kusadasi’s architecture by Okuz Mehmet Pasha, the hammam was built at the same time as the caravanserai and fortress.

Thermal and therapeutic springs

Aydın Kaplicasi: These thermal springs are located east of the city and are a favorite picnic spot.

imamkoy Kaplicasi: Another thermal spring, this one is located in the village of imamkoy, east of Aydın.

Guzellik Suyu: This river is located east of Aydın.
A particularly popular place to visit in summer is Pasa Yaylasi, a high plateau whose pines and ancient plane trees, ice-cold streams, cool air, and quiet surroundings make it an ideal outdoor recreation and picnic spot.

Aydın’s museum is located next to the indoor sports arena on Gazi Boulevard. It was originally founded in 1968. This modern museum has 1,500 square meters of indoor space and a courtyard and an outdoor exhibition area measuring 3,025 square meters. At the entrance and in the outdoor area, column capitals and works of stone brought here from the city of Tralles are on display.
The interior of the museum consists of three sections in which works are displayed chronologically. The museum’s collection includes a large number of statues, building fragments, terra cotta and metal objects, coins, grave finds, and idols dating from prehistoric, Hittite, Roman, and Byzantine times. Among the more important objects one may see are a bust of Athena, a statue of a Nike, and a bust of Marcus Aurelius.
In the Hall of Ethnographic Works, mostly traditional objects typical of the Aydin region such as garments, accessories, decorative articles, hand tools, weapons, and so on are on display.
The province of Aydin is quite rich in historical remains and as the museum lacks the space to display them all, there are numerous objects in its storerooms.
Some of the most important old bridges built during various periods in Aydin are ilhanoglu Koprusu, Cavus Koprusu, and Karanlik Kopru.

Ãœveys Pasa Camii
Located in the district of Kopriilu, this mosque was built in 1568 by Uveys Pasha, then governor-general of Egypt. The minaret has a single balcony and is decorated with muqarnases (stalectite forms).

Hasan Çelebi Camii (Eski-Yeni Cami)
Located in the district of Hasan Efendi, this mosque was built in 1585 by Hasan Celebi, a brother of Uveys Pasha, governor-general of Egypt. The mosque has a marble mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) and a mimber (pulpit) that are adorned with lace-ike decorations. The minaret, which appears rather slender, was rebuilt around the beginning of this century.
Ramazan PaÅŸa Camii
Located in the district of Ramazan Pasa, this mosque was built in 1594 by Governor-General Ramazan Pasha. This mosque is important in the history of the Turkish War of Independence as it was here that a meeting was held on 22 May 1919 at the beginning of the war at which it was decided to offer resistance. Artistically, it is an interesting structure with its Baroque features, its stained-glass work, its plaster decorations, and its carved woodwork.
Ahmet Pasa Camii (Agagarasi Camii)
Located in the district of Guzelhisar, this mosque was built in 1659 by Ahmet Jems! Pasha. The mosque is also known as Kirmizi Minareli Cami (”Red-brick Minaret Mosque”) owing to its red-brick minarets.
Süleyman Bey Camii
Located below the train station, this mosque was built in 1683 by Hajji Siileyman Bey and is a typical example of classical Ottoman architecture. The interior of the dome is decorated with late-period brushwork.
Cihanoglu Camii and Kulliyesi
Located in the district of KoprulG, this mosque was built in 1756 by Professor Cihanoglu Abdiilaziz. It is an important example of the architecture of the Turkish Baroque. Attached to the mosque is a kulliye (complex of associated buildings with social functions) that includes a medresse, a tomb, a bazaar, and fountains.
Nasuh Pasa Kulliyesi
Also located in the districit of Koprulu, this kulliye was built in 1708 by Nasuh Pasha, who hailed from Aydin. It includes a masjid, a khan (called Zincirli Han), and a hammam (Nasuh Pa§a Hamami) arrayed around a medresse.
Haci Omer Dede Mescidi
Located in the district of Kurtuluj, this buying was originally built as a dervish lodge by someone known as Hajji Omer. It was later converted to a masjid.
Fatma Hanim Sebili and Subyan Mektebi
Located in the district of Hasan Efendi, this structure is believed to have been built in the 18th century. The lower part is a seb/7 (a large, public fountain) while the upper part Is a children’s school
Atika Hanim Çeşmesi and Türbesi
Located in the district of Kdprulu, the fountain and tomb were built in 1774 by Atika Hanim, daughter of Abdullah Pasha
Gümrükönü (Çifte) Hamam
Located in the district of Giimrukonu, this is an interesting example of 16th century Ottoman public bath construction, it is not certain who it was built by.
Cemal Bey Hamami
Located in the district of Kdprulu, this hammam appears to have been built in 1764 by someone called Cemal Bey.
Egri Kümbet
This is a tomb but whose is unknown. From its stylistic features it would appear to have been built in the 18th century. In an earthquake in 1899, the structure leaned somewhat to the right and it is because of this appearance that it is now known popularly by its present name, which means “Leaning Tomb”.

The ancient city of Tralles (known as Tiral today) may be seen atop a hill from the Aydın-Denizli highway. It is located in the district of Topyatagi, a kilometer north of Aydin city.
As related by the ancient geographer Strabo of Amaseia, Tralles was founded by Argive and Thracian tribes. Although it is an extremely ancient settlement, very little proper archaeological research or excavation has been conducted concerning Tralles and for that reason, our knowledge of the city is quite limited. The first historical mention of the city is a reference made to it during the war of independence undertaken in the 5th century B.C. against the Persians by the Spartan general, Thibron. In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great delivered the city from Persian rule. Tralles changed hands frequently among the Hellenistic kingdoms: the Seleucidswere in control of it in 313 B.C. and after the Magnesian wars, it passed to the Kingdom of Pergamon in 260 B.C.
In 129 B.C., Tralles became part of Roman province of Asia. When King Mithridates Eupator of Pontus rebelled against the Romans, the city remained under Pontine rule for four years beginning in 88 B.C. In 84 B.C. Tralles was returned to Rome. In 26 B.C. it suffered serious damage in an earthquake and as it was rebuilt with the assistance of Emperor Augustus, the city was renamed Caesarea.
Under Byzantine rule, Tralles was an episcopal see. The Turks took control of it in the 12th century.
Strabo tells us that the city was a rich and prosperous place in Roman times. Today however very little remains standing of the city that once stood on a plateau surrounded by a protecting wall. The structure known locally as Og Goz (”Three Arches”) is actually three vaults — all that remains of the gymnasium. The remains of the cavea of the ancient theater lie to the north. Because a large part of the ancient city today lies within a military zone, archaeological excavations and research cannot be carried out.
On display at the Aydin Museum are a variety of archaeologica works from the ancient city of Tralles.
One of the two architects responsible for the buildings of Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) in istanbul was Anthemius of Tralles. (The other was Isador of Miletos.)
The “Young Athlete” in the istanbul Archaeological Museum and the “Farneese Bull”, both masterpieces of late Hellenistic sculpture are two world-famous works by sculptors from Tralles.

Aydin is the chief county and administrative center of the fourteen counties of the province. Famous as a region of succulent figs and swashbuckling heroes, Aydin is situated in the middle of the Menderes basin where the southern slopes of the Aydin mountains meet the plain.
Because Aydin is centrally located in geographical terms and also because it is situated on both highway and railway routes over which the economic resources of the region are conveyed to the port of Izmir, the city has become an important population center.
While Aydin ranks fourth in terms of Turkey’s agricultural output the industrially advanced provinces surrounding it (izmir being foremost among them), have had a restrictive effect on Aydin’s industrial development.
With the rise of tourism in the Aegean coastal areas of the counties of Kusadasi and Soke not many years ago, investment activity shifted from the provincial center down to the sea. Blessed as it is with numerous ancient sites and a rich folklore set amidst the seven shades of green, such activities as the “Green Journey” and “Highland Tourism” begun recently in the ancient city of Aphrodesias and its vicinity in Karacasu, Aydin’s easternmost county, have the potential of spreading to every part of the province.
Though we lack definite information about its original founding, the city known as Tralles in ancient times was a prosperous and well-fortified settlement. The city was taken by Mentese Bey from the Byzantines around the end of the 13th century and it later came under the rule of the Aydinogullan principality. After 1308, the town was mown as Aydin Guzelhisar (”Beautiful Castle of Aydin”) and was ruled as = principality for about a century. In the early 15th century it came under Oticman rule and remained so as a province of the empire for five centuries.
With the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in World War I, Aydin was occupied twice by the Greek army in 1919 and suffered considerable destruction by fire. Under the republic, the city was rebuilt in keeping with modern concepts of urban planning and as a result, the provincial capital is today a contemporary western Anatolian city with modern buildings and boulevards.
In addition to the ruins of ancient Tralles, Aydin also contains numerous examples of Turkish architecture — principally djamis (mosques), but also hammams (public baths), khans (roadside inns), medresses (theological academies), and masjids (small mosques). Aydin also possesses a fine museum, beautiful scenery, and opportunities for shopping and observing local ways of life and folklore.

From Tralles to Aydın Güzelhisar: the Menderes valleys become the home of the Oghuz and Turkomans
According to the medieval Byzantine historian Georgios Pachymeres (1242-1310): “The Turks invaded territories that nobody defended. Thus the valley of the Maeander was abandoned not just by brave fighters taking up positions in remote places but also by monks as well.”
At the beginning of the 14th century, when the Germianids (Germiyanogulları) were beginning to put pressure on the borders of Byzantium and capturing territory with their raids to the west, the principality of Menteshe (Mentese) had already become entrenched in what was once Caria and the valley of the Maeander. Before the Germianids turned their attentions towards Karesi, Saruhan, and the Aydın region, Aydın (Tralles) and Sultanhisar (Nysa) had already been besieged and taken (1280-1282) by Emir MenteÅŸe. After Emir Mentese’s death, his son-in-law Sasa Bey took the cities of Magnesia, Priene, and Ayasulug, extending his authority to the entire region. However Sasa Bey fell into a dispute with Mubarizuddin Ghazi Meh-med Bey, a member of the Aydınogulları (”sons of Aydın”) clan. Mehmed defeated Sasa and as a result gained control of the Aydın region. He selected Pyrgion (now Birgi) as his seat of government and having adopted the name Ulu Bey, he established the Aydınoglu principality in 1308. It was during this period that the name of the city of Tralles was changed to Aydın Guzelhisar. The three coastal principalities owed nominal allegiance to the Sultan of Rum and to the llkhanids. According to the Eflaki TeskeresHa 14th century biographical memoir) Arif Qelebi, the grandson of the Turkish poet and philosopher Mevlana, visited Mehmed Bey in Birgi. Ibn Battuta mentions doing the same thing in his Travels in Asia and Africa

Byzantines and Seljuks struggle for the Aegean

In 1071, the Seljuk sultan Alparslan defeated the Byzantine army on the plain of Malazgirt (or Manzikirt as it is known in Western sources) in eastern Anatolia about 40 kilometers northwest of Lake Van and captured the Byzantine emperor, Romanus IV Diogenes. Sparing the emperor’s life, Alparslan concluded a treaty with him but Michael Dukas, the newly-declared emperor in Constantinople, refused to recognize the treaty and the upshot was that numerous Turkish tribes and raiders flooded into the Anatolian heartland spreading rapidly from east to west. Caka, a Turkish bey (prince), captured Smyrna (Izmir) and established his short-lived Aegean maritime empire in the last quarter of the 11th century. After his death however and with the appearance of the armies of the First Crusade in Anatolia towards the end of the 11th century, izmir returned to Byzantine control. This then was the beginning of the Byzantine-Turkish struggle for control of the Menderes basin, a struggle that was to continue for nearly two centuries.
In 1148, the armies of the Second Crusade under the command of King Louis VII of France advanced up the Maeander river but no sooner had they passed Laodicea (Denizli) than they were defeated by the forces of Sultan Mesud of te Anatolian Seljuks in the vicinity of Honaz. In 1176 Sultan Kilicarslan II overcame Byzantine forces and succeeded in penetrating the Maeander valley. But while he managed to take the cities of Tralles and Antiocheia as well as a number of castles, the Byzantine emperor, Manual I Comnenus, recovered them. In 1187 Kiligarslan II again staged a number of raids into the plain of the Lesser Maeander (Cilbianus) with the result that the Byzantine emperor Isaac Angelos was forced to pay an annual tribute.
Around the end of 12th century, Sultan Giyaseddin Keyhiisrev I again succeeded in taking a number of cities in the valley but owing to a struggle over possession of the throne, the Seljuks were unable to maintain their hold upon them. In 1243, the Anatolian Seljuks (the Seljuks of Rum, as they are called in Western sources), whose capital was Konya (ancient Iconium) were defeated by the llkhanid Mongols at Kosedag and became subject to them. As a result they lost whatever political influence they may still have had and the military expeditions that they had once staged in the Aegean littoral were now replaced with the migrations and conquests of Turkoman tribes. As a result of the weakening of imperial Seljuk control in the 13th century, three independent Turkish principaties appeared on the western coast of Anatolia.

The Byzantine period: the capital of the world moves from Rome to Constantinople

With the division of the Roman Empire into two in 395, the eastern half, which was to become the Byzantine Empire, assumed control of all of Anatolia. The great empire that the armies of Rome had forged by the force of their swords was turned over to the Byzantines together with all its institutions (except of course for the pagan religion). Constantinople (istanbul) became the new capital of the world.
The Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity as a state religion and thus rejected the pagan culture and art of classical Rome. This was and important development and led to radical changes not only in social attitudes and living but also in architecture as well. While the public-oriented structures of the ancient cities were preserved, the white marble temples were converted to churches, sometimes with the addition of brick-walled annexes. As a consequence of Iconoclasm (a movement that opposed the veneration of religious images), the making of statues was prohibited and existing ones were destroyed.
Turkish migration into Anatolia began to intensify beginning in the 10th century. Their steady advance pushed Byzantine power back from east to west By the 13th century, all of Anatolia but for the Aegean littoral was in Turkish hands.

The Roman Empire: the last nation of the ancient world to inherit the millennium-old accumulation of Aegean culture and civilization

To be sure, the bequest of Attalos III of Pergamon was merely the pretext by which the Romans swallowed up Asia Minor. Rome was well versed in the art of “divide and conquer”. As early as 189 B.C., the Roman consul Manlius Vulso, as the protector of King Eumenes II of Pergamon was dispatched with his brother on a campaign against Galatia. The consul advanced through the Menderes and Cjne valleys, extending as far as Karacasu and the plateaus of Arpaz, Alabanda, and Kanncah. This territory, under the nominal hegemony of the Seleucid kingdom, he presented to Pergamon as if it were his own.

Rome eventually turned the Pergamene kings into a clients and following the elimination of the last stumbling-block — King Aristonicus — in 129 B.C., Consul Marcus Aquilius was sent to take delivery of the kingdom of Pergamon.
The greatest resistance to Roman expansion in Anatolia came from King Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus. During his wars with Rome, which lasted from 84 to 63 B.C. and were the occasion of many a bloody battle, this powerful king, who ruled much of Anatolia, invaded Greece and even dared to march against Rome. He managed to take Ionia and the city of Tralles and its surroundings. Despite this however, his success was short-lived.
It was Pompey and Julius Caesar who finally secured Roman hegemony in Anatolia. By 27 B.C., the wars were over and under the Roman Empire, such emperors as Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian built up Asia Minor and made it prosperous. Caria, Ionia, and the Maeander valley all regained their former glory. The Romans were willing to adopt beneficial aspects of local cultures and through their exploitation of local resources and their development of roads and trade, all the ancient cities in the region — foremost among them being Ephesos, Miletos, and Aphrodesias — flourished and grew and were adorned with monumental structures.