TürkiyeCennet
The Aegean is a region of olive groves, ancient harbours and coastlines that change colour in the evening light. The shoreline is deeply indented; behind every headland is a separate cove, and behind most coves an ancient settlement. Exploring the Aegean is therefore less about going to one point than about moving along a coast.
What sets the region apart is how closely natural beauty and the ancient world are interwoven; in a single day you can swim at a beach and sit in an ancient theatre. On TürkiyeCennet the Aegean begins with a single place for now, Ölüdeniz — a first stop, not the whole region. The routes in preparation below point to the places that will form its backbone.
Places in this region
8 places
Aphrodisias
Inland from Aydın, a city of sculptors dedicated to the goddess of love, where a stadium for 30,000 survives almost intact — the best-preserved ancient stadium in Anatolia.
Pergamon (Bergama)
North of İzmir, a Hellenistic capital built along the spine of a steep hill: the steepest ancient theatre known, the library that gave us the word parchment, and an ancient healing centre on the plain below.
Bodrum
A whitewashed harbour town built over ancient Halicarnassus: the site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and a crusader castle housing a museum of underwater archaeology.
Çeşme
At İzmir's western tip, an Aegean coastal town of clear coves, windsurfing and the stone houses of Alaçatı.
Dilek Peninsula National Park
South of Kuşadası, a protected peninsula facing the Greek island of Samos: undeveloped pebble coves, pine forest running down to the water, and some of the richest coastal wildlife in Türkiye.
Ephesus
In Selçuk near İzmir, one of the ancient world's best-preserved harbour cities, with marble streets and the Library of Celsus.
Ölüdeniz
A coast near Fethiye famous for its calm lagoon and paragliding views.
Pamukkale and Hierapolis
In Denizli, a UNESCO site where the white travertine terraces built by thermal springs meet the ancient city of Hierapolis above them.
Coming next
in preparationThese places are not published yet. Work on this region continues next.
- Efes
- Pamukkale
- Assos
- Alaçatı
- Bozcaada
- Şirince