HISTORICAL PLACES AROUND KUSADASI

HISTORICAL PLACES AROUND KUSADASI



VIRGIN MARY
Located on the top of the "Bulbul" mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of the Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere hidden between trees. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come to the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in crowded places. The house is a typical Roman architectural example, made entirely of stones.


EPHESUS
Ephesus, known as one of the most fascinating archeological sites in the world, was a large port and trading center at the crossroads of important trade routes, such as the King road and the Silk road. As the most visited antique site of Turkey, Ephesus is the gate to Turkey's presentation to the world. Every year millions of visitors come to Ephesus for its marvelous and mystical atmosphere. Huge granite columns are witnesses of the city's former magnificence and many worth-seeing sites surround it: the Artemision, one the Seven Wonders, Saint-John's church, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, the Shrine of the Virgin Mary, the Mosque of Isabey and the archeological museum of Selcuk. Originally Ephesus was a harbour city but due to the Menderes alluviums over the centuries, the site is now removed from the sea by about 5-6 kms.


PIRIENE - MILETOS - DIDYMA
Priene which is in Güllübahçe at a distance of 15 km from Söke, was carried to its present locality in the year 350 B.C. from the original place where it had been founded earlier.Miletos which is in the vicinity of Söke, was on the seashore in the ancient times.Didyma was a cult center for the city of Miletos It is located in the present-day village of Yeniköy, about fifteen kilometers from the site of Miletos


NATIONAL PARK
The heavily forested area which is Dilek Peninsula, the extension of Samsun Mountains to the Aegean Sea, has been protected as a National Park in 1966. The National Park includes an area of 11.000 hectares and it is on the borders of Kusadasi district and at the south of the centrum.