- Priene:
Priene is an ancient Greek city which lies between the popular holiday resorts of Kusadasi and Bodrum. It is one of many important ancient sites in the area and is close to both Miletus and Ephesus. Even though it is a very small city, the real charm of Priene lies in its quiet appeal and off-the-beaten-track atmosphere.
The origins of Priene are unknown, though legend dates the city’s founding to Athenian settlers in the 11th or 10th centuries BC. Although Priene itself may have never been a major power, its location in the heart of a region that constantly witnessed the clashes of empires ensured it saw an almost continual flow of conquerors, occupiers and ‘liberators’.
Visitors to Priene can view the Temple of Athena, the ancient theatre and the well preserved council chamber (Bouleuterion). Also found at the site are the remains of Roman baths and gymnasiums, the ruins of an ancient Synagogue and the ‘House of Alexander the Great’ – where it is reported that the young conqueror stayed during his siege of Miletus in 334 BC.
As well as these historic sites, visitors to Priene can simply wander the side streets and houses of this Hellenistic city to explore the ruins in peace and quiet.
- Miletus:
Judging by the modest number of tourists reaching the ruins of Miletus, it is hard to believe that in the antiquity it was one of the most important cities of the region, in its heyday challenging the power of Ephesus. Founded by the Greeks on the coast of Asia Minor, Miletus will be remembered in the annals of history as the birthplace of mathematician Thales and two famous philosophers, Anaxagoras and Anaximander. Miletus was also one of the oldest and most important Greek cities of Ionia, boasting not one, but four harbors. Today, the crowds of sightseers from all over the world rub shoulders in Ephesus, leaving the pleasure of discovering the secrets of Miletus to small groups of curious visitors who manage to reach this site.
Miletus is famous in the ancient world for its intellectual, artistic, economic and political life.
Strategically located on the southwest coast of Anatolia, on a promontory near the mouth of the river Meandro, it housed an important caravan route connecting Mesopotamia to the shores of the Aegean Sea and its many thriving islands. In fact, Milet traded with dozens of colonies located on the shores of the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea.
- Didyma:
The ancient Didyma, called Didim today, situated in Aydın Province in the southwest of Turkey, was the most renowned sanctuary of the Hellenic world. It was connected to the great classical city of Miletus by a 17 kilometer-long Sacred Road. The area was settled in the Neolithic period, established as a colony of Crete followed by Mycenae in the 16th century BC, and subsequently possessed by Lycians, Persians, Seleucids, Attalids, Ancient Romans, and Byzantines as part of the province of Caria.
Apollo is considered to be one of the Twelve Olympians in Greek Mythology. He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin-sister Artemis, the Moon-Goddess. According to the legend, their mother Leto gave birth to the twins in Ortyga Woods. Didymaion means “twins” and this is the reason why the place where the Temple of Apollo stands was called “Didyma.”
The Temple, 109 meters long and 51 meters wide, used to be the third biggest temple of the ancient world after the largest one, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the Temple of Hera in Samos Island. All these historical monuments were located in a place of damaging earthquakes, even though the Temple of Artemis and the Temple of Hera were completely destroyed, the Temple of Apollo remained standing.
