Kusadasi (Kuşadası)

Situated on the Aegean coast, Kusadasi (written as Kuşadası with Turkish letters and also known as Ephesus Neopolis or Scala Nuova before the 20th century) is one of the most important resorts of Turkey. While its permanent residents are around 50 000, during summer the rather large resort bustles with tourists, reaching about ten times as many people.

The water is very salty but crystal clear, while the beaches are rather narrow, especially near the town center (eg. Ladies Beach - Kadınlar Denizi) - this means that it can get very crowded during high season (and I wasn't impressed by the quality of the sand either). Because of the rather long distances (the resort has more than 10km in length) and the fact that the best beaches are actually outside Kusadasi, getting from one place to the other can get difficult. So you can have either a quieter beach OR enjoy the attractions of the town center - shops, restaurants and especially the Bazaar. There are always the local minibuses (the "dolmus"), but they have fixed routes and you'll have to get informed regarding them. Regarding the personal car or a car rental - the petrol is really expensive (around 3.8 TRY = almost 2 euros).

I mentioned the Bazaar and with this occasion I'd like to say something about Turkish shopping. Everyone wants to get the most money from you (even for some doubtful products) and almost everything is negotiable - it may be hard to get rid of some persistent salesmen without buying anything. You can find all sorts of things for sale, from leather, hand-made carpets and jewelry to trinkets and traditional sweets. For me the plethora of "original imitations" (as one salesman named them :) ) didn't impress me at all (since they were anyway overpriced), but among the products worth buying I'd name the sweets (from dried or candied fruit to the traditional Turkish Delight [Lokum] or the delicious Baklava), the (denim) jeans (best prices) and the Pashmina (Cashmere wool) or silk textiles, such as the shawls.

The food in turkey - ok, but I didn't find anything especially delightful besides the sweets - and the restaurants in the resort are all overpriced. With this occasion I'd like to say hello to friendly Ali, really nice guy, from the "Rip-off"... I ment "Two-Brothers" restaurant [1. Sk, in front of Melike Hotel] - sorry Ali, but I owed the restaurant some advertising for the money.

So far this was my overall impression about Kusadasi - a little too large and crowded for my tastes, with mediocre beach(es?) and overpriced restaurants. But, next comes the good parts.
The resort wouldn't be so special if it didn't have a rich history, near many important archaeological sites of Anatolia/Asia Minor, such as Ephesus, Priene, Dydima or Miletus. A more complete list can be found at kusadasi.net, while some of the places I've been to will be presented in future posts.

There are also interesting places inside the town worth visiting and I'll mention them below, along with some personal photos (taken from the entire album) and the location on the map :

• The city walls - There were once three gates. One remains today.
• Harbor/Kusadasi Cruise Terminal - this is the place to see some of the finest cruise ships, but also some military ones from time to time.

• The Öküz Mehmet Pasha caravanserai is near the docks and has "Turkish nights" shows. Close by one can find the Kaleiçi Mosque, built in 1618 for Grand Vizier Öküz Kara Mehmed Pasha.

• Guvercin Ada - the peninsula at the end of the bay, with the 17th century castle - symbol of the city. Nowadays it's a relaxing place with a restaurant and beaches.

• Yılancı Burnu - a second peninsula beyond Güvercin Ada. Possibly the location of the original settlement of Neopolis. Some walls are visible but excavations are underway. There are beaches and beach clubs here.

• The Atatürk Statue looking over the city. It can be easily seen from the docks, but there's also a great view of the port if you're willing to get there.
  
  
  

I'd also like to mention some places nearby, but I didn't go there myself:

• Aqua parks such as Adaland - "the biggest waterpark in Europe" (don't mind wikimapia... it is actually still in Asia :) )
• Dilek Peninsula National Park - simply the idea of National park seems fantastic for a nature love, especially contrasting with the crowded Kusadasi.

Next ... some of the very interesting archaeological sites in Anatolia, as soon as I have the time for a blogpost.

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Thassos (Θάσος) Island - Coast

The island is surrounded by a good road, so no more special requirements for going by car, by buggy or even by moped (a bike would be trickier since there are some steep uphill and downhill segments). Besides, there's also a bus going around the island twice a day or so. The island tour (about 108km) can be done in a day but there are many things to be seen so, laying in the sun on the beach and visiting archaeological sites might take some time.

6) Thassos Town - Limenas (Λιμένας)

The largest town and the capital of the island, Limenas (Λιμένας) is the place where you can find the most assistance (police, doctor, bank, etc.). The town got its name to differentiate from the island's name, but many people still call it Thassos Town (or simply Thassos/Θάσος). Although rather small, the town is the biggest archeological site on the island and visiting the town can easily take up an entire day. Some of the main archaeological attractions are:

• The Ancient Agora (Market) (Αρχαία Αγορά) - the central place of the town during the antiquity (starting from around 4th century BC), and a good starting point for a town visit. Walking along the old fortification walls, most of the sanctuaries and ancient temples can be seen.

• The Museum of Archeology (Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο) - right next to the Agora, one of the most important museums in the Greek provinces, with precious findings from the island, among which one can see an archaic Kouros (κοῦρος) sculpture of 3.5 meters.

• The Sanctuaries of Zeus (ο Δίας Ζευς), Artemis (Αρτέμης) - Artemision, Dionysos (Διόνυσος), Poseidon (Ποσειδώνας) - the remnants of these religious sites can be found close to the central Agora.

• The Gates of Silenus (Πύλη του Σειληνού), Hercules (Ηρακλής), Dionysos (Διόνυσος) and further down Zeus and Hera's (Ήρα) Gates - are reached going along the southwest side of the ancient fortification wall

• The Ancient Amphitheatre (Αρχαίο Αμφιθέατρο),The Acropolis (Ακρόπολη) with the temple of Pythian Apollo (Ἀπόλλων), Athena's temple (Το Άδυτο της Αθηνάς) and the Altar of Pan (Το Άδυτο του Πάνα) - are situated on the three hill above the town, were you can enjoy a great panoramic view. There are also the ruins of the XIII-th century medieval castle.

• Evreokastro (Εβραιόκαστρο) - was located at the Northeast end of the commercial harbor, below the Ancient Theatre. On a small rock stood the 5th century BC sanctuary of the “patrimonial gods” such as Zeus (Δίας), Athena (Αθηνά), Artemis (Άρτεμη), the Nymphs (Νύμφες) and Hephaestus (Ήφαιστος). Today a picturesque chapel dedicated to the Saints (Αγίους) and Apostles (Αποστόλους) stands here, in place of an early Christian basilica constructed with materials from the ancient sanctuary.

There are also plenty of tavernas with good food and beautiful traditional streets with flowers in the windows.

7) Alyki (Αλυκή)

The Alyki (Αλυκή/Aliki) or Alykes area has been inhabited since the VII-th century BC. It is the second biggest archaeological site on the island, with ancient temples, sanctuaries, early Christian basilicas and the biggest marble quarry from antiquity. The peninsula hosted the main ancient quarries that provided high quality Thassian marble. Part of the Roman port is sunken, while some of the old giant stone blocks can still be seen today.
The two bays of Alyki were important harbors in antiquity, but nowadays they are beautiful clear water beaches, with only some small fishing boats anchored in the sheltered golfs.
Some pictures of this unique site can also be found here.

8) The Ancient Tower of Thimonia (Θημωνιά)

The Ancient Tower of Thimonia is situated nearby Aliki, about 1km towards Limenaria. From the main road you have to walk for about 10 minutes (or drive a 4x4) on a bumpy road to reach the ruined hellenistic tower.

9) Limenaria (Λιμενάρια) - Metallia (Μεταλλεία)

Limenaria (Λιμενάρια) is the second largest town of the island. It began its growth in the beginning of the XX-th century, because of the mining operations made by the German company Speidel to exploit the Zn-Pb (calamine) ores. The people from Kastro moved away from the mountains because of their jobs in the metallurgical plant.
While the town is a nice resort with all kinds of attractions, at the southern end there is the abandoned mining complex known as Metallia (Μεταλλεία). The former Speidel offices are known as "Palataki" (Παλατάκι), a sample of architecture from the beginning of the XX-th century and can be easily seen as a landmark on the cliff above the sea.

10) The Monastery of Archangel Michael (Moni Archangelou/Μονή Αρχαγγέλου)

Thassos has many monasteries, most of them remote and rather small, dependencies of the monasteries from Mount Athos. The Monastery of Archangel Michael is the biggest and most important of them all. It was built in the XVIII-th century as a dependency of the Monastery of Philotheos on Mount Athos. It is places on a cliff above the Aegean Sea, with a magnificent view.
The monastery is a convent for nuns, having as its most precious belonging part of the Holy Nail from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Every visitor has to be proper dressed (and for this there are trousers and skirts at the entrance) and no photos are allowed inside the convent.

So basically these were the "Top 10" of Thassos. Nevertheless the list would go on with some beautiful villages and beaches such as: Makryammos (Μακρύαμμος), Chrissi Ammoudia (Χρυσή Αμμουδιά) and Chrissi Akti (Χρυσή Ακτή) - Golden Beach - the longest beach on the island, Panagia (Παναγία - beautiful mountain village with small streams flowing though it), Potamia (Ποταμιά), Kynira (Κοίνηρα) - Paradise Beach (Παράδεισος), Astris (small beaches among the rocks; the unique Giola natural "pool" can be found nearby, although it's not that easy to spot - you may ask me for directions), Psili Amos, Potos (Ποτός), Pefkari (Πευκάρι) - nice for snorkeling because of the deep sea with rocks. For more info you could also check greekisland.

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