Category: Ancient Cities & History

The ancient cities of Turkey go far beyond Ephesus — this country holds more Greek and Roman ruins than Greece and Italy combined, and in this category I share the history of the sites I have spent my career studying and guiding. As a nationally licensed Turkish tour guide, I trained in the archaeology, mythology and history of all of Anatolia, and these articles are where I put that training to work for you.

You will find posts here on the great classical cities of the Aegean coast: Priene, the little mountainside town with the most perfect Hellenistic street grid you will ever see; Miletus, home of the first philosophers; and Didyma, where the colossal Temple of Apollo still makes visitors gasp. I write about Aphrodisias and its sculpture school, about Pergamon and its steep theatre, and about the layers of civilisations — Hittite, Lydian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman — that make Anatolian history so wonderfully complicated.

My aim in every article is the same as my aim when I guide: to turn a field of broken columns into a living place. Who walked this street? What did they argue about in this agora? Why did this harbour silt up and this city die? When you know the answers, ruins stop being scenery and become stories.

Many of these sites sit within easy reach of Kuşadası and İzmir, which makes them perfect day trips, and several combine beautifully with Ephesus in a single day of guiding. Read the articles, choose the places that speak to you, and if you would like to explore any of these ancient cities with a licensed guide who genuinely loves them, I would be delighted to accompany you — get in touch and we will plan your day together.

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