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About
Kusadasi |
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 Kusadasi,
which means "bird island",
is set in a superb gulf in
the Aegean region of Turkey
and is known for its
turquoise sparkling water of
the Sea, broad sandy beaches,
bright sun and large marina
with a capacity for 600
boats. A glorious ancient
city stands beside it,
Ephesus with hundreds of
thousands of visitors from
tours each year. The town is
not far from Adnan Menderes
Airport, Izmir (only 80 km).
Numerous holiday villages
and hotels line its shores
and hundreds of restaurants
serves food from all around
the world and, of course,
Turkish Cuisine, which is
one of the largest cuisines
of the world. We mustn't
forget discos, bars, cafe pubs and "Turkish Nights";
all those to cater holiday-makers.
Kusadasi has retained a
certain earthiness to it and
inexpensive meals and
pensions can still be found
in town. Many shops do a
brisk trade with passengers
from hundreds of cruise
ships that dock for a day or
two, allowing enough time
for a trip to Ephesus and a
shopping expedition.
The tiny Guvercin Adasi (Pigeon
Island) is connected to the
mainland with a causeway.
Its romantic setting
includes a well-maintained
flower garden which
surrounds the restored 14th
or 15th century fortress
housing a restaurant and
disco frequented by lovers
or those hoping to find one
by the night's end.
Beaches close to town tend
to get quite crowded during
summer. If you prefer more
serenity, head for Dilek
Peninsula National Park,
known locally as Milli Park
about 28 km (17 miles) from
Kusadasi.
It is also possible to get
to Greek island Samos by
regular daily ferries.
History
Around 2000 BC. people
coming from Lelek, Caria and
Lydia had settled down as a
society to the slopes of
Pilav Mountain. Later one by
one with the unit
settlements Pigale,
Maratheson, Neopolis and
Panionion came to life;
Ionians and later Romans by
Ephesus coming into the
dominance of Rome, had lived
in these lands.
Today's Kusadasi is founded
in 16th century by Venetians
as a colony. The castle on
the small island was built
for the purpose of
observation in Byzantine
times. In the Middle Ages
Kusadasi was ruled by
Venetians and Genoeses which
had taken the name of Scala
Nova.
The city was surrounded with
castle walls for being
protected from the violence
of pirates, very common in
the Mediterranean those
centuries. It known that
there is an Ionian Region of
Kusadasi. This had taken an
important harbor mission on
Asia - Europe trade road for
many years.
In the period of Scala Nova,
the Armenians dominant to
trade, Greeks and Jews had
joined to former nations.
With the Malazgirt War in
1071 Seljuk Turks had
started to spread in
Anatolia and during the
process of Turkish
principalities formation, in
1304 Sasa Bey had been the
authority of Kusadasi and
surroundings. Mehmet Bey had
connected this vicinity to
Aydinogullari after Sasa's
death.
Kusadasi is a harbor town
and Turks had kept this in
mind. Although they were
nomads from central Asia and
far away from maritime
business, they had learnt
maritime as well as the
Ephesians in a short time.
They had lived comfortably
with the spoils they caught
at naval battles. Kilic
Arslan added this town to
Selcuk government and Scala
Nova again had become the
exportation gate of Anatolia
in 1186. The Ottoman sultan
Yildirim Beyazit had joined
Ayasulug (in Selcuk) to his
principalities and the city
became Ottoman in 1390.
Tamerlane (Timurlenk)
decided to take whole of
Anatolia under his sovereign,
but when he could not take
Ayasulug he put the castle
on fire in which Ottoman
soldiers resisted, and St.
Jean's Church was damaged
very badly. With ǥlebi
Mehmet I Kusadasi had
gathered to the Ottoman
Empire and became a district.
With the vicinities passing
to Ottomans, Turks entered
into societies in these
areas. At the end of 1st
World War Ottoman Government
had overcome, so Kusadasi
was given to Italians with a
treaty, and under their rule,
the town was filled with
Turks, Greeks, Jews,
Armenians. Most of those
minorities left the country
on 7th September 1923 after
the victory of War of
Independence led by Atatürk.
Lands between Güzelcamli and
Selcuk, the estates of
Greeks which went back
during the agreement to
exchange minorities between
Greece and Turkey, were
given to Turkish immigrants
in return to their
properties there; the same
was done by the Greek
government. This migration
was between 1941 and 1955.
Kusadasi is living parallel
to Ephesus in history and
the settlements around it.
The places that have
historical and tourist
values are:
Panionian Agora, Roman Bath,
Ilica Hill, Scala Nova,
Pygale, Kadi Castle, Andiz
Tower, Neopolis, Aquaducts,
Ania, Melia, Kursunlu
Monastery, ֫üz Mehmet Pasha
Caravanserai, The Castle on
Pigeon Island, Ramparts
surrounding the City,
Kusadasi Houses, Kaleici,
Mosques, Turkish Baths,
Yacht Harbor and Dilek
National Park.
Pygale
According to Xeonophon, one
of the authors of 5th c BC,
Pygale was assembled by the
king Agamemnon of Myknai and
Argos. In the 14th volume of
Strabon�geography book it is
told that Pygale was
established by Agamemnon and
he settled large amount of
his soldiers there who made
good use of boiling healing
water in the land. According
to Strabon again, there was
a temple made for the moon
goddess Munkyia in Phigale.
During the period of Trojan
Wars that continued ten
years, Pygale was used for
curing soldiers and
repairing ships.
Read more about
Kusadasi
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