EPHESUS
It is an ancient city located 3 kilometers west of Selçuk town, which is the center of Akıncılar subdistrict of Kuşadası district. Founding date BC. It dates back to the fifth century. Today, it is one of the famous and touristic areas with the ruins of historical artifacts from the Aegean and Greek civilization. B.C. Ephesus Ancient City, which dates back to 6000 years, has been an ancient city belonging to Roman, Greek and Turkish people in different periods. This extraordinary city, which contains works such as the Temple of Artemis, the House of Virgin Mary and the Ashab-i Al-Kahf, is only 30 minutes away from Ephesia Resort Hotel.
PRIENE
Priene Aydın is an Ionian city established in Söke, approximately 100 km away from Selçuk-Ephesus. The city is 10 km north of the Menderes river. When the city was founded, it was by the sea. Due to the meander’s alluvium, the city is now within kilometers of land. The city was rebuilt in the 4th century. The new plan of the city is a rectangle where the roads intersect each other at right angles. This plan is the forerunner of today’s modern city plan Grid. The steep slope on which the city is built faces south. The Acropolis of the city is 230 m above. The city is surrounded by 2 meters thick stone wall with security towers. The entrance to the city is through three main gates.
MILET
2000 years ago, Söke plain was completely a sea and Bafa lake was a bay. Milet, Priene and Didim, one of the most beautiful cities of ancient times, were located on these seasides. Büyük Menderes River (Maiandros) with the alluvium it carried over time; It first filled the entire region shown in the picture below, including the sea in front of Priene, then Miletus and Lade Islands. While he was at the seaside in Ephesus in the same period, it became its present form by filling the front over time. PRIENE: Priene City, one of the most beautiful ancient cities of the Aegean and a member of the Ionian Union, which is established from 12 cities, on the southern slope of Samsun Mountain (Dilek National Park), 20 km away from Söke. B.C. The city, which was destroyed by the Persian attack in 450 BC. It was rebuilt at its current location in 350 with the help of Athens. Priene never achieved her former glory; However, today, it has been protected from the Roman influence and has become the site that best reflects the architectural identity of a mixture of Greek and Anatolian culture. Priene is a city whose plan was pre-drawn. The water network under the streets that cut each other perpendicularly can still be seen. The first known drinking water and treatment pools are also located here. The names of the students are engraved on the wall of the school (gymnasium) in the lower part of the city. It seems that “graffiti” is not a new art form!
ŞİRİNCE
According to some sources, Şirince was an important Greek settlement with a population of 45 thousand a century ago. The old name of the village, Kırkıca, turned into Kirkince with the pronunciation of the Greeks. Turks, on the other hand, say it is Ugly. In the 1930s, the Governor of İzmir Kazım Dirik Pasha had it converted to Şirince. It remained that way. Honestly, this name suits. Sirince is referred to as “Ephesus in the Mountain” (Ancient Ephesus) in ancient sources. This information shows that the village has a very old past. There are various rumors regarding the establishment of the village. A group of villagers working with the Derebeyin asked them to be freed and to be given today’s Şirince (formerly Kırkıca) village and its surroundings. Thereupon the bey asks: “Is your place nice?”, The villagers say ugly to answer the bey. Again, according to the available sources, Şirince XIX. century, it was a Greek village with 1800 houses under Ottoman rule. During the Turkish-Greek population exchange, the village was emptied. Exchanges from the Kavala region were settled. In the Republic period, the population decreased due to migration to the cities. The charming town has a primary school and a mosque. One enriches the souls, the other conveys the right information to the younger minds. The health center also serves the public to a certain extent. As the Greek writer Dido Sotiriou, who had to migrate to Greece with his family during the exchange, spent part of his childhood years in Şirince; the author has mentioned those days that he could not forget in his book named “SELM FROM ME TELL ANATOLIA”. Abdi İPEKÇİ, who was born in Aydın in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, won the peace award with a world-renowned book.