Manisa

Manisa: The Aegean City of the Princes
Manisa, near İzmir, is a city haunted by an absence. Nicknamed the City of the Princes (Şehzadeler Kenti), it was, like Amasya in northern Anatolia and Trabzon on the Black Sea coast, a town to which early Ottoman princes were dispatched to cut their teeth as provincial governors.
Of course young men who expected to become sultans would also have expected to live here in considerable comfort. Where, then, is the palace from which they would have conducted their business?
The answer is simple. It has vanished even more completely than the Eski Saray (Old Palace) in Edirne, where a few battered walls still bear witness to a more glorious past. But of Manisa’s Saray-ı Amire, built in 1466 by Murad II and then expanded by Mehmed II, there is no trace at all. Instead, visitors to the town have to make do with a model based on an 18th-century miniature that has been set up on Mustafa Kemal Paşa Caddesi. Here they will see a walled compound divided into two main sections and with a tower over the gate leading into the inner courtyard. Alongside the rooms for the princes and their mothers, the compound boasted numerous offices, stables and kitchens. It was a mini Topkapı Palace, in other words, and we can only lament its loss.
Still, in lieu of a palace Manisa has a superfluity of mosques, some of them dating back to those same early Ottoman days, but some of them built in the preceding period when the town served as the capital of the Saruhan Beylik -- one of the mini kingdoms that sprang up all over Anatolia after the collapse of the Selçuk state. The Saruhan Beylik was founded by the eponymous Saruhan who seized it from the Byzantines in 1313, supposedly by driving a flock of goats with candles attached to their horns ahead of his army, thereby fooling the enemy into thinking it was much larger than it really was. Saruhan was buried in a tomb at the foot of Spil Dağı (Mount Spil) that can still be visited today.
Steps up the hillside behind the tomb lead to the first of Manisa’s real gems, the spectacular Ulu Cami (Great Mosque), built in 1366 by Saruhan’s grandson, İshak Çelebi, on the site of a Byzantine church. The courtyard of this mosque is filled with columns whose capitals were shamelessly filched either from the church or from the monuments of Magnesia ad Sipylum, the city originally founded here by settlers from the Greek city of Magnesia as they headed home after the Trojan War. As if they were not reason enough to visit the mosque, the minbar (pulpit) inside is a magnificent example of carved woodwork, and there are traces of delicate paintings on the walls and dome of the shrine to İshak Çelebi next door.
On leaving the mosque, you will be faced with a choice. Those with bags of stamina will want to continue climbing up the hill to inspect the Sandıkkale from which the Byzantine army was ejected. Those of a more lackadaisical disposition will probably prefer to settle down in the lovely tea garden in front of the mosque and soak up the panorama of Manisa below.
Back in the town center you will find four other especially impressive mosques, the oldest of them being the Çeşnigir Cami -- built in 1474 with a delightful little domed library attached to it. From its design and stonework, you could be forgiven for assuming that it was contemporary with the mosque when in fact it was actually added on in the 19th century. The Çeşnigir is very close to the larger and more prominent Hatuniye Cami, built in 1491 by Hüsnüşah Hatun, the mother of Şehzade (Prince) Şehinşah, during the years that her son was learning the governmental ropes. Rather heavy-handed restoration can’t detract from the finely carved design of the minaret, although one could certainly wish that the Byzantine capitals reused in the portico had not been painted over. Inside, the minbar is another magnificent example of wood-carving, if not quite up to the quality of the one gracing the Ulu Cami.
Right beside the mosque, a small domed structure built some time after 1497 housed a mektep, or primary school. Nearby, the restored Kurşunlu Han (Leaded Han) originally formed part of the mosque complex. Today it provides student accommodation in the rooms once used by traveling salesmen.
On arrival in Manisa you will probably have formed the impression that it’s a wholly modern town, well-ordered, but made up mainly of the usual concrete canyons of high-rise buildings. This modernity is partly the result of damage done to the city during the 1919-1922 Turkish War of Independence, when the last battered remains of the Saray–ı Amire, abandoned at the end of the 16th century, seem to have burnt down. However, the area around the Çeşnigir and Hatuniye mosques feels much more like a traditional Anatolian town, its bazaar of tiny shops shaded by colorful Virginia creeper. Here, too, you’ll find a few fine 19th and 20th-century buildings, including the striking Hükümet Könağı (Government Building) -- erected in 1908, destroyed in the fighting of 1922, then rebuilt again in 1925 -- as well as the Yeni Han (New Han) -- another building that looks much older than its seeming 19th-century date that has been restored to house a mixture of cafes and craft shops.
Manisa still has two more fine early-Ottoman mosques up its sleeve. The first is the Sultan (Mesir) Cami built in 1539 by Hafza Sultan, the mother of Süleyman the Magnificent, and approached via a portico whose vaults are covered with vivid baroque paintings. Of the complex attached to the mosque, the double hamam is still in the bathing business, while the bimarhane, or mental hospital, is used by the local university. The Taş Mektep (Stone Primary School) now houses a rather nice cafe where you can sip blue tea (yes, really) while admiring a collection of photographs of the Manisa of the 19th century.
The small park behind the mosque boasts a bust of Hafza Sultan, who fell ill while staying in Manisa with her son. It seemed that nothing could save her. Then a local pharmacist named Merkez Efendi whipped up a concoction called “mesir macunu,” consisting of 41 different ingredients. The sultana made a miraculous recovery, and the rest is the history of a festival that still takes place every March during which the paste is tossed from the minaret to the awaiting crowd who swears by it to cure all manner of ailments.
But to save the best for last. Of course a town so closely linked with the glory days of the Ottoman Empire could not be without a mosque by the great architect Sinan, and so it is that the Muradiye Cami was at least designed by Sinan, although it was brought to fruition after his death by Sedefkar Mehmet Ağa, the architect behind İstanbul’s Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. The mosque is an absolute treasure, built in a style that harps back to earlier models that tended to stretch out to the right and left rather than focusing on the center in the familiar way of later mosques. An exquisitely carved and painted mihrab is set in a wall pierced by stained-glass windows and decorated with fine İznik tiles. It would be hard to imagine a more splendid building.
Of course the Muradiye also came complete with a complex, the medrese (theological school) and imaret (soup kitchen) that now house Manisa’s museum. In theory this is the place to come to admire the finds from nearby Lydian Sardis, although for the time being only the ethnographic section is open to the public. For most people, the extraordinary quality of the also-ran pieces of sculpture left outside on the grounds should go a long way to make up for the disappointment.

Priene, Miletos, Didyma

Didim ( DIDYMA )
Didim and its famous Altınkum (Golden Sands) waterfront neighborhood are a perfect example of how a former somewhat isolated cluster of villages and hamlets on Turkey’s splendid southern Aegean coast over time successfully managed to transform itself into a leading international holiday resort, complete with marina, without ever losing its charm.
Actually, some commentators, including this contributor, who as a part-time “Didimian” had the pleasure to closely follow the area’s development over a good number of years, would argue that incoming tourism and the related revenue not only created a sustainable tourism hotspot but helped make the town a better place to live, too. Think new roads where there were dusty pathways before. Consider the much-improved shopping facilities. Pay respect to an ever-increasing number of high-quality chefs in top restaurants. Furthermore, both Turkish and international homebuyers continue to find affordable dream apartments, often for well below TL 100,000.
At the same time, there are palm-tree lined avenues outside the more upmarket estates (easily twice the above price and more), and now six blue-flagged beaches. Didimians are hardworking, friendly and open to the people of the world. What’s more, the area has an aspiring young Turkish generation who are extremely well educated, because the local state schools are of a high standard. Besides, I must mention the outpost of a regional university in neighboring Akbük and a tourism management training school in Didim itself.
 Turkish Aegean laissez-faire at its best
 Getting here is easy. Didim is close to two international airports: Bodrum is considered its “home airport,” located just under 100 kilometers away, whereas İzmir (150 kilometers in the opposite direction) offers better year-round connections either direct or via İstanbul from an ever-growing number of destinations. A recent addition is direct flights to and from the Republic of Ireland.
 
For those of our readers already in the country, Didim is a mere two hours’ drive from İzmir. Didim can be reached by domestic plane, rented car, train via İzmir and direct coaches from many parts of Turkey including Ankara, Antalya or Samsun and of course İstanbul.
Since this is your first day you should take it easy. Familiarize yourself with your “temporary permanent” neighborhood, and go for an extended walk -- you will be surprised at how easy it is to navigate Altınkum. All three hotels introduced below have a pool as you would expect. If you are more into sea swimming than pools, you can choose between Altınkum Beach, Second Beach and Third Beach. Please remember to apply a sufficient amount of sunscreen: September and even October sunburns are not unheard of in this part of the country.
A great way to appreciate Didim’s coastline is while enjoying a leisurely boat trip. Many tours stop over at up to five bays, some of which are only accessible by sea. Boats run every day during the season, leaving from Altınkum’s main beach, adjacent to the municipality’s teahouse. Departure time is 10 a.m., and you will arrive back on shore before 5 p.m. Food and drinks are generally available on an all-inclusive basis.
 Didim defies the (un-)logic that mass tourism and peaceful, tree-lined residential neighborhoods cannot happily coexist. I suggest you board a minibus to Yeşilkent and get off at the last stop, Venosa Hotel. Turn around and enter one of the nicest parts of Didim. Villas galore, well-kept gardens, too, cars are only allowed to park in designated areas, and one of the entire region’s most beautiful beaches, Gaye 2, is just around the corner. A splendid view across a huge bay to Akbük, crystal clean water and another proper sandy beach, as opposed to what we all too often have to make do with in many Mediterranean or Aegean resorts. In other words, sand: no gravel or stones.
Yes indeed, I do suggest combining days of lazing next to the pool or swimming in the sea with taking a close look at Didim’s Apollo Temple, a must-see. Visitors can walk amidst centuries-old columns and appreciate our forefathers’ architectural skills.
 The road adjacent to the temple has now become a pedestrian zone except for the few village residents who may continue to use their cars; all trucks and tour buses are directed elsewhere, but there is a convenient bus stop on a road only a couple of hundred yards away.
 Walk around Yoran village and stop over at the Yoran Restaurant, tucked away in a side street among impressive trees, where Özer Bey welcomes an eclectic mix of Turkish and international guests in a renovated farmhouse.
In order to fully appreciate the layout of Didim, why not take a walk in “downtown” Yenihisar, the commercial center of the former market town eventually turned resort. If this is your first trip to Turkey, this is your average Turkish main street, as all the chain stores and shops we would find in Ankara or İzmir can be found here, too, albeit in much smaller versions (think furniture, food, supermarkets, electronics, banks et cetera). Then again, you will also discover an old-fashioned tailor’s shop, a restaurant where time stands still but improvements in quality do not, a street vendor selling mussels and clams, and above all else you will realize that the majority of Didim shops continue to be proudly run by local families, not by multinational corporations. If you fancy something out of the ordinary that is possible to find, too, I once bought an evening party dress for my daughter in a local shop.
Aqua Park is a theme park for water enthusiasts and is exactly what Didim needed. It is located just outside of town, can be reached by minibus and means fun for young and old and offers a super-sized pool with a view over the Aegean Sea, too, as the park is build on a hillside. There is a separate game room for children should they tire of being in the water; there is a foam machine (health- and safety-certified) and a restaurant on site as well. Don’t forget to pick up a local newspaper or ask in the supermarkets as they often hand out Aqua Park admission coupons worth TL 5 per person per visit.
One of Didim’s more residential neighborhoods, Mavişehir, now offers not only a fair number of waterfront eateries but what is perhaps one of the entire region’s best sunsets, too. You can walk along what is commonly known as the Aşk Gemisi, or “Love Boat” -- a promenade built alongside the small harbor, allowing for unobstructed views. Alternatively head to Sedefköy (just ask for directions), and after a 15-minute stroll you will find an outdoor café-restaurant, perfectly situated with its own small public beach, that has become another favorite spot from which to watch the sunset. Mavişehir can be reached from Altınkum by minibus every 20 minutes or so including late in the evening; there is no better way to round off your week in one of Turkey’s most desirable holiday resorts.

Ephesus & Around

Ephesus
With the days still short and the skies still overcast, this is the perfect time for planning your next holiday. For the next few weeks we will be helping you decide where to go. This week, the Southern Aegean.
 

The Southern Aegean -- an overview
The Southern Aegean is the stretch of coastline that stretches from big, bustling İzmir in the north to the small seaside resort of Akyaka in the south. It's a part of Turkey that reeks of history, with its single biggest drawcard the ruins of Ephesus, once the capital of the Roman province of Asia Minor, and within easy reach of İzmir, Kuşadası and Selçuk. Ephesus casts a long shadow that sometimes obscures other gems such as the ruins at Priene, Miletus and Didyma, let alone those at Herakleia-ad-Latmos. There's a beach resort at Çeşme, near İzmir, with a very upmarket extension in nearby Alaçatı, but the biggest and best known resort along this stretch of coast is probably Bodrum, the kicking-off point for myriad Blue Cruises. Lovers of the Ottoman will find much to enthrall them in Şirinçe, near Selçuk, and in the back streets of Old Milas.
Getting there: The quickest way to reach Ephesus is to fly to İzmir, while the speediest access to Bodrum -- at least in summer -- is via Bodrum International Airport, which is actually closer to Milas. Between the two a network of buses fans out from İzmir's huge bus terminal: long-distance buses leave from downstairs, those to places in the immediate vicinity from upstairs.
 

The hits Ephesus:
Almost no one who takes a tour of Turkey fails to visit Ephesus, home to some of the most extensive Roman ruins in the world. It was here (or rather on the outskirts of neighboring Selçuk) that the great Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood, and it was here that St. Paul preached to the Ephesians until driven out by furious local traders. Ephesus ticks all the boxes when it comes to monumental buildings. A huge theater that's still in use today? Yep. A glorious library to shame all later models? You bet. There's even a communal lavatory that sets the mind boggling at what it reveals of the attitudes of a different era. You must pay extra to visit the terraced houses, a collection of homes that were unearthed complete with murals and mosaics that are matched only in Herculaneum in Italy -- be sure not to miss them. The downside? These days Ephesus is way too popular for its own good. On days when cruise ships drop anchor in Kuşadası you may feel that all the 250,000 Romans who once lived here have been reincarnated as tourists jostling each other to snap the ruins.
 

Selcuk:
Most tour groups visit Ephesus from Kuşadası, but for independent travelers the small town of Selçuk, within easy walking distance of the ruins, makes a much nicer base. Not only is it ringed with orchards but within the town itself there are other interesting ruins to be explored, including the Basilica of St. John where the apostle is believed to have been buried. The huge and lovely 14th-century İsa Bey Cami also repays a visit, while for bird-lovers there's the additional treat of being able to eyeball the storks who take up residence on the town-center aqueduct every summer. For those on shoestring budgets there's an excellent choice of accommodation on offer here.
Şirinçe: A short dolmuş ride into the hills above Selçuk is Şirinçe, a beautifully restored Ottoman Greek village where guests at a set of exquisite boutique hotels get the chance to appreciate the rural tranquility after the day trippers have snapped up their lacy souvenirs and gone home. It makes a great alternative base for visiting Ephesus.

Priene, Miletus and Didim:
This trio of ancient ruins can be visited either on organized tours out of Selçuk or Kuşadası, or on a long, do-it-yourself day trip using Söke, the local transport hub, as a base. Priene boasts the remains of a temple of Athena set high on the hillside with a sweeping view out over the plain of the Büyük Menderes (Meander) River; Miletus has a stunning theater plus the easily overlooked ruins of the early 15th-century İlyas Bey Cami; while Didim features the ruins of a huge Temple to Apollo that was once the home of a famous oracle.
Alaçatı: A mere 10 years ago Alaçatı was a largely forgotten Ottoman Greek village, near Çeşme, which was full of lovely stone houses. Now almost every one of them has been turned into a boutique hotel or upscale restaurant aimed unabashedly at the elite of İstanbul and İzmir. Come here to gawp, then scuttle back to Çeşme in search of somewhere cheaper to lay your head. This is one of the best places in Turkey for windsurfers.
Bodrum: Cuboid white buildings draped with bougainvillea, a palm-lined promenade overlooking a harbor full of graceful wooden gülets, a nightlife that is famous throughout Turkey and accommodation to suit all budgets -- this is beautiful Bodrum, which is also home to the stunning Museum of Underwater Archeology housed in a castle and the slight remains of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Bodrum's own beaches are fairly ho-hum, but out on the adjacent peninsula there are glorious sands, especially at pretty little Gümüşlük and Bitez, where there's also a vibrant Sunday brunch scene. Bodrum was the original home to the Blue Cruise and is still one of the best bases to line up a three or four-day boat ride south towards Marmaris.
 

Akyaka (Gokova):
It crops up in British package-holiday brochures, but Akyaka is a particularly appealing small resort on the banks of a river where the local authorities have tried to restrict high-rise development in favor of hotels and pensions in buildings modeled on the traditional architecture of nearby Ula.
 

The misses Izmir:
Over the last 10 years the center of İzmir, Turkey's third largest city, has been made a great deal more inviting, especially along the waterfront where lots of excellent restaurants are poised to soak up the sunset over the bay. With limited time you may want to give this city of 3 million people a wide berth. It does, though, make a good base for visiting the impressive Lydian ruins at Sardis where coins were first minted.
Kuşadası: If you're coming to Turkey on a cruise or an organized tour, you may well end up in the big, brash port town of Kuşadası, which is also the best base for hopping across to the Greek island of Samos. The old town boasts a few inviting pensions, and there are some good fish restaurants. O
therwise -- Bar Street says it all really. ...and the hidden treasures
 

Dilek National Park:
Just south of Kuşadaşı, the Dilek Peninsula offers a string of small, sandy bays, best visited mid-week, a woody walking trail and the abandoned site of Eski Doğanbey, a less well-known clone of famous Karaköy, near Fethiye.
Herakleia-ad-Latmos: North of Milas and inland on the shores of glorious Lake Bafa sits this exquisite slice of rural Turkey where villagers herd their cows along a main street where ancient ruins, modern houses and enormous boulders are so tightly entangled that it's hard to tell one from the other. An early morning boat trip on the lake is an unforgettable experience, as is a trek in the foothills of the Beşparmak Dağı (mountain) in search of frescoed churches a la Cappadocia.
 

Milas:
Hardly any tourists pause en route to Bodrum to explore the back streets of Milas. Were they to do so, however, they would discover a fine array of old Ottoman houses with distinctively soaring brick chimneys. A short taxi ride away is Beçin, where the extensive ruins of the old capital of the 14th-century Mentese emirs see even fewer visitors. Throw in the Greco-Roman ruins of nearby Labranda, and you've more than enough to while away a day or so.

Pamukkale

The pleasures of Pamukkale
( Hierapolis theater under restoration )
As the bus trundles into Pamukkale from Denizli passengers are treated to an extraordinary sight.
Beside the road a curve of solid white is cut into the hillside for all the world to see, as if some passing pastry cook had scooped it out, poured sugar icing over it, then patted it down, smoothed it over and pressed her fingers into it, leaving hollows which could be filled in with blue. These are the famous travertines which, along with the ruins of the Roman town of Hierapolis above them, have landed Pamukkale UNESCO world-heritage-site status, and it's a rare visitor to the country who does not have the site penciled in on their itinerary.
For the non-scientists amongst us, Wikipedia defines a travertine as a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially of the hot variety, and cites other examples in venues as varied as the Yellowstone National Park in the US and Badab-e Surt in Iran. Pamukkale (Cotton Castle) is not unique then, although it is the only place where the travertines come paired with spectacular ancient ruins. Indeed, for some people the remains of Hierapolis, scattered across the hillside, may prove more exciting than the travertines themselves.
Over the last 10 years much work has been done to improve the presentation of Pamukkale, including tearing down a string of motels which used to perch on the ridge and creating a small lake at the foot of it. The site can now be accessed via three separate entrances scattered over a distance of several kilometers. Which one you should use depends mainly on your primary interest: If it's the travertines, you should aim to walk up the ridge and enter from the pedestrian entrance near Pamukkale village. If, however, you're more interested in the ruins of Hierapolis, you should take the bus towards Karahayıt and use the northern entrance, which wends its way gradually through an enormous necropolis and along the ancient Frontinus Street to the travertines. It's a two-kilometer walk or you can hop on a shuttle bus that does the loop every 15 minutes.
( Hierapolis )
The city of Hierapolis (Sacred City) is thought to have been founded around 190 B.C. by King Eumenes II of Pergamum and flourished right through the early Byzantine era until it fell on hard times in the seventh and eight centuries. After that the history books are strangely silent about what was clearly such a large and impressive place, and home to a bishopric to boot. The bishopric of Hierapolis crops up in the records for the last time in 1385. After that the city may have fallen victim to a devastating earthquake or simply faded quietly away. As an archeological site, though, it has the singular advantage, like Ephesus and Aphrodisias, that it was never reoccupied, unlike for example, Pergamum, which evolved into the modern Bergama. This has given archeologists a freer hand to dig up as much of the ancient town as funds permit
(as they have also been able to do, and for the same reason, at nearby Laodikeia).

If you come into the site from the northern entrance, you will find yourself wandering amid a vast necropolis where the Italian Archeological Mission has identified four distinct styles of burial, ranging from huge freestanding sarcophagi, through mini-temples to a cluster of tombs that resemble tumuli (burial mounds), and has helpfully picked out and labeled the most interesting. In between coach parties this is a quiet and awe-inspiring place that you may share only with the odd owl.
The necropolis comes to an abrupt end against the massive walls of an ancient bathhouse, later converted into a church, that stood right beside the Arch of Domitian, itself flanked by stone towers. Beyond this you will have the pleasure of strolling quite literally in the (worn) footsteps of the Romans as you amble along what was once Frontinus Street, named after the then proconsul of Asia. Romans popping to and from the necropolis would have paused to relieve themselves first at a communal latrine just beside the arch, which was later turned into a storage depot.
Frontinus Street leads to the site of an agora (market place) that was once one of the largest in the Roman world. Disappointingly little now remains of it since much of the stonework seems to have been reused when walls were built round the city in the fifth century. That is certainly not true of the enormous theater, set high up on the hillside and probably destroyed by an earthquake in the seventh century. Work on restoring the stage is currently nearing completion, which should mean, hopefully, that the theater will be available for use again soon.
By the time they reach this point most people will be starting to flag, but if you do still have the energy, it's well worth cutting across the hillside to visit the unusual octagonal martyrium built in the fifth century on the site where it's believed that Saint Philip the Apostle was crucified upside down around A.D. 80. This year Italian archeologists announced that they had identified, although not yet opened, what they believe to be the tomb of the saint, also at Hierapolis.
Turning back down the hill you will be able to admire the remains of a truly enormous nymphaeum (public fountain) and the Plutonium, a spring that emitted fumes so poisonous that it would kill the small animals and birds routinely tossed into it by heartless priests. Finally, you will reach what is really the heart of the site at Pamukkale, a disappointingly featureless piece of land with, to one side, another large bathhouse that managed to survive the vicissitudes of history almost intact, perhaps because it was reused as an administrative center. Today it houses an impressive small museum showing off many of the finds from the site.
Here, too, is the Antique Pool, a cafe, restaurant and spa complex built around a glorious pool dotted with pieces of column from the ancient city. What could be more enjoyable than to swim over these scraps of ancient masonry while pondering the long lost past? Don't fancy it? Well, these days you can also opt to have your toes nibbled by the tiny doctor fish that were once found only at Balıklı Kaplıca near Sivas. It's a curiously tickly sensation.
The travertines
All over Turkey dog-eared posters depict the travertines in their 1970s' heyday when tourists could frolic freely in pools of thermal water that trickled down the hillside. Unfortunately, that water soon started to dry up, so stringent controls were introduced to protect it. You can still paddle in some of the pools under the watchful eye of custodians whose whistles shrill whenever anyone strays from the straight and narrow. Come here at sunset, though, and you're unlikely to be disappointed since the view across the travertines to Pamukkale village is exceptionally beautiful.
If you don't want to roll up your trouser legs, a wooden walkway makes it possible to wander right the way round the travertines, backed most of the way by a pleasingly landscaped garden. Most impressively you will eventually stumble upon a section where the remains of a medieval castle have been completely colonized by the travertines. Almost nothing certain is known about its history, not even exactly when it was constructed. No matter. It looks almost as if it's floating on ice, an eerie and romantic sight.
Enjoyed the travertines? Then don't forget that you can also visit an underground version at Kaklık Mağarası (Kaklık Cave), 40 kilometers east of Denizli.