Central Aegean Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

38°24′36″N 27°52′12″E

Map of Central Aegean

• 38.4127327.138381 Izmir — Turkey's 3rd largest city, undeniably capital of Aegean Region, with beautiful neighbourhoods and promenades on its waterfront
• 38.3528.5166672 Alaşehir — a bleak agricultural town, although the ruins of the St John's Church attest that this was a major centre of early Christianity when it was known as Philadelphia
• 38.92405327.840193 Akhisar — a lovely atmospheric city that contains the ruins of Thyatira.
• 38.25459428.0654484 Birgi — medieval Turkey at its best, overlooking the Küçükmenderes Valley
• 38.32526.775 Urla, itself agricultural, is the hub for small resorts on the peninsula west of Izmir.
• 38.28138926.3741676 Alaçatı on the peninsula is a village with well preserved stone architecture, ancient windmills, and a cove for windsurfing.
• 38.322326.29797 Çeşme at the tip of that peninsula is a resort with an impressive citadel.
• 38.66878926.7529198 Foça — town north of Izmir noted for its preserved architecture and the nearby islands that are one of the last refugees of endangered monk seals
• 38.54583328.6494449 Kula — an inland town with much traditional architecture and a volcanic area, the only UNESCO Global Geopark in the country
• 37.8632427.26687310 Kuşadası — resort town south of Izmir, with a harbour that almost any cruise ship on a Mediterranean tour calls
• 38.61194427.42638911 Manisa — inland city east of Izmir, a possible for visiting Sardis, the Lydian capital, as well as the beautiful Mt. Sipylus nearby
• 37.9469927.3734912 Selçuk — town serving as a gateway to Ephesus, which is also a historic center in its own right.
• 38.0895727.731913 Tire — inland town with a well-known street market
• 38.68333329.414 Uşak — a city with a museum exhibiting what is purpoted to be the treasure of Croesus and several ancient sites in the surrounding countryside

• 37.66892827.1617561 Dilek Peninsula is a rare stretch of undeveloped coastline.
• Ephesus just west of Selçuk is a must-see, the extensive and well-preserved ruins of a Roman city.
• 37.94138927.4330562 Şirince is a charming village in the hills above Selçuk, a Turkish Tuscany.
• 38.48833328.0402783 Sardis is a ruined city, the capital of Roman Lydia.

Central Aegean encompasses what were historically called Ionia on the coast, and Lydia inland.

• Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport ADB ^IATA is south of Izmir. It has domestic flights from all major Turkish cities (hourly from Istanbul) and good connections across western Europe.
• Buses are the primary mode of public transport and run from many Turkish cities to Izmir.
• Ferries connect Çeşme to Chios and Kusadasi to Samos.
• Trains are mighty slow. They trundle overnight from Bandırma on the Marmara coast and from Ankara to Izmir.
• Istanbul to Izmir describes various itineraries you can take from the north.

You need your own wheels to explore this region. Buses link all the towns but their routes and schedules seldom fit with what you want to see.

A section of EuroVelo 8 cycling route runs from Dikili and Bergama in the north, through Foça and Izmir, to Çeşme in the west and Ephesus in the south.

IZBAN is the Izmir suburban railway. The Green Line runs north-south from Aliağa (for Bergama), Hatundre (for Foça), downtown Izmir (where Hilal is the main interchange), Adnan Menderes Airport, and Tepeköy where you change to the Southern Extension train every 90 min to Selçuk (for Ephesus).

A TCDD regional train runs six times a day from Izmir Basmane via the airport and Tepeköy, taking 90 min to Selçuk and continuing via Çamlık, Aydın and a dozen other places to Denizli (another 3 hr, for Pamukkale).

Other mainline TCDD trains (eg to Manisa) are at inconvenient hours.

• Efeler Yolu is a 500-km hiking trail developed from Izmir to Selçuk, leading over the inland mountain ridges and commemorating the efes, the local noble outlaws of the centuries past.
• Skydive at Efes airfield next to Ephesus. The usual jump for a beginner is a tandem freefall coupled to an instructor, so minimum training, fitness and skill are needed.

• Northern Aegean to the north
• Southern Aegean to the south
• East Aegean Islands to the west
• Central Anatolia to the east