Aydın

The province

Get to know Aydın

Aydın lies on the southern Aegean coast, between İzmir and Muğla, and occupies the valley of the Büyük Menderes river, the ancient Meander, whose bends gave the word its name. The valley is olive groves and fig trees; the coast is beaches and peninsulas.

Kuşadası, a cruise port and seaside resort, is a few kilometers from Ephesus and has Pigeon Island (Güvercinada), with a fortress connected to the waterfront by a causeway. South of the town, the Dilek Peninsula National Park protects coves, forests and the Büyük Menderes delta.

Didim combines beaches with the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, one of the great sanctuaries of the Greek world. Nearby are Miletus, the city of the philosopher Thales, and Priene, with the Temple of Athena facing the Meander plain.

In the interior, at Geyre, Aphrodisias was a city dedicated to Aphrodite and a center of marble sculptors; the site and the ancient quarries are UNESCO-listed and are commonly visited from Pamukkale. Nysa and Tralles complete the ancient towns of the province.

Aydın figs, fresh at the end of summer and dried year-round, are known across the country, as is the valley's olive oil.