Ezine

Ezine, famed for its white cheese, is located on the site of the ancient city of Neandreia. Ezine sits astride the highway running from Çanakkale to İzmir.
Among historical delights in Ezine there is the one of the earliest examples of Ottoman mosques, the Abdurrahman Mosque, or the Sefer Şah Mosque built from the remains of ancient ruins in the area and right near it is the cell and grave of the 14th century hermit Ahi Yunus.

Neandria
The ancient city of Neandria is very close to the Ezine city centre. The Aiolya Temple on the foothills of Çığrı Mountain was in Neandreia. The ancient city was a tax paying member of the Attica Delos Sea Union. The city surrendered to the Spartan commander Derkilidas in 33 BC. In 400 BC, the city formed a union with Alexandria Troias. The city was completely surrounded by walls and its acropolis is about 500 metres above the level of the sea. From here you have a wide view over the small Lake Ulubey, the Aegean Sea and Bozcaada.

From Ezine to Babakale
A short voyage from Ezine to the south from the seaside, taking you through very significant historical places, brings you to the westernmost point of the Turkish mainland, Babakale.
When you head towards the Aegean coastline from Ezine your first stop is Geyikli, a small and pleasant small town on the road.
First we head north to Kumburun. The road you take is lined with a thick coat of vegetation and centuries old pine trees. Then you come to the Kumburun coastline. The Kumburun beach is not much frequented, with very few people having discovered it as yet and will attract your interest with its clear blue waters and its coves. Since the natural structure of Kumburun is suitable for carrying out landings from the sea it was one of the most important position of the Gallipoli War. The four batteries emplaced during the war, the concrete underground shelters and the machine guns in dark tunnels will give you a thrilling feeling.
On the historical cove there is a motel and a restaurant. On the neighbouring coves you will come across facilities for accommodation and camping.
Kumburun is also a haven for fish. The nets left at night are filled with fish by the morning and Kumburun's restaurant is ready to serve.

Mavra Island
If you have the time and can arrange a boat with the fishermen you can see Mavra Island, some 40 minutes sailing away. The fishermen will show the lobster nests if they are still in place. If even if not it is worth diving into these clear waters to watch the lobsters, which range in size from one to three kilos.

Alexandreia Troas
The candidate to be the capital of the Roman Empire
When you travel from the village of Dalyan in the direction of Babakale the road goes through an ancient city. This is Alexandreia Troas.
The first research on the site started in 1994. From the surface study the borders of the city was mapped out. The first excavation work started in 1997.
The city was founded around the end of the fourth century BC by one of the commanders of Alexander the Great, Antigonos Monoftalmos (One Eyed Antigonos), who gave the settlement the name Antigoneia. According to the geographer Strabo, at the beginning of the third century BC, a short time after its foundation, the city was renamed Alexandreia Troas in the name of the Thracian King Lysmakhos Alexander and construction work began. It is yet debatable whether this was the period of the renaming or rebuilding of the city.
In this period the residents from the neighbouring seven cities were moved to Alexandreia Troas. The city stretched from present day Gülpınar to Troy and to the east as far as Evciler. It was one of the largest cities established in Anatolia.
In written records of the Romans it was stated that Emperor Julius Caesar had visited the city and considered making it the capital of the Roman Empire. In some sources it is written that Emperor Costantine considered building the Costantinopolus (İstanbul) on the site as his capital.
Alexandreia Troas was a large and important port city. According to the city plan, it covered an area of 390 hectares of land and had eight kilometres of city walls.
Today, it is not known when and why the city was abandoned. The finds unearthed in the ongoing excavations may bring the answer to light.
In the excavations carried out on the main city gate, in the eastern wall of the city and facing towards Neandreia, a courtyard of 20 metres in diameter was discovered. This gate, leading into the round shaped courtyards, is the oldest such example known in Anatolia.
In the area on the right of the road where excavation work continues, eight-metre foundation was discovered. You can see a canal system going through these foundations. Even the profile of the foundation, the use of colourful elements and status (a bust of the god Dionysos) give you an idea of the glamour of the building decoration.
Another building you can see the 30x30 metre building called the "Maldelik". The front of the structure is a cradled vault and its present height is seven metres. When you enter the arch you can see that inside there was a second story. Although locals name its as "palaces" experts are not yet certain over their functions.
The city's Hellenistic era theatre was in a good condition according to travellers that visited the region in the 19th century. Behind the theatre there are remains of a small temple.
The largest bath structure in Anatolia. The water needs of a city in the Hellenistic period were met by cisterns. But this was not enough for such a large city. Herodes Atticus, a wealthy scientist from Athens, donated large sums of money to the emperor for the establishment of a bath and water system in the city. A water route was founded partly on the surface and partly underground from the nearby Çığrı Mountain.
The Herodes Atticus bath can be seen on the left of the road. It can be seen that it was very a big structure. The front is 100 metres long, making it the largest bath facilities known in Anatolia. The arches of the bath that have survived to our day and have been given a protection order give us some idea of its glamour.
Along the road going from bath towards the city centre you can see the remains of another glamorous building, a basilica.
Excavations continue in the Roman period city centre. The leaders of the archaeological team think that the ruins a possibly of a Corinthian style temple is on the site.
To the east of the agora in the shape of a half circle there are the remains of an odeon.
From the port that brought prosperity to the city, today there nothing but a pond of water pond left which is locally called the salt lake. On the shore there are pieces of columns that were possibly left here in the port when they brought to be taken to İstanbul. When the excavation, restoration and other works are completed on the site Alexandreia Troas, one of the largest cities in Anatolia, will attract even more visitors. Even now, what can be seen at the moment on the site will give you an idea of how great the city once was

The Kestanbol thermal waters
This natural and artesian hot spring is 67 degrees celsuis at its the source and 68 degrees in the mud. The bath, mud bath, inhalation, sprinkled treatment cures are good for women's diseases, rheumatism, sciatica, calcification and bone tuberculoses.
It is believed that the thermal waters were used for the baths of the city of Troas in ancient times. The word Kestanbol meant İstanbul. Before Alexander conquered city and renamed it Troas it was called Kestanbol.
The accommodation facilities have thermal water in the rooms

Mermer Ocağı (The Marble Quarry)
When you head south from the Kestanbol thermal waters and turn left at the petrol station in Uluköy, stop after driving another four kilometre and walk for 200 metres and you will see the ruins of a marble quarry. If you walk a bit further you get to the main quarry. You can see seven columns lying on the ground, of which two are broken. It is believed that this was a marble quarry and that the columns were ordered but could not be delivered because a war broke out.
This place is impressive both in respect to its location, just like a small valley, and its columns.

Dalyan
The road coming from the wharf goes to Geyikli then to Dalyan. From the turn to right leading to the village of Dalyan you get to this small fishing village. Dalyan is seeking a place in the tourism trade with its boat making, fishing and restaurants mainly serving fish.
Dalyan has a long sandy beach and home pensions for accommodation. Off shore the island of Bozcaada can be seen.

Tavaklı
Tavaklı is another small residential area on the road and the coast. There are small pensions for accommodation here and the shore offers the chance of a swim. The tea gardens and restaurants under the shade of the trees are tempting for small breaks.

Kolonai / Tavaklı
The site of the ancient city of Kolonai at nearby Tavaklı is known. But since there have been no archaeological excavations carried out in the area there is nothing to be seen..

Apollo Smintheion/Gülpınar
When you continue to the south on the coast road you get to the village of Gülpınar (formally known as Külahlı). The excavations carried out at the site of the ancient city of Apollo Smintheion under the leadership of Professor Co_kun Özgünel are easily noticeable thanks to the columns that were unearthed. The first excavations on the site started in 1866. After a short period of digging the site was left for a long time. In 1971-73 the digging resumed but the temple was again forgotten until 1980. The scientific excavation and restoration started under the leadership of Co_kun Özgünel in 1980 and continues to the present.
The sacred area of Simintheion was one of the important cult centres of Troas. It is believed that the location of the temple was in an area rich in water, just as it is today. This was due to the fact that Apollo needed water to make an oracle.
Hellenistic era coins of Alexandreia Troas, which are referred to in written sources, depict the god Apollo on one side in front of the temple while the other has an imprint of a statue of the "mouse-smintheus", though this statue is yet to be found.
The main building of the temple is thought to have been of five stories and 15 metres high. The site was used as a stone quarry for many years before it was requisitioned. Unfortunately the quarrying resulted in the loss of many pieces.
As a part of the excavations in the sacred area a unique Roman bridge was revealed on the Tuzla Streamlet on the nearby Gülpınar-Tuzla plain. The bridge linked Alexandreia Troas and the sacred area.

Tuzla Köyü / Gülpınar
The village of Tuzla is four kilometres from Gülpınar and, apart from having geothermal resources that have yet to be properly developed it is also interesting for its 700 years long past.
The Hüdavendigar Külliyesi (Complex) was built by the Ottoman Sultan Murat. Today the mosque and one chamber of the school building remain.
Besides the example of civilian architecture Tüzla also has another interesting characteristic, the extracting of salt from a water spring coming from the foothills of the neighbouring mountain. Tüz means salt in Turkish

Cities not yet revealed
In this region, as in any part of Anatolia, there are many ancient cities yet to be excavated, pieces to be unearthed and its is enough to step out of your car and just wander a bit in the pasture to understand this. You do not need to be an expert. In the skirts of a hill the pieces pottery on the surface immediately catch one's eye.
Between Gülpınar and Baba Burnu (Babakale) there are two ancient cities that are close to each other, Chryse and Hamaxitos. However, no excavation work had been carried out on either site.

Babakale
Babakale is the furthest western most point on Turkey's Asian mainland. When you enter from the north you see Babakale's long beach. The village is located on a high rocky terrain, it covered with olive and plane trees. The freshly restored castle looks as if it is new when and the narrow streets running past old village houses lead to the Bababurnu Lighthouse, a site known to all seafarers in the region.
The olive and plane trees are peaceful. The castle was built in 1723 and was the last fortress erected by the Ottomans and characteristic of that period. Among the historic sites that survived to our day are the castle, the public fountain and the mosque. On the border between the Marmara and the Aegean regions of Turkey the sunset is of extreme beauty. This end point of the mainland that once was a base of the Ottoman navies and frequented by pirates, has a hill smothered in the scent of thyme. You can come across rabbits, boars, partridges and quails in all seasons. Those who reside in this quiet town are worried over the building of Çanakkale bridge, a proposed crossing between Asia and Europe over the Dardanelles. In clear weather it is possible to see Bozcaada and the even the houses on the island of Midilli nine miles away.
Ak Port on the seaside is the best location for swimming. The beach is of fine sand and the sea is shallow for one hundred metres out.
The village was known in the past to be a den of pirates. One day Sultan Ahmed III was sheltering there from a storm while on a boat voyage. The villagers surrounded him and made many complaints about the corsairs. The Sultan soon tired of the villagers' complaints and ordered his vezir (Ottoman Prime Minister) İbrahim Pasha to deal with it. İbrahim Pasha in turn appointed his son in law, the Kaptan-ı Derya (Navy Commander) Mustafa Pasha, to deal with the matter. By issuing a ferman (Sultan's decree) it was announced that prisoners from the four corners of the country would be freed if they agreed to work in Bababurnu. The prisoners, by working flat out, finished the castle. For the public fountain they had to carry water from five kilometres away by pipelines. When they started to build the port Mustafa Pasha was killed in the Patrona Halil uprising. The construction resumed years later.
The throwing of dry bread in the water when one leaves for a cruise or fishermen sail from the port is an old tradition. According to a story told by Piri Reis in his Kitab-ı Bahriye (a famed Ottoman captain and his book on the sea) when he died the non hard bread eating seaman Latif Baba a was buried in the Babakale village and whenever the navy passed here they would throw a piece of dried bread into the waters in the direction of the grave to bring them luck. The famed Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi also mentioned praying for Latif Baba when passing here. Now this tradition is also picked up cruise passengers. The village make a living based on olives, shoe and knife making. In recent years tourism has been added to its sources of income. Its knife making goes far back in history. There are families that have been making knives for six generations. The steel they take from cars is their material. The make handles from the loquat tree and the sheaths from the wood of poplar trees. The knives are functional and very sharp. But the numbers of those keeping up this traditional occupation are gradually decreasing.
As it is positioned at the crossing point between Marmara and the Aegean, according to the season you can get mackerel, bonito, bluefish and sea bream, as well as very nice calamary. You can sample fish in the village.

From Gülpınar to Assos and Küçükkuyu/Ayvacık
Driving from Gülpınar it is more pleasant to watch the sea as you travel. You go through nice villages, first Kocaköy and then Bademli, surrounded by lovely pine trees.

Koyunevi/Sokakağzı (Sivrice)
The way Assos and the Küçükkuyu coast embraced tourism encouraged the rest of the western coast  of Turkey to open up.One of the most rapidly developed beaches in this region is the at the village of Koyunevi. If you travel for 4.5 kilometres from highway just above sea level you descend to a half moon shaped long sandy cove. Opposite is the Greek island of Midilli. Once upon a time villagers from here and those from Midilli used to go market days in each other's community for shopping and trade goods. But in time war and tensions disrupted the links between the two neighbours and for long they watched each other from a distance. However, the recent easing of relations and the growing friendship between Turkey and Greece may soon bring back the neighbourly days of the past.
Stretching along the shore there are small motels and pensions lined up, their restaurants under the shade of vines always serving fresh seafood. This shore with its reasonable prices is the new discovery of those who are tired of crowded holiday resorts and seek a quite, restful spot.
At least for now there are no big hotels or facilities. Even the largest motel has no more than 20 rooms.
The living of the village consisted of growing olives, olive oil production and fishing before it started to deal with tourism. Even now, the main sources of income are still those of the past.
The range of seafood for the day relies on what was caught in the nets of the fisherman that very day.
The Sokakağzı bay, as is on the route of the migratory fish, hosts many types of fish at various times, though you can always get swordfish on a skewer.
The public beach has no charges. Everyone swims from the front of the motel they stay in and all requirements are met by the motel.
The level of tourism is not yet very professional. Although the villagers have made rapid progress in learning tourism is still conducted in the "amateur spirit". Motels are run as a family business. Each member of the family undertakes a job. Some of the motels are run by those who ran away from big cities.
Though Sokakağzı is developing as a holiday place there are no crowds and no loud entertainment. However, it is attracting divers and there is a dive school and spear fishing tours in Sütlüce Cove.

The Sivrice Lighthouse
There is no coastal road leading to the lighthouse, first you have to travel for 4.5 kilometres to the east and then move towards the shore to reach the Sivrice Lighthouse and the Sütlüce Cove
This is a place that succeeded in avoiding the extreme construction that often marks tourism destinations. It has small motels and home pensions. The sea is clean, the fish and sea products are plentiful and so is the olive oil.
It is not only a site for the sea. The mythological Mount Ida is right behind it. The area behind the cove first has olive tree fields and then becomes a big forest where beautiful villages are scattered and is a scenic area to pass time when not by the sea.
Here there is a nice life intertwined with history.