On the foot of Kazdağ (Mountain Ida)
Küçükkuyu

"There is such a place where the Aegean blue and the green of Mount Ida meet and here, amid the strong scent of thyme, a breakfast with ranges of nice olive oils which you would get no where else is Gargara."

The quotation above is from The Iliad where Homer writes through the mouth of the god Zeus in his epic. The ancient city of Gargara is today's Küçükkuyu. But since there has not been adequate research conducted here the history it is shrouded in fog.
Limited research in 1998 said that the ancient city of Gargara was on Kocakaya Hill to the north of the village of Nusratlı. It was revealed that later it was moved to Zından Hill to the east of the village of Arıklı.
The known history of the city goes as far as the 6th century BC.
Küçükkuyu is a town on the seaside that extends along the shore and where there are small and larger accommodation facilities. With its sandy beach and clean sea it is beautiful seaside town but it has another beauty to compete with its shores, Mount Ida rising from the shores to the higher ground.

On the foothills of Mount Ida (Kazdağı)
KIn the vicinity of Küçükkuyu, amid the natural beauties, there are villages that preserve their old style, springs with their ice cold water, rivers running into sea with their clean water sources coming from the top of Mount Ida, waterfalls and finally its wonderful flora and fauna.
In addition, the mythological stories and more recent legends that surround it add to the charm.
The village of Yeşilyurt (Büyük Çetmi)
You can get to this village by a short trip from Küçükkuyu, travelling in a westerly direction. This village was built with unique the Nusratlı stone of the region and is in an architectural harmony with its surrounds. The stone mansions are very good condition in the village, which has banned the use of concrete in building completely. The character of the village has been protected by the villagers. Those who move here from big cities buy up old houses and restore them.
In this village, where the iodine of the sea and the oxygen of Mount Ida mix, is surrounded by blue in front and a cloak of green behind it. There are small motels in keeping with the local architecture.
From the riches of combining sea, forest, mountain and culture a new type of tourism has been born.

The village of Küçük Çetmi and the Aphrodite thermal waters
Another cute village that retained its historical nature is Küçük Çetmi. As a legend goes there were two brothers; one founded Büyük Çetmi (Yeşilyurt) and the other Küçük Çetmi. It is told that they came from the Oguz Turk Çepni tribe and settled down here before İstanbul was conquered by the Ottomans.
Küçük Çetmi is a nice village with its fresh air, pine and olive trees, stone houses and historical mosque. The hot springs near the village, the Afrodit (Aphrodite) Thermal Waters, were known in ancient era. One of the many myths that are intertwined with the local Turkmen villages nearby is about these thermal waters. These stories go as far as to say that the goddess Aphrodite became the goddess of beauty after she bathed in here.
It has been shown by laboratory tests that the water, which is 45 degrees celsius, can cure many diseases. However the lack of facilities and accommodation prevent its taking a larger place in the tourism market.
Despite this, the slowly developing tourism in the region and other thermal water sources on Mount Ida give the signals that the area could become a health tourism centre in the future.

The village of Adatepe and the Alter of Zeus
In the entrance of the village there is a pastoral restaurant place that serves gözleme, Turkish flat bread folded and stuffed with various ingredients and a Turkish yoghurt drink (ayran). The road turning right from this eatery, along which you cannot drive, leads to the Alter of Zeus. To reach here is about a 15 minutes walk between the pine trees.
The area known as the Alter of Zeus is believed to be linked with the ancient city of Antandros or Gargara.
In fact it can be said that it was a place where offerings were made to the gods. The cistern here, which is a size of a small room, is known to locals as the cave of Zeus. It may be one piece left from the Alter of Zeus mentioned by Homer in the Iliad as "the Temple of Zeus and his scented altar" that he said was on Mount Ida.
Near to the Alter of Zeus there is the grave for Erdem Dede who fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and was seen as a holy figure.
This hill, apart from history, offers you great scenery. It is panoramic with the all sight of the seaside residential areas on a long beach, and the blue through the pine trees.

The Alter of Zeus
In the entrance of the village there is a pastoral restaurant place that serves gözleme, Turkish flat bread folded and stuffed with various ingredients and a Turkish yoghurt drink (ayran). The road turning right from this eatery, along which you cannot drive, leads to the Alter of Zeus. To reach here is about a 15 minutes walk between the pine trees.
The area known as the Alter of Zeus is believed to be linked with the ancient city of Antandros or Gargara.
In fact it can be said that it was a place where offerings were made to the gods. The cistern here, which is a size of a small room, is known to locals as the cave of Zeus. It may be one piece left from the Alter of Zeus mentioned by Homer in the Iliad as "the Temple of Zeus and his scented altar" that he said was on Mount Ida.
Near to the Alter of Zeus there is the grave for Erdem Dede who fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and was seen as a holy figure.
This hill, apart from history, offers you great scenery. It is panoramic with the all sight of the seaside residential areas on a long beach, and the blue through the pine trees.

The Mıhlıçay Stream
'Mıhlıçay is one of the water sources that is rises on Mount Ida and runs swiftly into the Aegean Sea.
It is used as an area for picnic and trekking activities. It also attracts young people that want to swim. They jump from rocks into deep small lakes that are formed by waterfalls. One thing to remember is that the water is quite cold.
The path first leads you to the Başdeğirmen (head mill) region. Many mills from the Greeks were restored and mill stones and water channels can be seen. You can get some information about the mill from the guardian.
Opposite of mill there is an arched bridge that you can cross. This bridge, which dates from Roman times, is the only crossing point over the Mıhlıçay on the ancient road that led to Troy. Today those are into trekking and those dealing with olives use it. On the Mıhlıçay, which is surrounded by pine, plane, olive, chinaberry (melia azedarach), bay, fig, quince and pea trees, as well as an abundance of thyme and black berries, there are also fish farms offering for tout. The farm fishes grow in a natural atmosphere and return to their natural characteristics here are delicious, something not the case in some farmed fish.
There is no path up from the mill. You partly walk in the river, on the river bank and at times on rocks in the direction of the flowing water. As you get higher and higher level by level you come across smaller and bigger waterfalls. And finally you get to a small lake that in size is big enough to swim in. But the real beauty is hidden behind the lake. When you travel for 15-20 metres further you get into a room that covered by stone walls. The waterfall that almost deafens you is opposite.
The depth of the lake is 30 metres. The deeper colour of its bottom is scary. Adventurous youths jump into the cold waters of the lake from the 15-20 meters high rocks. In hot summer days one can swim in the lake and stay in the waterfall for a while. But do not forget the water is ice cold in summer as well.
In the region travel agencies organise trekking tours.

Trekking and jeep safari in Mount Ida
Some parts of Mount Ida are a national park and you need permission to enter this zone. Personal request are not approved. This is necessary both for the safety of the mountain and the person. The best solution is to take a tour from the one of the big cities or from the local agencies.
Jeep safaris are conducted over the rough roads in the forest.
For the trekking there are numerous routes. The degree of hardness of the route varies.
Some are tours that go up to the summit and set up tents there and some are soft daily tours. There are also tours where you are take a tractor trailer to a certain point and then walk up to the peak.
During these tours lighting fires is forbidden so meals are served cold.
Due to its very rich fauna and flora there used to be herb collecting tours in the past. There are 26 species endemic to Mount Ida and 15 types of vegetation that only grow on Mount Ida in Turkey that are not endemic. This vegetation is a part of the world heritage. These tours were not allowed anymore by the threat of having these plantations uprooted intentionally or not. Tours in the company of a guide are allowed. Photographing , filming or watching of the vegetation is allowed.
Mount Ida is rich in terms of plants used for healing and, as part of the local culture, many plants are used in various ways to cure diseases.
Here it is necessary to lend your ears to the experts. The plants were being used for treatment purposes from very ancient times. Today, most of the modern drugs are made by using plants but in the region one should be careful about other plants than those used in cooking that are used by treatment. Even very common and well known herb teas when taken too much can pose problems.
In the mythological it said that Zeus turned into an eagle and brought the handsome Ganymedes to Mount Olympus and the handsome boy ate ambrossia and drank the nectar just like gods. The story goes that he became immortal but one should remember that it is worth leaving the last say to medicine.