While in Selçuk we decided to take a packaged tour that was recommended to us by Anna at our hotel. As part of the tour we took a bus south of Selçuk into the countryside to visit the less visited ruins of Priene, Miletus and Didyma. The bus picked us up first thing the morning and we had a tour guide who talked to us about the background and stories behind the places we were seeing. The fact that the places we visited were way off the beaten path was also welcome for us after being herded like cattle at the amazing ruins of Ephesus a few days before.
Priene was situated at a beautiful location in the hills at the base of rocky Mount Mykale. It was an important city around 300BC. As it was not as important a city as others in the region its Hellenistic buildings were never built over by newer Roman ones. The town was laid out in a grid plan, and the well preserved theater still had finely carved VIP seating in the front for the local dignitaries. The site required a significant hike to get to the ruins but we were rewarded with great views of the area below and the mountains behind us.
Miletus is 22 km south of Priene. Its huge theater is the most significant ruin of the city and towered above the town as you approach. Miletus was an important Greek city, then the Romans built over it. It was an important city from 700BC to 700AD when the local harbor silted up and commerce dwindled. Also of note were the baths of Faustina and the stadium.
Didyma is the site of the temple of Apollo. It was not a town as much as an important temple that was only inhabited by the priests that managed the place. It was built in the 4Th century BC by Alexander the Great. The site had 120 huge columns that were pretty well preserved and had nice carvings. As the day continued on we saw less and less of our tour guide and with temperatures in the mid 90s we also spent increasingly more time trying to find shade as there was little cover around the ruins.
We met some great people in our tour group, especially some Americans from St. Louis and a group of great French students who we talked with a lot. All things considered, the ruins themselves were not the highlight for us. They were looted long ago and are in many cases for us little more than piles of rubble and barely recognizable. What we really liked about the tour was the drive to get there, the spectacular location of the ruins along with a guide to tell us what they were. We also liked the solitude of the sites and really enjoyed meeting the others in our group.
Steve
Didyma is the site of the temple of Apollo. It was not a town as much as an important temple that was only inhabited by the priests that managed the place. It was built in the 4Th century BC by Alexander the Great. The site had 120 huge columns that were pretty well preserved and had nice carvings. As the day continued on we saw less and less of our tour guide and with temperatures in the mid 90s we also spent increasingly more time trying to find shade as there was little cover around the ruins.
We met some great people in our tour group, especially some Americans from St. Louis and a group of great French students who we talked with a lot. All things considered, the ruins themselves were not the highlight for us. They were looted long ago and are in many cases for us little more than piles of rubble and barely recognizable. What we really liked about the tour was the drive to get there, the spectacular location of the ruins along with a guide to tell us what they were. We also liked the solitude of the sites and really enjoyed meeting the others in our group.
Steve
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