Priene Antik Akropolis

It is one of the first residential cities in history that deserve to be visited. The temple of Demeter, the theater and the Agora are splendid. The home of the great Alexander the Great is moving ... In short, a dive into the past that enchants everyone.

The ancient city of Priene is on the Didim-Gülbahçe road, on the southern skirts of Mykale (Samsun) Mountain. According to Herodotus, 12 cities could join Panionion; Miletos, Myous, Ephesos, Kolophon, Lebedos, Teos, Klazomenai, Phokaia, Chios, Erythrai, Samos and Priene. Based on this information, we can find the history of Priene in BC. VII. We can take it to the century. According to the narratives from the ancient period until today, the founders of the city were colonists who migrated to Ionia. Their leader is Aepytos, the son of Kodros, the legendary founder of Athens. For this reason, it is assumed that Priene always remained connected to Athens in the historical process. Wise Umar, the name of Priene; He states that it consists of the word “Pura/Pria” (Hisar) in Luwian/Pelasgos language and the suffix “wana/ana” (sal-region). In other words, it means "Hisar Yurdu", the name of the city. According to ancient sources, Priene, BC. Between the years 645-546, he lived under the rule of Lydia and then under the domination of Persia. One of the seven sages, BC. Bias, who is thought to have lived in the 6th century, is referred to as "Bias of Priene" in the Historia of Herodotus.

The ancient city of Priene, located 15 kilometers from Aydın's Söke district, is one of the 12 Ionian cities. BC 4. It was founded in the 19th century and was the pioneer of the first planned city system. It is a city with weak political power among the Ionian cities. The city's streets in the east-west direction intersect with the streets in the north-south direction, which have stairs due to the sloping nature of the land, and the city has 3 entrance and exit gates. The city walls cover an area of ​​2.5 kilometers. The city, which was close to the sea and even had a port at the time of its establishment, moved away from the sea due to the alluviums carried by the Menderes river and became a city losing its importance day by day. The name of the street on which we climb a stony and steep slope is called Theater Street. The Theater, which is at the end and left of this road, was built in the 3rd century BC. The Theater, which has an audience capacity of 6500 people, has managed to survive to the present day with its columned stage, backstage section and semicircular structure. The thing that caught our attention in the theater was the marble seats in the first row of the seating group. We guess that this was reserved seats for the city's notables during the show. When you leave the theater and continue for a while, the Temple of Athena, located at the highest point of the city, welcomes you. The Temple of Athena was built by architect Pytheos, who built the Halicarnassus Mosseleion, considered one of the 7 wonders of the world, and the Temple of Apollo in Didyma. The fact that the temple has 5 standing columns and its location is located in a very beautiful place allows you to take great photos. Bouleuterion (city council) and Prytaneion (administrative council) are one of the important buildings of the city. There is an altar in the middle. It has 16 steps on the north facade and 10 steps on the east and west sides, and it is estimated to have a seating capacity of 640 people. Built in the 3rd century BC, Agora is located in the center of the city. In the middle of the building surrounded by stoas on three sides, there is an altar dedicated to Hermes. The stoa, located just north of the Agora, was built in the 2nd century BC. From the Agora to the stoa, a 6-step staircase is reached. There were 15 rooms in the building with a wooden roof. It is known that Emperor Augstus was worshiped in these 9 rooms. To the east of the Agora is the Asklepios Sanctuary built in the 3rd century BC. There are many houses in the ancient city of Priene. It is said that the house architectures here show very similar characteristics to Pompei and Delos houses. The walls of the houses were as strong as the walls of public buildings. Only one bathroom was found in the entire Priene. The room was found in the house of a noble family. Most of the houses have a latrina (toilet). It is estimated that these houses were built in the 3rd century BC. It is estimated that there are wall paintings in the houses located in the northern part of the city and these houses belong to noble people. It is said that most of the houses were damaged and abandoned by a big fire that broke out in the 2nd century BC. Although we are saddened by the fact that the ancient city of Priene has not yet received the necessary attention with its historical structure, the fact that it has reached the present day without disturbing its natural structure has made us happy, albeit a little. After visiting Priene, I strongly recommend you to visit the ancient city of Miletos, which is about 15 minutes away and where the foundations of philosophy were laid.

Before my trip to Turkey, I had not heard of the ancient city of Priene. Then I learned from Ineta that many centuries ago Priene was the most beautiful polis, stood on the seashore, had a port, traded, and became rich. That the city had a regular layout, when streets intersect at right angles, and significant objects (for example, theaters or voting places) are moved outside of residential areas. And so, while resting in Kusadasi, we organized a trip for ourselves to Miletus, Didim and Priene. Priene did not leave the impression of abandonment. This is not Ephesus with crowds of tourists. Here the ruins, in my opinion, are not even fenced off; tickets were sold at the entrance, but you can go without them. There were a couple of tourists. The city is surrounded by a pine forest, located on a mountainside. Details of ancient buildings, parts of columns, statues, some kind of chaos are scattered around. Among the most significant and well-preserved objects are a few walls, an amphitheater, bouleterion (the building of the meeting of the authorities) and five columns of the temple of Athena. By the way, the temple appeared during the time of Alexander the Great and it is believed that it was he who financed the construction. The author of the temple is Pytheas, an outstanding architect, creator of the famous mausoleum in Halicarnassus. If you study Priene, you need to have a schematic map and understand what exactly you see. It seems that the foundation of the house where Alexander stayed has been preserved, but without a map this place cannot be found.

A beautiful ancient ruined city from the 8th century BC. Today it has been largely excavated and is located on the southern slope of the Mykale peninsula below a 300 meter high rocky slope, at that time it served as the city's acropolis. It's very exciting and fascinating at the same time. An experience not to be missed. The climb is quite strenuous, but it's worth it. The refreshing wind on the hill is the gift of the climb.

After continuing on the İzmir Kuşadası Söke road and passing Söke, Güllübahçe is a magnificent ancient city that can be reached easily when you turn from the Didim crossroads. Although it is not as explored as Ephesus, the relationship between Ephesus is like the relationship between İzmir Kuşadası. It leans back on the mountain and dominates the Söke plain. The entrance fee is also much more affordable compared to the ancient city of Ephesus. Afterwards, it is recommended to eat fresh and fish at sunset in the shabby fishermen's restaurants in Doğanbey Village, where old Greek houses are located, and on the outskirts of Dilek Peninsula National Park on the coast, accompanied by the smell of pine, the coolness of the sea and the smell of seaweed.