At the southwestern reaches of the country, Southern Aegean (Güney Ege) may be Turkey at its best. Awaiting explorers as they have done for centuries, evocative ancient ruins stand in perfect isolation against a backdrop of mountains clad by pines and wild olives. Old towns adorned by the generous purple of the bougainvillaes rest upon the sandy beaches along the craggy coastline. Offshore, opportunities for yachting and other water sports abound. Inland, soothing hot springs reach out for the ground and form almost magical settings. A hard party is never too far away, and so is rural tranquility.

Towns

• 🌍 Akyaka — coastal town on the tip of Gulf of Gökova, with beautiful traditional architecture
• 🌍 Bodrum is a popular resort city with a castle, Roman ruins, and bars and clubs.
• 🌍 Turgutreis on the peninsula's west coast is a large modern resort strip.
• 🌍 Gümüşlük is an attractive fishing village just north.
• 🌍 Yalıkavak is the main resort on the north coast of Bodrum Peninsula
• 🌍 Datça — unspoilt local resort on the Datça Peninsula, nearby Knidos forms the boundary between Aegean and Mediterranean proper
• 🌍 Didim is a large resort town near the Temple of Apollo of Didyma.
• 🌍 Denizli — relatively big city inland, hub for visiting Pamukkale
• 🌍 Milas is an industrial city but near many archaeological sites.
• 🌍 Muğla — pleasant inland city with a well-preserved old quarter

Other destinations

Travetines of Pamukkale

The Medusa head in Didyma

• 🌍 Aphrodisias — one of the best preserved Roman cities in Turkey, much less crowded than some better known sites
• 🌍 Pamukkale - the white travertines
• 🌍 Priene, Miletus and Didyma are a trio of ancient Greek ruins, usually visited on a combined "PMD" day-trip.

Understand

This is essentially a northwestern extension of the Mediterranean coast with the typical “Turkish blue coast” scenery: pine-covered mountains descending right to the sea level. Historical names for this region include Caria.

Get in

• 🌍 Milas–Bodrum Airport (BJV ^IATA) 35 km northeast of Bodrum is the main arrival point for international tourists.
• Ferries connect most coastal towns to the nearest Dodecanese islands of Greece.
• Aydın and Denizli has daily train services from Izmir.
• A motorway connects the region with Izmir in the north. D400 runs from Antalya in the east via Fethiye along the Lycian coast to the D550 junction at Akyaka.

Get around

See

Do

Near Ören on the Bay of Gökova

• The Carian Trail is an extensive collection of hiking trails with coastal sections around the Gulf of Gökova, and inland sections leading to Muğla, Milas, and Lake Bafa.

Eat

Drink

Vineyards open to visitors can be found near Bodrum and Çal, northeast of Denizli.

Stay safe

Go next

• Central Aegean to the north.
• The Dodecanese to the west.
• Lycia to the south.
• The Lakes District to the east.
• Central Anatolia to the northeast.