| Long Day Tour

Pick up from the hotels, drive to Priene, where the first establishments in Priene go back till 2000 BC. According to ancient documents, these first settlers were the Banians who mixed with the Ionians. In the Archaic period, the city s location may have been nearer to Miletos on the delta of the Buyuk Menderes (Meander). Later the city moved in the direction of the Mykale Mountains slope.

Miletos; is one of the oldest cities of Ionia, the city of many scientists and philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, Hekataios (principle source to Herodotos) and Isidorus, the architect of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Miletos had its alphabet recognized by the Greek world as the official Greek alphabet, basis of the current Latin alphabet. The Bath of Faustina, the Delphinion (small temple dedicated to Apollo Delphinion, protector of ships and harbors) and the amphitheater are the spots.

After Priene and Miletos, drive to Didyma. The famous temple for its oracles, dedicated to Apollo was the richest and biggest of the Ionian temples on Anatolian soil. It was to cover such a vast area, that its construction lasted more than 150-200 years and yet it was planned to be without ceiling. Again after the "Ionian Rebellion", it was to Alexander the Great to order its restoration. On the ruins of the VIth century BC temple, a church was built during the Byzantine period. Though the ruins one can see today, are of pre-Christian age.

Drive back to Izmir, transfer to the hotels.