Stratonikeia Euromos Heraklia Bafa Lake Didyma Priene Miletos

Initial region Aegean

Duration 2 Days

Language English

Price € 550 _{/ person}

Stratonikeia

Lagina

Euromos

Heraklia

Bafa Lake

Didyma Apollon Temple

Priene

Miletos

Ephesus

Magnesia

DAY 1 - Drive to Lake Bafa via historic Stratonikeia and Milas and Lagina

Today we make our way north to our lakeside accommodation on the shores of beautiful Lake Bafa. En route we'll stop at Stratonikeia where there's time to enjoy a picnic lunch and explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stratonikeia has been continually inhabited from the Bronze Age and was an important city in ancient Caria. At the site today you can see the gymnasium, bouleuterion, theatre and Augustus-Imperial Temple amongst other ruins. We visit Lagina and Lagina tour.

We continue to Milas where we discover the old town area on foot as well as visiting the Jewish Cemetery and the Gumuskesen Monument, which is a large Roman tomb dating from the 2nd century AD. Later this afternoon we continue to the neighboring town of Euromos where we visit the Temple of Zeus. It's one of the best preserved classical designed temples in the country and dates back to the 6th century BC.Later we visit Heraklia known as todat Kapikiri. 

Following our visit we drive on to Lake Bafa, where we'll stay in lakeside chalet style accommodation set amongst olive groves. You may like to enjoy a peaceful lakeside walk or swim before we have dinner here this evening. Lake Bafa was once connected to the Aegean Sea and a number of important harbor towns were set along this gulf. Now it's separated from the ocean and is part of a nature reserve which is home to over 220 bird species including fish eagles, pelicans and pigmy cormorants. You can also find 20 different types of orchid and in the lake itself there are many fish including eels, sea bass and sea bream. The surrounding Latmos Mountains are the habitat of wild cats, boar and badgers.

ACCOMMODATION:

Club Silvia Olivia (or similar)

Grade: Comfortable Hotel

SINGLE ROOM AVAILABLE

MEALS PROVIDED:  DINNER 

DAY 2 - Visit to ancient Didyma and Priene en route then Magnesia and Miletos

We drive firstly to Didyma and visit the Temple of Apollo, which was an oracle held as important as the one at Delphi, in Greece. Today the massive scale of the fallen columns and the wealth of the intricate carvings bear testimony to the power of the ancient cult of Apollo. Slightly further down the coast we'll make a beach stop where there's the opportunity to swim, enjoy a picnic or relax in one of the beachside restaurants.

This afternoon we'll visit Priene, which is one of the smallest but most picturesque sites in the area. It's perched on a hillside overlooking the Menderes Valley and was once a thriving Ionian city. It's one of only a few that wasn't built over by the Romans, so archaeologists have been left with a vivid picture of the scale and layout of a typical city from the 4th century BC.

We visit Miletos and Magnesia.

Following our visit we continue to Selcuk, which is home to a prominent Byzantine fortress, impressive mosque and remains of the huge Temple of Artemis, once considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but sadly now totally destroyed. Every year from mid-March to mid-August white storks return to Selcuk to mate and their nests can be seen on the top of posts and pillars all around the town. On arrival this afternoon you may like to visit the Ephesus Archaeological Museum or the Basilica of Saint John.

After a busy day exploring you might like to try a popular local yoghurt drink called, ayran, it has an unusual salty and soured milk flavour

We return back to home in the evening. 

MEALS PROVIDED: BREAKFAST

• Private Tour Guide
• Driver, vehicle, petrol, parking fees, subway tolls
• 1 Dinner, 1 Breakfast, 1 Night Hotel Accomodation
• All entrance fees

• Lunches,  drinks, personal expenses