Tour Option 6
MYLASA, EUROMOS, HERAKLEIA AND IASSOS TOURS
Mylasa

Milas, once the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Caria, is a pleasant Aegean town which boasts a miniature replica of the grand, original Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
King Mausolus was king of Caria (377-353 BC), perhaps its greatest king. He ordered a splendid, gigantic tomb built for himself in Halicarnassus (Bodrum). Today little remains of the tomb, but the marble Gümüşkesentemple in Milas is thought to be a small-scale replica of the Mausoleum, the grand tomb that gave its name to all grand tombs since.
Perhaps more important for today’s visitors, Milas is a noted carpet-making center and has a fairly busy airport which serves Bodrum as well (map).
If you come to buy Turkish carpets, have a look at the Gümüşkesen, and also the Baltalı Kapı (Gate with Axe), a Roman gate in the city walls. Also visit some of the town’s 14th-century mosques, built when Milas was capital of the Menteşe emirate. These include the Great Mosque (Ulu Cami, 1378), the Mosque of Orhan Bey(1330), and the Firuz Bey Mosque (1394).
Up in the hills north of Milas is the ancient city of Labranda.
Euromos

The city, located in the region known as Caria, was known from the 5th century BC as Cyramos (Hyramos). During the reign of King Mausolus of Halicarnassus (the 4th century BC) the city was subordinated to Milas and lost its independence. At the same time, its name was changed to Euromos (meaning ‘Strong’), which resulted from the program of Caria Hellenization implemented by Mausolus.
In Roman times, Euromos was granted the status of an autonomous city, but soon afterward it was completely abandoned. The most probable reason was the Antonine Plague that broke out in the western part of Asia Minor in 166 AD. The scholars suspect it to have been either smallpox or measles. In subsequent years, an epidemic spread throughout the entire territory of the Roman Empire, and within 20 years decimated its population.
Hereclia

Heraclia, which was located at the head of the gulf never, became an important city it was far from the popular trade road running from Ephesus to Didyma – Miletus and Priene. These mystic mountains are an excellent area for ambitious hiking and trekking tours. Since 700 A.D hermits and monks have left their marks on these remote mountain slopes. Byzantine monasteries and hermit caves are a favourite destination for study trips.
The Kapikiri Village is built on the ruins of the ancient city Heraclia, the present houses in many cases resting directly on the ancient foundations. Stones from surrounding ruins where used to build the new houses, walls , streets and property demarcations. Heraclia Although it was located in Ionia, Heraclia was a Carian city in character and its history was formed by the events of Caria.
Iasos

Iasos that you reach through this beautiful road is located on a peninsula in the Kıyıkışlacık Village of Milas. Important structures that belong to the ancient city are on this peninsula. According to the finds of the excavations in Iasos, the oldest settlement in the city is dated to late 3000s AD. You should visit the Fish Market Museum, where a certain part of the finds of regular excavations in Iasosancient city, which were done by the Italian Archeology Commission since 1960, are exhibited.
The mole tower at the mouth of the harbor is a Medieval Age structure. The other tower across it was destroyed. In the past, a chain was stretched across the 52 meters wide entrance gap between the two lighthouses to control the sea traffic. It is still possible to reach the lighthouse by walking on the shore and passing through the stones of the mole that are still above the sea level. The harbor in the center of the village is a rare kind of natural harbor-bay; there is a peninsula that is covered with olive trees on one side and there is another peninsula, in which the Iasos ancient city resides on the other side. The most important reason for building the Iasos here was probably the presence of such a sheltered, natural harbor.
Price 80€.