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Aydın is at the heart
of the fertile Meander (Menderes) River valley,
abundant with olives, figs, cotton,
grain and fruit.
Most travelers ride right by Aydın (ah-yee-DUHN)
on their way between Ephesus, Kuşadası,
Aphrodisias, Denizli and Pamukkale,
which is just as well. For all its
history (it's been here for over two
millennia), the city has little to
hold the casual visitor.
Earthquakes have
razed many of its historic stone buildings,
and the scorched-earth policy
of the retreating Greek troops in Turkey's
War
of Independence destroyed most
of the city's burnable buildings.
Formerly known as Tralleis, Aydın was
the birthplace of Anthemius,
one of the two architects of Emperor
Justinian's great Hagia
Sophia Church (Ayasofya), the pride
of Byzantine
Constantinople.
You may want or need to change buses
in Aydın, or stay
the night, for which there are sufficient
comfortable hotels.
Should you have an hour or two to
spend sightseeing, the
Ottoman Süleyman
Bey Camii mosque (1683)
is worth a look.
The ruins of ancient Tralleis, on
the outskirts of the city, are unimpressive
compared to many of Turkey's other
sites.
Most of the best objects from Tralleis
have been removed to Aydın's Archeological
Museum, where they're displayed
alongside finds from Afrodisias, Didyma,
Miletus and Priene.
This gives you a hint: Aydın is not
of much touristic interest in itself,
but it is the capital
of the province of Aydın,
which includes such tourist meccas
as Kuşadası,
and the outstanding archeological sites
just mentioned.
Here's how
to go to and from Aydın by
car, bus, train and air.
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The
ruins of ancient Tralleis,
outside modern Aydın,
Turkey.
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