Middle East - Anthony Ham [476]
Kuşadası’s most famous beach is Kadınlar Denizi (Ladies Beach), 2.5km south of town and served by dolmuşes running along the coastal road.
Sleeping
Beware the touts at the otogar and harbour; it’s best to decide where you’re heading before arrival and stick with the choice.
Panorama ( 614 6619; www.otelpanorama.com; Kıbrıs Caddesi 14; s/d low season €15/20, high season €20/28; ) A few steps from the bazaar, this used to be Sammy’s Palace, a long-standing backpacker favourite. The rooms are spartan and dog-eared, but there’s a rooftop terrace for the breakfasts and optional dinners.
Sezgin’s Guest house ( 614 4225; www.sezginhotel.com; Aslanlar Caddesi 68; s/d €20/24; ) Perhaps the top budget choice, with large, almost Swiss-style wood-panelled rooms, comfortable beds, armchairs, TVs, fridges and balconies overlooking a garden.
Villa Konak ( 612 2170; www.villakonakhotel.com; Yıldırım Caddesi 55; s/d €40/50; ) Hidden in the old quarter of town is this restored 140-year-old stone house. The rooms, attractively updated with the odd orientalist flourish, are arranged around a rambling courtyard-garden. It’s peaceful and cool and there’s a bar, restaurant and library.
Eating & Drinking
There’s an abundance of eateries to suit every wallet. As ever, check the cost before ordering fish. If looking for a drink, Barlar Sokak (Bar St) is chock-a-block with Irish-theme pubs. It’s a scruffy-around-the-edges kind of street, but after a few drinks it can be lots of fun.
Köftecı Ali (Aslanlar Caddesi 14; 9am-midnight winter, 24hr summer) Situated near Bar St, ready to hoover up the post-club traffic, this street booth does some terrific spicy wrapped pide kebaps (TL5).
Avlu ( 614 7995; Cephane Sokak 15; mains TL5-8; 8am-midnight) In the old town, Avlu offers first-class home cooking in a clean and cheerful environment. A long-standing local fave, it has a great pick-and-point counter, some tasty vegie options and delectable Turkish puds.
Saray ( 612 0528; Bozkurt Sokak 25; mains TL10-18; 9am-2am) Enjoying a following among both locals and expats, the Saray has a refined courtyard and, inside, an unpretentious dining room that often rocks with happy-hour sing-a-longs. The menu, a typical Kuşadası calling-all-ports affair, includes some decent Turkish and vegetarian choices.
Getting There & Away
BOAT
All Kuşadası travel agencies sell tickets to the Greek island of Samos. There’s at least one daily boat to/from Samos (€30 one way, €35 same-day return) between April and October, but ferries do not operate in the winter.
BUS
From the otogar, direct buses depart for several far-flung parts of the country, or you can change at İzmir. In summer, three buses run daily to Bodrum (TL20, 2½ hours); in winter, take a dolmuş to Söke (TL4, every 30 minutes). For Selçuk (TL4, 30 minutes), pick up a minibus on Adnan Menderes Bulvarı.
Return to beginning of chapter
PAMUKKALE
0258
Way inland, east of Selçuk, Pamukkale is renowned for gleaming white ledges (travertines) with pools that flow down over the plateau edge. It used to be one of the most familiar images of Turkey, but these days it has lost a bit of its gloss. Sadly in recent years the water supply has dried up and it is no longer possible to bathe in the travertine pools. Behind this fragile natural wonder lie the magnificent ruins of the Roman city of Hierapolis, an ancient spa resort.
Pamukkale is also a good base from which to explore the ruined city of Afrodisias (Geyre), near Karacasu southeast of Nazilli.
Sights
TRAVERTINES & HIERAPOLIS RUINS
As you climb the hill above Pamukkale village, you pay to enter the travertines and Hierapolis (admission TL10; daylight). The ruins of Hierapolis, including a huge theatre, a colonnaded street,