Just like my previous week of bicycle touring, this final week of my three-week Fethiye to İzmir trip was hopping from one set of Roman ruins to another. In addition to Roman sites I also managed to find a few old churches. For me the most notable difference of this week was that the rain stopped. I entered a stretch of brilliant weather — dry and cool, at times cold — and tried to take advantage of the sunshine.
My first stop was Priene, just down the road from Miletus. Priene was built on small hills above the sea. The “acropolis” of the city is actually way up on top of the mountain in this photo, but I didn’t bother walking up there.
After years of sedimentation, now Priene overlooks agriculture land in the flat Büyük Menderes floodplain. Only later did I learn that Priene is famous for its square bouleuterion. I noticed it on the map while I was there and looked around for it a bit. I thought I was right on top of it and decided it hadn’t been excavated or wasn’t around anymore or something, but there are heaps of photos of Priene’s bouleuterion on the internet. How’d I miss it??!!
Well, at least I managed to find the theater and the few remaining columns of the Sanctuary of Athena.
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