Priene

Aegean, Turkey 1 tours visit here

Priene is a well-preserved ancient Greek city on terraced slopes below Mount Mycale, in Turkey's Aegean region above the plain of the Büyük Menderes (Meander), near Güllübahçe in Aydın province. A member of the Ionian League, it was once a port; silt from the river pushed the coastline west and left the city inland, which is much of why it survives intact. Priene is one of the clearest surviving examples of Hellenistic urban planning, its streets set on a strict Hippodamian grid stepped into the hillside in terraces. Above the centre stands the Temple of Athena Polias, designed by Pytheos, with several Ionic columns re-erected. Below it lie a compact theatre with carved seats of honour in the front row, one of the best-preserved bouleuterions (council houses) in Anatolia, an agora, and unusually complete Hellenistic houses. Bias, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, came from here. It is normally visited with Miletus and Didyma on one route through the Meander valley, usually from Kuşadası, Selçuk or Söke, and an hour or so covers the main monuments. The ground is steep and stony and the approach uphill; summer middays are hot and exposed, so morning or late afternoon is easier.