Detailed information about some of Kuşadası's sights
can be found with the photos in the photo gallery.
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Kuşadası (Turkish for Bird Island) is a sleepy little Aegean seaside town which wakes up during the tourist season when the population can swell to upto half a million. Apart from the tourists, mostly from Turkey, northern Europe and the Balkans, there is also a small army of seasonal workers.
The town itself has a number of hotels and pensions, but the bulk of tourists stay in the hotels and hotel complexes dotted all along the Aegean coast. Since many of these have their own swimming pools, beaches, restaurants and shops, many package tourists only come into town for sightseeing, shopping and the lively nightlife. All the same, since there are so many visitors staying in the area, as well as day-trippers from the Greek island of Samos and visitng cruise ships, that the place can be fairly bulging throughout the summer and the local beaches, restaurants and bars are constantly busy.
It's fairly pleasant to walk around, particularly the narrow streets of the old centre around the main harbour and fishing harbour, with its 19th century houses, a couple of handsome mosques - Kale Içi Camii and Hanim Camii, a hamam (Turkish bath), as well as the caravanserai built by Öküz Mehmed Pasha in 1618 (now the hotel "Club Caravansérail"). There are cafés, snack bars, restaurants, a bazaar and shops selling carpets, jewellery, leather goods and other tourist must-haves.
Some shopkeepers may try their charming best to entice passers-by into their Aladdin's caves full of wonders, but the mood is very friendly and casual. The only time they may be tempted to hard-sell you is right at the beginning of the season (April-May) when some of them are hungry to earn some cash after the lean winter. Like a lot of the information above this applies to many resorts in the Mediterranean.
For more practical needs, the tourist information, banks and ATMs, post office, town hall, hospital, police, harbour police and customs office are all within short distance of each other around the harbour area.
From the harbour, the coast road Attatürk Bulvari leads to the modern yacht marina at the northern end of Kuşadası's J-shaped bay, while to the west Güvercinada Cad., as its name suggests, takes you the short way to to Güvercin Ada (Dove Island) with its 13th century Genoese fortress. The small island is actually more of a headland as it is joined to the shore by a substantial causeway, along which fishing boats are moored and local anglers while away the time. This is also the departure point for local boat excursions to the more secluded beaches. Boat trips cost around 30 Turkish Lira, leave at 9am and return at 4pm.
The bus station (otogar) is just over 1 kilometre south of the centre, on the the main road 515 between Söke (to the southwest) and Selcuk (to the north). If you follow the Kahramanlar Caddesi out of town to its end, the bus station is at a large junction of three roads. There are no signposts to the otogar, and all the people we asked directions from were visitors who did not know the way. Eventually we met a local who turned out to be an off-duty policeman. He only spoke Turkish, but he was not only friendly and helpful (as are all the people we have met here) but even walked with us to the bus station. Thanks, officer.
The dolmus station is around a kilometre east of the centre. Following the Adhan Menderes Bulvari towards the main Söke to Selcuk road, it is on the right at the corner of Candan Tarhan Bulvari. A dolmus is a local private minbus (found all over Turkey). Sometimes the fare is fixed, sometimes they operate a bit like taxi in that you share the fare with other passengers. Often there is no fixed route or timetable: the dolmus leaves when it is full, or the driver decides he has enough passengers, and he may go off the main road to take a passenger to a particular village or house.
It is not surpring that Kuşadası has become one the most popular holiday destinations in western Anatolia. The town, its surroundings and beaches are very appealing. The accommodation, cuisine and local atmosphere are generally excellent. It's easy to take day trips to a number of fascinating historical sites (e.g. Ephesus, Miletus, Dydima, Priene), areas of outstanding natural beauty (Pamukkale, Dilek Peninsula National Park) or enjoy the charm of local villages and towns. If you want, you can also mess about on boats, either just for the fun of cruising around the Aegean or to get to an island such as nearby Samos.
Travel agencies sell excursions to various destinations, and the tourist information bureau or your hotel can give you more information. You can also rent a car or bargain with a taxi or dolmus (minibus) driver, or take one of the frequent cheap local buses.
And if you can't find the bus station, ask a policeman.
Text and photos: © David John 2004 - 2010 |
| Kuşadası, Turkey |
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area map |
map of Aegean area and western Turkey
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| Kuşadası, Turkey |
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practical information |
| name: |
Kuşadası
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| region: |
Aegean, western Anatolia
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| province: |
Kuşadası is one of the 17 districts of Aydın province.
main town: Aydın, 71 km east of Kuşadası
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| mayor: |
Fuat Akdoğan
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| population: |
65,764 (2000)
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| language: |
Turkish
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| local time: |
Eastern European Time (EET)
Daylight Saving Schedule:
Summer (from last Sunday in March)
GMT/UTC +3 hours
Winter (from last Sunday in October)
GMT/UTC +2 hours
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| currency: |
Turkish Lira (TRY)
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| climate: |
Mediterranean
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| post code: |
09400
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| telephone code: |
+90 256
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Kuşadası Tourist Information Office
Liman Cad. 13 (at the harbour)
June - September daily 8am-5 pm;
October - May Mon-Fri 8am-5pm
Free street maps and accommodation information.
Tel: (0256) 614 11 03 turizm@kusadasi.gov.tr
Further information for Turkey, including visa details, can be found on the main page introduction to Turkey.
Some of the information and photos in this guide to Turkey originally appeared in 2004-2005 on davidjohnberlin.com. |
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