This text is a fragment of "The Secrets of Bodrum and Ancient Caria" guidebook.
Milas is now a small and inconspicuous town that was once the capital of ancient Caria. Today, tourists probably associate it mainly with the Milas-Bodrum airport, where charter flights land, bringing holidaymakers eager to relax on the Bodrum peninsula. However, there are several interesting places in Milas that are worth stopping there for a while before setting off to the Aegean coast.
Milas is located in the centre of a highly developed economic region, and its surroundings are also rich in historical buildings and archaeological sites. This city was the first capital of ancient Caria, and in the Middle Ages it became the capital of the Menteşe beylik. Importantly, the Mausoleum of Hekatomnus, located in the very centre of Milas, is waiting to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Historical overview:
The location of Mylasa and its wealth were discussed in depth by Strabo who recorded that: "Mylasa is situated in a very fertile plain; a mountain, containing a very beautiful marble quarry, overhangs the city; and it is no small advantage to have stone for building in abundance and near at hand, particularly for the construction of temples and other public edifices; consequently, no city is embellished more beautifully than this with porticos and temples. It is a subject of surprise, however, that persons should be guilty of the absurdity of building the city at the foot of a perpendicular and lofty precipice."
During Carian times, the city was known as Mylasa and was renowned for its temple dedicated to a local Anatolian deity. The Greeks renamed this deity Zeus, the ruler of Olympus, and Mylasa became the most important sanctuary of the Carians. In addition, Mylasa was connected by the 'Sacred Way' to Labraunda, the second most important local religious sanctuary. Mylasa was for a long time the capital of the Kingdom of Caria, until the reign of the famous Mausolus, who chose Halicarnassus (present-day Bodrum), located further south, as his capital.
Earliest history
The earliest historical mention of Mylasa dates back to the early 7th century BCE. At that time, a Carian leader from Mylasa named Arselis supported Gyges of Lydia in his rivalry for the Lydian throne. This episode gave rise to the cult of Zeus at nearby Labraunda: his statue is said to have held a double-bladed axe brought from Lydia by Arselis of Sardis.
Three local deities were worshipped at ancient Mylasa, whose names were Hellenized in all cases as Zeus. They were distinguished by their epithets: Zeus Labraundos (or Stratios), Zeus Carius, and Zeus Osogoa.
Persian rule
During the rule of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, Mylasa retained its status as the most important city of Caria. It was governed by rulers nominated by the Persian king, who were bound to the empire by an alliance. The first local dynasty to rule Mylasa on behalf of the Persian rulers was the Lygdamid dynasty, which ruled from around 520 BCE. Its last representative, Lygdamis II, died around 450 BCE.
After his death, Mylasa joined the Delian League founded by Athens, but at the end of the 5th century BCE, the Persian rule was restored in these areas. This time, the Persians transferred local government to the Hecatomnid dynasty.
The Hecatomnid Dynasty
The ruling dynasty of Caria was founded by Hecatomnus, who was succeeded by his sons and daughters after his death. Officially, the Hecatomnids were satraps of the Persian Empire, but they retained a great degree of autonomy. Moreover, despite Persian supremacy, during their reign, Greek religious and cultural influences played a significant role in Caria.
Initially, the Hecatomnids ruled from Mylasa, where the mausoleum of Hecatomnus was built, which can still be seen today. This building was an architectural precedent from which the later, much more monumental, mausoleums of this dynasty developed. It is also known that at that time a temple dedicated to Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, justice, and fate in Greek mythology, was built in Mylasa. The pediment of this building is currently located in the Archaeological Museum in Istanul.

During the reign of Hecatomnus' son Mausolus (from 377 to 352 BCE), the dynasty practically gained the status of rulers of Caria and took over significant territories. However, for Mylasa this meant losing the role of capital as Mausolus designated Halicarnassus, located on the sea, for this function. It was in Halicarnassus that his tomb was built, which as the Mausoleum was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Roman times
In 40 BCE, Mylasa was almost completely destroyed during the Roman civil war. The city was captured by Quintus Labienus, who made an alliance with Parthia and invaded the Roman provinces in the eastern Mediterranean, which were under the control of Mark Antony. He occupied the Roman province of Syria with the help of the Parthians in 40 BCE, and then entered southern Anatolia. Both Labienus and the Parthians were defeated by Publius Ventidius Bassus, who reconquered the provinces for Mark Antony. However, before he was defeated, Labienus caused much destruction, including the destruction of Mylasa after it had been abandoned by its inhabitants. The reason for this harsh action was the city had accepted a garrison from him, but then murdered it and rebelled.
Due to Labienus's activities, many of the ancient monuments that have survived to this day in Mylasa date to the period of the city's reconstruction. In the first centuries CE, Mylasa flourished, was often mentioned by writers, and boasted excellent orators: Euthydemus and Hybreas. Their relationship gave rise to the saying "necessary evil". Euthydemus and Hybreas were political adversaries, and when Euthydemus died, Hybreas spoke at his funeral, where he noted, "You are a necessary evil: we cannot live with you or without you".
Surprisingly, an inscription found at Mylasa has provided us with some of the few certain dates for the life of the eminent Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. It tells us that he was governor of the Roman province of Asia from 112 to 113 CE.
Turkish rule
The areas of Caria were occupied by Turkish troops under the command of the Bey of Menteşe at the end of the 13th century. The beylik established here was named Menteşe after this leader, and Mylasa became its capital. However, for strategic reasons, the administrative centre of the beylik was Beçin Castle, located about 5 kilometres from Mylasa city centre, which was easier to defend.
The Ottoman Empire took over the beylik of Menteşe in 1390, but 12 years later, as a result of Tamerlane's victory over the Ottomans at Ankara, the rule of the Menteşe beys was restored. The city returned to Ottoman control in 1420, during the reign of Sultan Mehmed I. One of the first decisions after the conquest of Mylasa was to move the administrative centre to Muğla.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Milas had a significant Greek and Jewish population. In accordance with the provisions of the population exchange, the Greeks left the city in 1923, and the Jewish community emigrated to Israel in the 1950s.
Milas is now well-known for its woollen carpets with distinctive local designs. The carpets are made in the villages surrounding the city, and the number of looms in the district is estimated at as many as seven thousand.
Sightseeing:
The most important ancient monument in Milas is the ruins of the Mausoleum of Hecatomnus, located in the central district of the city called Hisarbaşı. This archaeological site consists of a wall surrounding the sacred precinct, or temenos, the podium of the mausoleum, preserved burial chambers, a sarcophagus, and the so-called Column of Menandros, which is a later construction from the period of Emperor Augustus.
The tomb of Hecatomnus was the precursor of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Mausoleum of Hecatomnus was built on a site that overlooked the ancient city of Mylasa and was visible from every part of the settlement. It is believed that its concept was created by Hecatomnus' son, the famous Mausolus, who began the construction of this magnificent mausoleum in the first quarter of the 4th century BCE after the sudden death of Hecatomnus. The building was never completed, as Mausolus moved the capital from Mylasa to Halicarnassus.
The area where the monumental tomb is located is given additional significance by the fact that it was built on a huge terrace. The height of its walls is 8.5 meters. The terrace was constructed of white marble blocks. The monumental entrance (i.e. propylon) to the sanctuary was designed on the southern face of the surrounding wall. So far, only 11 steps of this monumental entrance have been uncovered.
Access to the burial chamber, which is 4.70 meters below the level of the ancient pavement, is provided by a corridor more than 8 meters long. Inside the vaulted chamber there is a marble sarcophagus decorated on all four sides with bas-reliefs. The walls of the burial chamber are covered with colourful paintings. The sarcophagus measures 2.90 by 2.3 meters and is 1.5 meters high.
The four sides of the sarcophagus are decorated with reliefs of a quality equal to the most famous works of the classical period. The reliefs on the front of the sarcophagus depict a "Feast Scene" with Hecatomnus lying on a bed in the centre of the scene, his wife Aba next to him and his children, Mausolus and Artemisia, in front of them. On the back of the sarcophagus there is the scene of the "Lion Hunt", on the right side of the sarcophagus - the scene of the "Mourning for Hecatomnus", and on the left side - the scene of the "Assumption of Power".
The wall paintings in the burial chamber show two couples, each consisting of a man and a woman, sitting opposite each other in a dignified pose. Behind the male figures stand servants, and behind the female figures - women from the family or palace servants. The context of these paintings is to emphasize the continuity of the dynasty because the male figures depicted are Hecatomnus himself and his successor, Mausolus. The woman sitting next to Hecatomnus, wrapped in a cloak, is Aba, who was his wife and sister, and the woman lifting her veil, as if to show herself to Mausolus, is his wife and sister Artemisia. The scenes of the frieze, done in miniature, present two different subjects. The western frieze shows a battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, in which Theseus takes part. The eastern frieze shows a battle between the Greeks and the Amazons.
The Tomb of Hecatomnus is one of the most important monuments of ancient culture, representing the cult of the dead. It is a high-class architectural, sculptural, and painting project. In particular, the wall painting from the tomb, known as the "Frieze of the Tomb of Hecatomnus", is a unique work due to its large size and degree of preservation.
Currently, the Hecatomnus Mausoleum is part of a museum complex called Milas Uzunyuva. In addition to the mausoleum itself, it includes the traditional Emin Agha house from the 19th century, a visitor centre, the Milas Carpet Museum, and an activity centre for children. The whole complex is open to visitors every day except Mondays, from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm at a price of 3 euros (as of 2024).
The second important monument in Milas is a perfectly preserved tomb called Gümüşkesen, built in the 2nd century CE, i.e. in Roman times. Scholars assume that it is a scaled-down copy of the famous Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The name Gümüşkesen is translated in two ways: as 'Cutting Silver' or 'Silver Purse'. This name is explained by the existence of a legend, according to which under the tomb there is a treasure of silver, melted and poured underground in liquid form through a visible funnel-shaped opening. In appearance, Gümüşkesen is a two-story building with a porch and a massive burial chamber on the lower floor. The whole is covered with a pyramid-shaped roof.
The only preserved fragment of the city walls of ancient Mylasa is the gate called Baltalı Kapı (meaning the Axe Gate). Its modern name is associated with the image of a double-bladed axe placed on the keystone, the highest point of the gate arch. Such an axe, called labrys, has been known since Minoan times, and in the ancient Greece it was used, among other things, for animal sacrifices. The gate is dated to the 2nd century CE. Most likely, it was from this gate that the 'Sacred Road' to the sanctuary in Labraunda began.
Three 14th-century mosques have been preserved in the city, which are a memento of the period of rule by Turkish rulers from the Menteşe family. These buildings are called: the Orhan Bey Mosque, the Haci Ilyas Mosque, and the Great Mosque.
The oldest building from the Ottoman period is the Firuz Mosque, built in 1394 and named after the first Ottoman administrator of the city. Other historic mosques include the restored Ağa Mosque from 1737 and Belen Mosque, located right next to the Çöllüoğlu Hanı caravanserai, built in 1719-1720.
Milas has many old traditional houses from the Ottoman era. Some of them have been renovated, but unfortunately most of them are falling into ruin. One of the most interesting buildings of this type is Hacı Ali Ağa Konağı. The mansion was built in 1868 by Hacı Ali Ağa. The building has two floors: the ground floor was once used to store grain and olive oil, and the first floor was used as living quarters. In 2005, the building was renovated and adapted for cultural purposes. It currently serves as the 'House of Comics of Turhan Selçuk', a famous comic book artist born in Milas.
A small museum with archaeological exhibits found in Milas itself and its surroundings was once located in the city centre. In 2024, it remained closed due to the planned move to the museum complex at the Mausoleum of Hecatomnus.
The most important items in the collections of this museum included gold artefacts found in nearby Stratonicea, clay lamps from Iasos, and finds from Beçin Castle, Heracleia by Latmus, Pilavtepe, and Damlıboğaz (ancient Hydaea). Among the items on display there were many vessels and marble sculptures and statues. In total, the Milas museum had a collection of 2,615 objects of archaeological importance and over 1,000 coins from different historical periods.

In the vicinity of the city ring road, fragments of a late Roman aqueduct have been preserved, and on the top of the cemetery hill there is a Lycian-style tomb carved into the rock, dating back to the 4th century BCE.
The area around Milas is rich in interesting monuments. Suffice it to say that there are 27 significant archaeological sites in the district. The most important include the ruins of the city of Euromos, the Beçin Castle, and the ancient sanctuary of Labraunda.
Getting there:
By coach: Milas coach station is located on the Bodrum-Söke ring road. Coach connections include: Adana (14 hours), Afyon (7 hours), Ankara (10 hours), Antalya (7 hours), Aydin (2 hours), Bursa (9 hours), Dalaman (3 hours), Denizli (4 hours), Izmir (4 hours), Konya (10 hours), Manisa (3.5 hours), Muğla (1.5 hours), Selçuk (2 hours), Söke (2 hours), Istanbul (12 hours), and Yatağan (45 minutes).
By minibus: from Bodrum (1-hour drive). There are also services to Iasos from the small minibus stop in the centre of Milas.
By car:Milas is connected to Bodrum via the D330 road in a south-western direction (51 km). From the north, Milas can be reached via the D525 road from Söke (82 km), and from Muğla in the east, via the D330 road travelling through Yatağan (66 km).