Located within the fishing village of Kıyıkışlacık, the rarely visited ruins of an ancient city called Iasos picturesquely tower over the deep bay of Güllük, which belongs to the Aegean Sea. It is well worth spending some time and effort to get there. The effort will be rewarded by the joy of wandering among the remains of ancient buildings and the views from the Iasos acropolis over the blue waters of the sea.
Historical overview:
According to ancient historians, Iasos was founded by colonists from Argos, a city located on the opposite side of the Aegean Sea, in the Greek Peloponnese. The Greek settlers reportedly suffered heavy losses during armed clashes with the local inhabitants of these areas - the Carians. For this reason, they called for help from the grandson of the god of the oceans, Poseidon, who, in addition to military support, brought more settlers to Iasos.
However, archaeological research indicates that the area of Iasos has a much longer history, dating back to the early Bronze Age. In the Bronze Age, Iasos was influenced by the so-called Cycladic culture, whose main centres were the Aegean islands of Syros, Naxos, and Milos. During excavations, objects representing the Geometric, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods were also discovered.
The source of Iasos' wealth was fishing, a long tradition which is still maintained by the current inhabitants of the village of Kıyıkışlacık. In addition, beautiful marble, white and red, was extracted from the surrounding mountains and widely used for ornamental purposes. The original settlement was located on a small island, which is now connected to the mainland.
It is known that Iasos belonged to the Athenian Delian League and was involved on the Athenian side in the Great Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE). After the ill-fated Sicilian Expedition of 415-413 BCE, an unsuccessful attempt by Athens to take control of Sicily, Iasos was attacked by the Spartans and completely destroyed.
In the 4th century BCE, Iasos, which had been rebuilt from the ruins of war, came under the rule of the Hecatomnid dynasty from Caria, who governed these areas as a Persian satrapy. During the conquests of Alexander the Great, Iasos was captured by Macedonian troops, and after the death of that leader it became the subject of a dispute between his successors. Eventually, like all the territories of Western Asia Minor, Iasos came under Roman and then Byzantine control.
The periods of intensive development of Iasos fell in the 2nd and 6th centuries CE and were associated with the intensification of marble extraction from nearby deposits. In Byzantine times, Iasos was a bishopric, and the names of four local bishops from the 5th to 9th centuries CE are known. They were: Themistius, Flacillus, David, and Gregory. Currently, as Jassus, Iasos serves as a titular bishopric of the Roman Catholic Church of Caria.
At the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, the fortifications of Iasos were strengthened, but they did not stop the Turkish invasions and Iasos eventually came under the control of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the 19th century, significant sections of the defensive walls of Iasos were dismantled, and the collected material was used in the expansion of Istanbul.
Until the 1920s, the village located near the ruins of Iasos was inhabited by the Greeks. The settlement was then called Asin Kurin. After the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, Turkish fishermen settled here.
Modern era
Today, in the territory of Iasos lies a fishing village with the easy-to-remember and pronounce name Kıyıkışlacık. Its location, at the most inland point of Güllük Bay, is conducive to successful fishing. On a clear day, from the quay you can see the village of Güllük across the bay, and boats ply between the two villages carrying passengers. Most of them come to Kıyıkışlacık for the excellent fish served at reasonable prices in local restaurants. Despite these visits, Kıyıkışlacık remains a rather quiet settlement, surrounded by olive groves growing on the low hills inland. Over the past 30 years, the population of Kıyıkışlacık has grown from 600 to 2,500.
Archaeological research:
The first research in Iasos was conducted in 1835 by Charles Texier. In the 20th century, work in Iasos was directed by the Italian School of Archaeology in Athens, and the excavations were managed by: Doro Levi (1960-1972), Clelia Laviosa, (1972-1984) and Fede Berti (1984-2011).
The aim of undertaking work in Iasos was, for Doro Levi, to search for evidence of the Minoan expansion in Anatolia. The results of the research exceeded the wildest expectations - in the agora, thanks to deep excavations, it was possible to reveal an almost complete sequence of successive civilization layers, from the 3rd millennium BCE to the Byzantine period. The most important findings turned out to be traces from the key periods of Greek history, such as the Minoan times, the Bronze Age, the Geometric period, and the Archaic period. Moreover, research at Iasos has contributed to the understanding of the process of city formation.
In 2011, Marcello Spanu became the director of archaeological excavations in Iasos. Currently, the excavations continue, led by the archaeologists from the Selçuk University. Many of the artifacts found in Iasos are now exhibited in archaeological museums in Izmir, Milas, and Bodrum.
Sightseeing:
In ancient times, Iasos was completely surrounded by defensive walls, which were built in the 4th century BCE. They were preserved in excellent condition until 1887, when significant sections of them were dismantled in order to obtain building materials. Today, only a few sections of these fortifications are visible. The walls had defensive towers and gates, the best preserved of which is the eastern gate, located near the sanctuary of Zeus. The most characteristic tower, on a plan close to a square, rises at the entrance to the agora.
The area of the agora, or main square in Iasos, was used since at least the 3rd millennium BCE, as evidenced by excavations conducted there. As a result, they discovered, among other things, walls of buildings from the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BCE) and tombs from the Geometric period (8th-7th centuries BCE). In the 5th century BCE and in the Hellenistic period, canals and pipelines were built through the entire area of the agora, which were used to drain water from the higher parts of the city to the sea.
This area served as an agora since the 4th century BCE. The sections of walls stretching along the northern and eastern sides of the square date from this time. The area of the agora was a rectangle with sides measuring 107 by 87 meters. In the centre of this square there were numerous religious buildings and altars. In the 2nd century CE, porticoes (or stoas) were built, surrounding the agora on all sides. They were destroyed by earthquakes that struck these areas. In the 6th century CE, a Christian basilica was erected on the eastern side of the agora, surrounded by an extensive necropolis. The dead were buried in this cemetery until the 15th century CE.
During the Byzantine period, many buildings were constructed in the area previously occupied by the porticoes. Fragments of columns and other architectural elements from the colonnades destroyed by earthquakes were used in their construction. In the eastern and southern walls, metallurgical plants, pottery and glass workshops were built in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The best preserved building on the agora grounds is the bouleuterion located in its southwest corner. The first council building was built in the 4th century BCE, when city council meetings began to be held, but the currently visible structure dates from the 1st century CE. The building is rectangular in plan, and its cavea, or rows of seats, are in the shape of three-quarters of a circle.
The function of the bouleuterion changed over time and instead of council meetings, performances began to be organized there. In order to adapt the building, a skene was added to it, which had three openings for actors and two decorative rows of columns with niches for statues. The audience was divided vertically into three sectors, and a diazoma separated its lower part from the upper part. The seats were decorated with finishes in the shape of lion's paws. The orchestra, or the place intended for the choir, was lined with slabs of local marble in two colours: red and white. During the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian (i.e. in the first half of the 2nd century CE), as part of the renovation work carried out on the agora, the external façade of the bouleuterion was decorated with sculptures.
The passage from the southern portico of the agora leads to an area identified by researchers as the sanctuary of Artemis Astias. This local incarnation of the hunting goddess is associated with a legend, according to which her statue always remained dry, as it was untouched by rain or snow.
The oldest building on the grounds of this sanctuary is the small so-called temple in the antes (in antis), measuring only 8 by 17 meters. It was a building whose sections of the side walls of the nave (i.e. anti) were jutting out of the front wall, and in the façade between them stood two columns. The temple was built in the 4th century BCE and was used until Roman times.
The temple was surrounded by a rectangular square, bordered by colonnades made in the Doric order in the late Hellenistic period. At the southern portico there were three rooms with large doors. It is assumed that these rooms served as a city archive, placed under the care of the goddess Artemis.
To the east of the agora there is the second important sacral complex of Iasos, which was dedicated to Zeus Megistos. Similarly to the sanctuary of Artemis, there is a small temple in antis, from which the exit leads to a paved square. Many votive inscriptions and objects offered in sacrifice to the deity have been found in this square.
On the southeastern side of the sanctuary of Zeus Megistos, a complex of public buildings, centred around a trapezoidal courtyard, paved with marble slabs was erected in the 2nd century BCE. The courtyard was surrounded by porticos with Doric columns, and a fountain was added to it later. Researchers managed to reconstruct the appearance of the buildings located near the courtyard, and traces of mosaics were also discovered, which were used to line the floors of the rooms.
On the other side of the acropolis hill, on its southern slope, stand the remains of a magnificent residential building constructed in the Hellenistic style in the 2nd century CE. The house consists of a spacious inner courtyard surrounded by a colonnade and adjacent rooms. The residence had two storeys, and the stairs to the upper floor were located on the western side of the building.
The courtyard was paved with marble blocks, and on the sides - with the mosaics with geometric patterns. Constant access to drinking water was provided to the residents by a large cistern, carved in the rock. The living rooms were also paved with mosaics, among which geometric motifs predominated, but there were also images of animals and vessels. The walls of the rooms were covered with frescoes, which have partially survived to this day.
The theatre in Iasos was built in the 4th century BCE, renovated two centuries later, and rebuilt in Roman times. When Charles Texier visited the ruins of the city in the mid-19th century, the ancient theatre was in almost perfect condition. Unfortunately, only fragments of this building survived to this day because the rest of it shared the fate of the fortifications of Iasos and was dismantled in 1887. The marble elements of the theatre were used to build the quays in Istanbul.
At the top of the hill that dominates Iasos, there is a fortified acropolis. The defensive walls were built in the 12th or 13th century CE, and their construction is most often attributed to the Order of Saint John from the island of Rhodes. The walls define a large, trapezoidal area, which includes a Byzantine cistern and the remains of a Hellenistic temple. Beneath the fortress stands a Christian basilica from the 6th century CE, consisting of three apses and a narthex.
A characteristic sight that amazes visitors to Iasos is the stone structure jutting out from the waters of Güllük Bay. These are the remains of a defensive tower of the western port of Iasos, built in the Byzantine period. The tower was once two-storey: on the lower floor there was a cistern and a door leading to the jetty, and on the upper floor there was a room heated by a fireplace. Traces of the jetty that connected the tower to the fortification walls on the mainland have survived to this day.
Opposite the former island, where most of the old buildings of Iasos are located, stands a mausoleum from the Roman era. It is called Balık Pazarı, which literally means a fish market. This name results from a mistake made by Italian researchers at the beginning of the 20th century, who identified this building with the market mentioned by Strabo. It was later found that the building was, in fact, a mausoleum located in the northern necropolis, but the name given to it has remained to this day. The mausoleum currently houses the so-called Antiquarium, a museum opened in 1995. It exhibits sculptures, inscriptions and architectural elements excavated by archaeologists in Iasos.
Visitor tips:
There are several guesthouses in Kıyıkışlacık. All of them are located in the village, on a hill above the port, and have viewing terraces and rooms with balconies overlooking the Bay of Güllük. Restaurants specializing in fish dishes are located right on the port quay.
In 2024, entry to Iasos was free of charge. The area of the ancient city was only partially cleared of undergrowth and prepared for sightseeing. The information boards were old and partially illegible.
Getting there:
The village of Kıyıkışlacık is located in the Milas district, administratively part of Muğla Province. The ruins of Iasos lie on a bay, known in ancient times as Iasos Kolpos or Sinus Iasicus, and now called Mandalya Körfezi or Güllük Körfezi
The most important remains of ancient Iasos are located on a rocky peninsula, 900 meters long, with a maximum width of 450 meters. The highest point of the acropolis of Iasos rises to 80 meters above sea level.
Kıyıkışlacık is only 25 km from Bodrum-Milas International Airport, from which you can reach Iasos by taxi.
Getting to Iasos by car is straightforward: from the D330 route that connects Bodrum with Milas, turn northwest at the junction located 10 km from Milas and after another 18 km you will reach Iasos. The total distance from Bodrum is less than 60 km.
It is also possible to reach Iasos by public transport. Dolmuses run from Milas to the village of Kıyıkışlacık (hourly in summer, less frequently in winter). In the summer months, you can also reach Iasos by boat from the port of Güllük, located on the other side of the bay.
