Söke Milas Turkey Things To See

Söke to Milas Turkey - Things to See

As you enter the village in summer, you may be asked to pay an admis sion fee of US$ 4. Bear right at the ticket booth, pass the Pelikan Restaurant, and you'll come to the Agora Restaurant. Park here and explore on foot.

A path behind the car park leads westward up to the Temple of Athena, on a promon-tory overlooking the lake. Also from the car park, paths lead eastward to the agora, the bouleuterion and then several hundred metres through stone-walled pastures and across a valley to the unrestored theatre. The badly ruined theatre is oddly sited, with no spectacular view. Its most interesting feature is the several rows of seats and flights of steps cut into the rock. You will also see many remnants of the city vvalls dating from 300 BC.

Much of the fun of a visit to Latmos is to observe Turkish village life. Beehives dot the fields, and camomile flowers (papatya) grow wild by the roadsides in spring and summer. During the day vvomen sit by the road, making lace which they then attempt to seli to passers-by. in the evenings villagers herd their animals along the main street.

When you're finished in the village, follow the road down to the lake, past the Endymion Temple built partly into the rock, the ruins of a Byzantine castle and the city's necropolis.

Down at the lakeside, near the ruins of a Byzantine church, are several small restau-rants for fısh (if they' ve caught any that day), including the Zeybek, Kaya and Selene. All offer camping and boat tours of the lake.

There's a small beach of white coarse sand. Just offshore is an 'island' which may be reached from the shore on foot as the level of the lake sometimes falls. Around its base are foundations of ancient buildings.

Places to Stay & Eat

Of the several pen-sions in the village the best is certainly the 14 room Agora Pansiyon (fax 252-543 5445),The pension and its restaurant are surrounded by flowers, and the owners have lots of information available for lovers of ruins or birds.