Aydin, Turkey

Aydin is at the heart of the fertile Meander (Menderes) River valley, abundant with olives, figs, cotton, grain and fruit.

Most travelers ride right by Aydin (ah-yee-DUHN) on their way between Ephesus, Kusadasi, Aphrodisias, Denizli and Pamukkale, which is just as well. For all its history (it's been here for over two millennia), the city has little to hold the casual visitor.

Earthquakes have razed many of its historic stone buildings, and the scorched-earth policy of the retreating Greek troops in Turkey's War of Independence destroyed most of the city's burnable buildings.

Formerly known as Tralleis, Aydin was the birthplace of Anthemius, one of the two architects of Emperor Justinian's great Hagia Sophia Church (Ayasofya), the pride of Byzantine Constantinople.

You may want or need to change buses in Aydin, or stay the night, for which there are sufficient comfortable hotels.

Should you have an hour or two to spend sightseeing, the Ottoman Süleyman Bey Camii mosque (1683) is worth a look. The ruins of ancient Tralleis, on the outskirts of the city, are unimpressive compared to many of Turkey's other sites.

Most of the best objects from Tralleis have been removed to Aydin's Archeological Museum, where they're displayed alongside finds from Afrodisias, Didyma, Miletus and Priene. This gives you a hint: Aydin is not of much touristic interest in itself, but it is the capital of the province of Aydin, which includes such tourist meccas as Kusadasi, and the outstanding archeological sites just mentioned.

Here's how to go to and from Aydin by car, bus, train and air.

Aydin Transport

Aphrodisias

Denizli

Ephesus

Kusadasi

Pamukkale

Aegean Turkey

Tralleis Ruins, Aydin, Turkey

The ruins of ancient Tralleis, outside modern Aydin, Turkey.