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Kusadasi is set in a superb gulf, on the site of a settlement
founded by Ionians and identified as ancient Neapolis.
In the vicinity were the two other Ionian cities of Phygale and
Marathesion, but mighty Ephesus swapped Marathesion with Samos for
Neapolis. Ephesus and Samos were both part of the Ionian
Confederacy whose council, the Panionion, was
held at the foot of Mount Mycale (today near Güzelçamlik*)
. Following the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman domination,
Neapolis was ruled by the Byzantines. After Ephesus had lost its
prior prosperity and its harbour was totally silted up by the
alluvial deposits of the Cayster river (küçük Menderes), the
Byzantines searched for a new port and a new road that would be
suitable for trading and chose Neapolis, then renamed Ania,
instead. The town became an important port with the Greek, Jewish,
and Armenian merchants, and was called Scala Nueva in the 15th
century by the Venetian and Genoese colony of merchants which had
established there. Following the Manzikert Battle in 1071, the
Seljuk Turks spread widely in Anatolia. During their decline in
1284, the Aydinogullari Emirate was set up in the region and
Kusadasi was incorporated to it in the early 14th century. But the
Turks preferred to live mainly inland on the foothills near the
ancient settlement known as Andizkule. Ottoman sultan Mehmet I
finally conquered the region of Kusadasi in 1413. The town of
Kusadasi took its present form during the early 17th century
under Öküz Mehmet Pasha who was grand vizier under the reign of
sultan Ahmet I and Osman II. Öküz Mehmet Pasha Caravanserai, Kale
içi Bath and Kale içi Mosque, all built inside the ramparts, date
back to this period. In 1920 the domination of Izmir and its
surroundings, of which Kusadasi, was granted to Greece by the
Treaty of Sèvres. During the War of Independence in September
1922, it was taken back by the Turkish forces and the Treaty of
Lausanne (1923) gave Izmir and its surroudings back to the new
Turkish Republic.
Kusadasi, which means the Bird Island, was named after the small
island situated some way off the harbour where cruise ships and
liners draw alongside. The Ottomans, who renamed it Güvercin
Ada (Pigeon Island), used this
strategic island for military purposes, like the Byzantines who
had already built a fortress to defend themselves against the
pirates. Today Pigeon Island, which is connected to the land by a
sea wall (10 minutes walk from the harbour area), is the ideal
place to enjoy a panoramic view of Kusadasi sipping a drink in the
garden cafes.
Öküz Mehmet Pasha Hani, the largest caravanserai
in the Aegean region, is located at the beginning of Harbour
Street near Orient and Grand Bazaar. Since its restoration in
1967, it has been used as a hotel and a shopping center, and
special Turkish nights are held in the inner court yard of the
building during summer time.
Barbaros Hayrettin Street, located in a
pedestrianized precinct, is one of the most popular area for
shopping.
A long waterfront stretches between the harbour,
where a couple of fish retaurants are located, and the marina.
Lots of restaurants of all kinds, cafes, bars, pubs can be found
everywhere in Kusadasi.
The specialty of the region of Kusadasi, the "çöp sis"
made of small pieces of lamb on tiny wooden skewers, is a sort of
miniature sis kebab.
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