Teos

Top choice in İzmir & the North Aegean


The evocative ruins of this ancient city, which was one of the 12 cities of the Ionian League, are spread over a low hilly isthmus now used as farmland. A flourishing seaport with two fine harbours in Greek and Roman times, Teos was known for its wines, theatre and Temple of Dionysis; the ruins of the latter two can be explored on site and other features are being unearthed in ongoing excavations being conducted by the University of Ankara.

There are five major sites here, all of which can be reached via recently constructed paths: the rectangular bouleuterion (assembly or senate house), agora temple, theatre, columned Temple of Dionysis (the largest temple of Dionysis erected in the ancient world) and ancient harbour. Informative interpretative panels in Turkish and English are provided.

There are no eating or drinking options at the site, but Teos Park, a forestry department picnic grove, is located 1km away, on the road to Akkum. A shady restaurant operates here in summer, and there's a year-round shop where you can buy snacks and cold drinks to enjoy beneath the pine trees overlooking the Aegean.


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