Kusadasi
Kusadasi is one of the most populated resort towns on the southern Aegean Coast, with shiploads of tourists in summer which enlarge the year round population several times over. Kusadasi lies only 1 hour drive away from Izmir. Once a small fishing village, today a busy town, Kusadasi is packed with antique and carpet shops. Kusadasi is only 25 km far from the ruins of Ephesus which makes the town an ideal base for Aegean cruise ships.
Despite the insane tourism, Kusadasi is situated at the heart of a pompous coastal scenery and several important archaeological sites including the three well-preserved Ionian cities of Miletus, Priene and Didyma. There are many good hotels and restaurants, and ferry boats link Kusadasi with the nearby Greek islands of Samos and Mykonos.
The Grand Bazaar of Kusadasi, near the marina, is one of Turkey's largest shopping areas with more than 1,000 stores that are open 7 days a week from 9 am until midnight. Usually accompanied by a Turkish coffee, bargaining for many items at the bazaar, like leather jackets, carpets, sandals, jewellery, is a quite fun experience. Despite the traditional shopping atmosphere, all stores accept credit cards, travellers cheques and even foreign currency (EUR and USD) for your purchases.
Kusadasi's clean, sandy beaches are an important attraction for visitors whether simply for sun bathing and swimming or for various watersports like jet skiing, paragliding or wind surfing. A variety of daily boat trips are also available. You will also enjoy Kusadasi's three huge aquaparks. The surrounding region of Anatolia is full of interesting historical and archaeological sites and many excursions are available for visitors to explore these, particularly the ruins of ancient Ephesus.