A Roman Ampitheatre in Turkey? ... NO its Persian (Kaunos (Dalyan,Turkey))

Member Name: loulou129

Product:	Kaunos (Dalyan,Turkey)
Date:	22/08/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A fantastic sight for history enthusiasts, the views!

Disadvantages: A lot of walkin in the heat, wouldnt go at midday

Having just returned from Turkey i would like to express what a beautiful country it is and how much history it possess. Personally i would have never thought that so much history could be encorporated into such a small area as Dalyan but for history enthusiasts it certainly didnt disappoint.

Kaunos is an ancient city situated 5 minutes away from the town of Dalyan, although town may be a bit strong its more like a small village. There are two main ways to reach Kaunos, via the road (which we didn't do so i cant give any information on this but i do know the roads are a little dangerous) or via boat. We opted for the boat as we booked an excursion to Kaunos with Thomas Cook. The boat took all of 5 minutes to reach the shore on the other side of the river and dropped us off at what looked like someones back garden. Following this you have to walk uphill for about 200 yds to reach Kaunos but it really is worth it.

Kaunos is situated on top of a hill over looking the Izuzu beach (turtle beach) and the lakes. Even when you first enter Kaunos the views are breathtaking and i think i may have taken a few too many pictures because of this :).

Once you enter Kaunos you are greeted by the ruins of a roman bath house to your right, a church in front of you and the Theatre to the left. If you head towards the Roman baths you can follow the path around in a circle to walk around the ruins of the market and temples. The ruins are spectacular but as our tour guide reminded us they are not all from the same time period because of the problems in Turkey, parts of the town are Greek and others are Persian and Lycian but this doesn't make any difference as they all work very well together and make for a fantastic sight.

On the boat on the way to Kaunos you pass some ruins in the cliffs which is the Necropolis for Kaunos, this is the monumental tombs where the rich were burried. This is because Kaunos was an Acropolis (town for the rich).

For the best views i would recommend climbing to the top of the Theatre but be careful as it is in ruins so there uneven steps and there is no such thing as health and safety so there is nothing stopping you falling off the top.

All together it will take you about an hour and a half to see everything, i would recommend a tour guide as you learn much more and our trip including a boat trip and dinner on a lake was only 12 pounds each which was good as entry to Kaunos was 5 pounds.

Overall this is a spectacular place to visit and would be an ideal place to start if you are going to Turkey for history but it must be followed by Ephesus and Pammukale as they are the two greatest historical sights i have ever seen.

Not One To Miss

Summary: brilliant if you dont mind walking