Kusadasi
General Information
District: Aydin, State: Aegean Region, Turkey
Area: 264 km²
Languages Spoken: Turkish
Long Distance Code: (+90) 0256
Best Time to Visit: May to August
International Access: Izmir Adnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)
Description
Kusadasi takes its name from the Turkish for 'Bird Island', a reference to Pigeon Island, which is connected to the mainland of Kusadasi by a short causeway. Geography The city stands on a bay in the Aegean with the peninsula of Guvercin Ada sticking out into the sea at one end, and the mountain of Pilav Dagi behind. It is 95 km (59 mi) south of İzmir, the region's largest metropolitan center. It is 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydin situated inland. Demographics Kusadasi has a residential population of 64,359 rising to over half a million during the summer when the large resort fills with tourists (from Turkey itself, northern Europe and the Balkans), plus the hotel staff, bar staff, construction workers, and drivers who are needed to work in the restaurants servicing all these visitors. In addition to the visitors from overseas there is a substantial community of foreigners resident in the area. Etymology The name comes from 'kus' (bird) and 'ada' (island) as the peninsula has the shape of a bird's head (as seen from the sea). During Byzantine times, it was known as Ephesus Neopolis; under the Genovese and Venetians, Scala Nova or Scala Nuova. Kus-Adasi was adopted in its place at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, citizens of Kusadasi often shorten the name to Ada. Antiquity The area has been a centre of art and culture since the earliest times and has been settled by many civilizations since being founded by the Leleges people in 3000 BC. Later settlers include the Aeolians in the 11th century BC and Ionians in the 9th century. Originally seamen and traders the Ionians built a number of settlements on this coast including Neopolis. An outpost of Ephesus in ancient Ionia known as Pygela, the area between the Büyük Menderes and Gediz rivers, the original Neopolis is thought to have been founded on the nearby point of Yilanci Burnu. Later settlements were probably built on the hillside of Pilavtepe, in the district called Andizkulesi today. Kusadasi was a minor port frequented by vessels trading along the Aegean coast. In antiquity it was overshadowed by Ephesus until Ephesus' harbor silted up. From the 7th century BC onwards the coast was ruled by Lydians from their capital at Sardis, then from 546 BC the Persians, and from 334 BC along with all of Anatolia the coast was conquered by Alexander the Great. From then onwards the coastal cities were the centre of the mixed Greek and Anatolian culture called Hellenistic. Rome and Christianity The Roman Empire took possession of the coast in the 2nd century BC and made it their provincial capital and in the early years of Christianity. St John the Evangelist and (according to Roman Catholic sacred tradition) Mary (mother of Jesus) both came to live in the area, which in the Christian era became known as "Ania". Later the port was a haven for pirates. As Byzantine, Venetian and Genoese shippers began to trade along the coast the port was re-founded (as Scala Nuova or Scala Nova - "new port"), a garrison was placed on the island, and the town centre moved from the hillside to the coast. The Turkish era From 1086 the area came under Turkish control and the Aegean ports became the final destination of caravan routes to the Orient. However this arrangement was overthrown by the Crusades and the coast again came under Byzantine control until 1280 when first the Mentese and then the Aydinid Anatolian beyliks took control. Kusadasi was brought into the Ottoman Empire by Mehmet I in 1413. The Ottomans built the city walls and the caravanserai that still stand today. In 1834 the castle and garrison on the island was rebuilt and expanded, becoming the focus of the town, to the extent that people began to refer to the whole town as Kusadasi (bird island). However in the 19th century, trade declined in favor of İzmir with the opening of the İzmir-Selcuk-Aydin railway, as Kusadasi had no rail connection. During the Turkish War of Independence Kusadasi was occupied from 1919-1922 first by Italian (till 1921), then by Greek troops. The Turkish troops won control of the city on September 7, 1922. Under the Turkish Republic the Greek population was exchanged for Turkish people as part of the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1922. It was a district in Izmir Province until 1954 and become the district of Aydin Province. Until the first holiday apartments were built here in the 1970s Kusadasi was a fruit-growing rural district, it then grew into a small resort town with holiday flats. These were built as housing co-operatives, membership sold to families in Ankara, Izmir, Denizli and other Turkish cities. From the mid 1980s Kusadasi grew again into the centre of mass tourism that we have today.Location
Kusadasi is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydin Province. Kusadasi lies at a distance of 95 km (59 mi) to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydin situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. Her neighbours are Germencik district from northeast, Söke one from southeast, Aegean Sea from west and Selcuk district from north.Climate
Kusadasi has a typical Mediterranean climate year round with mild winters and long, hot summers. For 300 days of the year, Kusadasi is bathed in sunshine and peak season temperatures average a scorching 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. The hottest months in Kusa
Favourite Turkey Tour / TUR-05 (7 Days / 6 Nights)
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Favourite Turkey Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Favourite Turkey Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Turkey Pamukkale Tour / TUR-07 (7 Days / 6 Nights)
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Kusadasi-Istanbul
Turkey Pamukkale Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 3 : Cappadocia
Day 4 : Pamukkale
Day 5 : Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Istanbul
Day 7 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Kusadasi-Istanbul
Turkey Pamukkale Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 3 : Cappadocia
Day 4 : Pamukkale
Day 5 : Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Istanbul
Day 7 : Istanbul
Turkey Pamukkale Kusadasi Tour / TUR-08 (8 Days / 7 Nights)
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Kusadasi-Istanbul
Turkey Pamukkale Kusadasi Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Pamukkale
Day 6 : Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi
Day 8 : Kusadasi-Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Kusadasi-Istanbul
Turkey Pamukkale Kusadasi Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Pamukkale
Day 6 : Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi
Day 8 : Kusadasi-Istanbul
Full Turkey Tour / TUR-09 (11 Days / 10 Nights)
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Kusadasi-Canakkale-Istanbul
Full Turkey Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul
Day 4 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 5 : Cappadocia
Day 6 : Pamukkale
Day 7 : Kusadasi
Day 8 : Kusadasi
Day 9 : Canakkale
Day 10 : Istanbul
Day 11 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Kusadasi-Canakkale-Istanbul
Full Turkey Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul
Day 4 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 5 : Cappadocia
Day 6 : Pamukkale
Day 7 : Kusadasi
Day 8 : Kusadasi
Day 9 : Canakkale
Day 10 : Istanbul
Day 11 : Istanbul
Turkey Antalya Tour / TUR-10 (12 Days / 11 Nights)
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Antalya-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Turkey Antalya Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Pamukkale
Day 6 : Antalya
Day 7 : Antalya
Day 8 : Antalya
Day 9 : Antalya-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 10 : Kusadasi
Day 11 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Day 12 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Antalya-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Turkey Antalya Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Pamukkale
Day 6 : Antalya
Day 7 : Antalya
Day 8 : Antalya
Day 9 : Antalya-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 10 : Kusadasi
Day 11 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Day 12 : Istanbul
Turkey Package / TUR-100 (9 Days / 8 Nights)
Cappadocia-Kusadasi-Istanbul
TURKEY PACKAGE
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Cappadocia
Day 2 : Cappadocia
Day 3 : Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia-Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Istanbul
Day 7 : Istanbul
Day 8 : Istanbul
Day 9 : Istanbul
Cappadocia-Kusadasi-Istanbul
TURKEY PACKAGE
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Cappadocia
Day 2 : Cappadocia
Day 3 : Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia-Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Istanbul
Day 7 : Istanbul
Day 8 : Istanbul
Day 9 : Istanbul
Istanbul & Izmir Marvel / TUR-103 (5 Days / 4 Nights)
Istanbul-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul & Izmir Marvel
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 4 : Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul & Izmir Marvel
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 4 : Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir 3 in one tour / TUR-104 (6 Days / 5 Nights)
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir 3 in one tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Cappadocia-Izmir 3 in one tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Cappadocia
Day 4 : Cappadocia
Day 5 : Cappadocia-Izmir-Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Anatolian Civilisations / TUR-11 (9 Days / 8 Nights)
Istanbul-Ankara-Nevsehir-Aksaray-Konya-Pamukkale-Ephesus-Kusadasi-Bergama-Troy-Canakkale-Istanbul
Anatolian Civilisations
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul-Ankara
Day 3 : Ankara-Nevsehir
Day 4 : Nevsehir
Day 5 : Nevsehir-Aksaray-Konya-Pamukkale
Day 6 : Pamukkale-Ephesus-Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi-Bergama-Troy-Canakkale
Day 8 : Canakkale-Istanbul
Day 9 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Ankara-Nevsehir-Aksaray-Konya-Pamukkale-Ephesus-Kusadasi-Bergama-Troy-Canakkale-Istanbul
Anatolian Civilisations
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul-Ankara
Day 3 : Ankara-Nevsehir
Day 4 : Nevsehir
Day 5 : Nevsehir-Aksaray-Konya-Pamukkale
Day 6 : Pamukkale-Ephesus-Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi-Bergama-Troy-Canakkale
Day 8 : Canakkale-Istanbul
Day 9 : Istanbul
Aegean Highlights / TUR-15 (8 Days / 7 Nights)
Istanbul-Bursa-Bergama-Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Kusadasi-Pamukkale-Istanbul
Aegean Highlights
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Bursa
Day 4 : Bursa-Bergama-Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Pamukkale
Day 7 : Pamukkale-Istanbul
Day 8 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Bursa-Bergama-Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Kusadasi-Pamukkale-Istanbul
Aegean Highlights
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Bursa
Day 4 : Bursa-Bergama-Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi-Pamukkale
Day 7 : Pamukkale-Istanbul
Day 8 : Istanbul
Come On A Journey Of Faith / TUR-17 (12 Days / 11 Nights)
Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale-Bergama-Izmir-Manisa-Izmir-Ephesus-Kusadasi-Pamukkale-Konya-Nevsehir-Ankara-Istanbul
Come On A Journey Of Faith
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul
Day 4 : Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale
Day 5 : Canakkale-Bergama-Izmir
Day 6 : Izmir-Manisa-Izmir
Day 7 : Izmir-Ephesus-Kusadasi
Day 8 : Kusadasi-Pamukkale
Day 9 : Pamukkale-Konya-Nevsehir
Day 10 : Nevsehir
Day 11 : Nevsehir-Ankara-Istanbul
Day 12 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale-Bergama-Izmir-Manisa-Izmir-Ephesus-Kusadasi-Pamukkale-Konya-Nevsehir-Ankara-Istanbul
Come On A Journey Of Faith
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul
Day 4 : Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale
Day 5 : Canakkale-Bergama-Izmir
Day 6 : Izmir-Manisa-Izmir
Day 7 : Izmir-Ephesus-Kusadasi
Day 8 : Kusadasi-Pamukkale
Day 9 : Pamukkale-Konya-Nevsehir
Day 10 : Nevsehir
Day 11 : Nevsehir-Ankara-Istanbul
Day 12 : Istanbul
Treasures of the Past and Present / TUR-24 (8 Days / 7 Nights)
Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale-Bergama-Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Pamukkale-Bursa-Istanbul
Treasures of the Past and Present
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale
Day 3 : Canakkale-Bergama-Kusadasi
Day 4 : Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Pamukkale
Day 5 : Pamukkale-Bursa
Day 6 : Bursa-Istanbul
Day 7 : Istanbul
Day 8 : Istanbul
Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale-Bergama-Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Pamukkale-Bursa-Istanbul
Treasures of the Past and Present
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul-Troy-Canakkale
Day 3 : Canakkale-Bergama-Kusadasi
Day 4 : Kusadasi-Ephesus-Selcuk-Pamukkale
Day 5 : Pamukkale-Bursa
Day 6 : Bursa-Istanbul
Day 7 : Istanbul
Day 8 : Istanbul
Indian Majestic Tour / TUR-25 (7 Days / 6 Nights)
Istanbul-Canakkale-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Indian Majestic Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Canakkale
Day 4 : Canakkale-Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Istanbul-Canakkale-Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Indian Majestic Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Day 2 : Istanbul
Day 3 : Istanbul-Canakkale
Day 4 : Canakkale-Kusadasi
Day 5 : Kusadasi
Day 6 : Kusadasi
Day 7 : Kusadasi-Izmir-Istanbul
Kusadasi, Turkey Tours