Miletus, modern Balat, is fifteen
kilometers away from Priene. It is on a
hillside surrounded by large ports at the
mouth of the river Maeander at the head of
the gulf of Latmus. Now the sea is far off,
silted up by the river. It had trade links
with countries on the Mediterranean, the
Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Miletus
was of the most powerful and important Greek
metropolises in Asia Minor and was part of
the influential Ionian Confederation. The
city encouraged erudition and founded
several schools attracting scientists,
architects, philosophers and geographers.
Western philosophy originated in Miletus and
it is the native city of famous men such as
Anaximenes, Hippodamus, Cadmus and Isidorus.
The first coins were minted in this city,
exact weight measures were established and
the Phoenician alphabet perfected. From the
results of excavations, it appears that
Miletus was actually the Hittite settlement
Millawanda and it was certainly a Mycenaean
colony by the fourteenth century B.C. .
Miletus then fell into Persian hands and
razed to the ground. It was rebuilt in 479
B.C. by Hippodamus, the famous architect and
due course passed to the Romans. It began to
prosper once more, new streets and monuments
were constructed and it was renamed Castrum
Palatia. The Apostle Paul preached
Christianity here and the Emperor Justinian
built city walls. The Venetians established
commercial trading posts. In 1424, under
Sultan Murat II, Miletus became a city of
the Ottoman Empire but as the port silted up
caused by detritus brought down by the river
Maeander, the city's decline began.
The Roman Theatre dating from the
second century A.D. could hold twenty-five
thousand spectators. The stage was decorated
with exceptional sculptures and friezes and
the facade was impressive, measuring one
hundred and forty meters. Two columns on the
top rows supported the imperial box. At the
summit of the hill there are ruins of an
ancient Byzantine fortress, the bouleuterion,
the city's oldest surviving building, in the
center of the two agoras. It was constructed
along the lines of a semi-circular theatre
and was dedicated to King Antiochus IV. The
southern agora, the largest of the two,
dates from the third century B.C. . There
were porticoes on both sides housing
numerous shops. It was, in fact, the market
place but is now completely overgrown. Close
by the agora is an exquisite mosque, the
Ilyas Bey Mosque, built in 1400 A.D. by
Ilyas Bey. The mosque has a square floor
plan surmounted by a central dome but the
minaret has collapsed. The decorations above
the entrance door and the niche are highly
elaborate. The Baths of Faustina, built
around 150 A.D. and named after the wife of
the Emperor Marcus Aurelius are in excellent
condition. The walls of the Frigidarium and
the Calidarium, fifteen meters high, are
complete and there is a statue of a lion
from whose mouth water spouted. Even the
dressing rooms are still recognizable. The
remains of the Gymnasium are worth seeing;
used as the students classrooms. The Museum
houses a collection of artifacts found
during excavations.
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FETHIYE
BODRUM
MARMARIS
ANTALYA
