• Turkey Guide

  • Introduction to Turkey
  • 17 things not to miss
  • Red tape and visas
  • Opening hours and public holidays
  • Getting around

• Explore Turkey

  • İstanbul
  • Around the Sea of Marmara
  • The North Aegean
  • The central and southern Aegean
  • The Turquoise Coast
  • The Mediterranean coast and the Hatay
  • South Central Anatolia
  • North Central Anatolia
  • The Black Sea coast
  • Northeastern Anatolia
  • The Euphrates and Tigris basin
  • Lake Van and the southeast

• Cities

  • Ankara
    
  • Antalya
    
  • Edirne
    
  • Erzurum
    
  • İstanbul
    

Turkey Guide

The North Aegean

Turkey's North Aegean coast sees far fewer visitors than the shoreline ­further south. There are decent sandy beaches, though the lower sea temperature and lack of a major airport protect the region from widespread development. Most summer visitors are Turks and, while tourism is inevitably important to the local economy, even in August the number of visitors doesn't match those at the country's more renowned destinations. Away from the resort towns, life goes on much as it always has, with farming and fishing providing a livelihood for the bulk of the population.

This area, which roughly constitutes ancient Aeolia, has been settled since Paleolithic times; civilization bloomed early here under the Phrygians, who arrived in Anatolia during the thirteenth century BC. Later waves of Greek colonists established settlements on the coast, leaving the region rich in Classical and Hellenistic remains. Although the sparse ruins of Troy in the north don't quite live up to their literary and legendary reputation, the ancient cities of Assos and Pergamon (modern Bergama) display some tangible reminders of the power and wealth of the greater Greek empire. Less visited than any of these is the more isolated Lydian city of Pergamon (see Sardis), the ancient capital of King Croesus (and Midas before him), one of Aegean Turkey's most impressive archeological sites.