Five mythological cities you should visit in Turkey

There is history every inch of Anatolia, and within history, there is mythology. There are many places for those who are curious about Greek mythology in Anatolia.

Home of the gods, Ephesus Ancient City - Izmir

The famous female warriors, also known as the Amazons, founded the Ionian city in Selcuk, Ephesus. There was a magnificent temple in the city dedicated to Artemis. According to legends, Phoebe, the goddess of mystery and darkness, marries her brother Coeus. Time passes, and they have two daughters, Asteria and Leto. Zeus wants to be with Asteria. But the girl refuses and goes into the waters of the Aegean and turns into Delos Island. Therefore, Zeus has his eyes on Leto and gets pregnant that gives birth to her twins on Delos Island. The children's names are Apollo and Artemis. Seeing her mother's pain, Artemis vows not to marry and to remain a virgin.

Fountain of love, Sagalassos - Burdur

Sagalassos has a history of over 5000 years. It has old streets, agoras, baths, library, the world's highest-altitude theatre and the Antonine Fountain, whose water has flowed for thousands of years. It is said that those who drink from the water from the fountain fall in love. Alexander the Great once came to Sagalassos in 333 BC. At first, he wanted Termessos, but he gives up this idea because he knows that it will be very difficult, so he goes to Selge, which is the most important city of Pisidia at that time, and made a deal with Alexander. Sagalassos and Termessos disagreed.

The people of Sagalassos are famous for being very skilled soldiers. Still, it did not prevent Alexander from seizing the city with a large army in the region called "Alexander Hill".

World's first beauty pageant, Troy - Canakkale

Hekabe, also known as the queen of Troy, had a dream while she was pregnant. The priests interpret the dream that the child to be born will be the cause of the destruction of Troy. Thereupon, the baby is left on the mountain and shepherds find and raise it. That baby is Paris. Paris is appointed as the jury of the world's first beauty contest held in Adatepe. The competitors are Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Hera and Aphrodite, the wife of Zeus. That woman is Helen, married to the Spartan king Menelaos. Realising that he is the son of the shepherd Paris who is looking for Helen, his father makes him a prince and assigns an ambassador to Sparta. There he meets Helen and becomes a stormy love affair, causing the 10-year Trojan War.

Devoted to the goddess of perfection, Aphrodisias-Aydin

Photographer Ara Güler lost himself in the area, and this area was discovered by chance. Although the city was damaged many times by earthquakes, many remains have survived to the present day. Between 1961-1990, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017. 

Medical science, Pergamon-Izmir

It was a health and healing centre that dates back to 8500 years. The city is known as the place where Asclepion(the first largest hospital in history) was established. According to mythology, Koronis, the daughter of the King of Thessaly, was pregnant by the god Apollo, but when she was pregnant, she had also been with a stranger. Apollo, who found out about this, assigned his sister Artemis to burn Koronis. Apollo took the child from Koronis and gave it to a Centaur named Kheiron to raise him. Kheiron was a creature that lived in nature and had a vast knowledge about nature. Kheiron raised Asclepios (Appolon's sun) as a master physician and named the Temple of Asklepion of Pergamon in his name.