Southern Aegean: As the shore receded
Archaic Miletos stood on a peninsula reaching into the Latmos Gulf. As sediment filled the gulf, the shore receded; by the Middle Ages, the city had lost direct access to the sea. The change unfolded in the landscape and in the city's relation to it, rather than carrying Miletos to a new site.
98 narratives and 142 place records connect to this discovery world through thematic and geographic relationships.
Four gateways into this world
- Cities and layers — Traces of settlement, belief and public life layered in the same place.
- Events and transformations — The marks left on geography by war, migration, trade, disaster and political change.
- People and ideas — Networks of knowledge, art and thought extending from Aegean cities into the Mediterranean.
- Roads and basins — Lines of movement linking harbour to inland, mountain to plain and sanctuary to city.
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Story and event network
- 1923 Population Exchange and Evacuation of Kayaköy (Levissi) Greek Community
- Reconstruction of Smyrna by Emperor Marcus Aurelius Following the Plea of Aelius Aristides (178 AD)
- From Afyonkarahisar Synnada Leo Telegraph to Halicarnassus Leochares Mausoleum and Knidos Chrysermus Pharmacology: Beacon Telegraphy, Mausoleum Sculpture, and Alexandrian Pharmacology
- Alabanda Karian League Sacred Council Assembly and Zeus Chrysaoreus Festival (200 BCE)
- From Alabanda to Amyzon Sanctuary and Piginda Fortress: Zeus Chrysaoreus Temple, Satrap Mausolus Decree, and 3,000-Seat Mountain Theater
- Education of Cicero by Menecles of Alabanda and Transformation of Roman Senate Oratory (79 BC)
- Establishment of Apameia Kibotos Caravan Market and the Marsyas Myth (3rd c. BCE)
- The work of stone in an Aphrodisias workshop
- From Atça Grid City Plan to Tepeköy Painted Mosque and Yeşilyurt Water Mills: 1926 Paris-Inspired Layout, 18th-Century Wall Murals, and Dandalas Water Wheels
- Reconstruction of Atça with Paris-Inspired Radial-Grid Master Plan (1926)
- From Aydın Alabanda Hermogenes' Architecture to Nysa Dionysius Thrax Grammar and Ephesus Apollonius Dyskolos Syntax: Classical Architecture, World Grammar, and Syntax Theory
- From Aydın Alabanda Menecles Oratory to Mastaura Diophanes Reform and Teos Androsthenes Astronomy: Roman Oratory, Agrarian Reform, and Geared Astronomy
- From Aydın Alabanda Papinianus Law to Tralles Metrodorus Geometry and Halicarnassus Timotheus Mausoleum: Roman Jurisprudence, Hagia Sophia Geometry, and Mausoleum Sculptures
- Saint Paul's Epistle to the Colossians and Early Christian Community at Colossae (60 CE)
- Artemis Kindyas Sanctuary Festivals and Pegasus Legend at Bargylia (100 CE)
- From Bargylia Artemis Temple to Tuzla Flamingos and Akyaka River: Pegasus Myth, Pink Bird Flocks, and Crystal Azmak Waters
- Appointment of Physician Galen of Pergamon as Personal Doctor to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (169 AD)
- The road of a question: from Miletus to Didyma, from harbour to delta
- From Bodrum Queen Artemisia's Fleet to Knidos Eudoxus Observatory and Colophon Xenophanes Philosophy: First Female Admiral, Mathematical Astronomy, and Rational Theology
- Emergence of Buldan Weaving and Construction of Tripolis Colonnaded Street (200 CE)
- Burgaz (Old Knidos) Archaic Agricultural Terraces and Amphora Production (550 BCE)
- From Burgaz to Palamutbükü and Reşadiye Mansion: Old Knidos, Amphora Kilns, and Datça Stone Architecture
- Progradation of the Büyük Menderes Delta and Silting of the Latmic Gulf (6th c. BCE — 6th c. CE)
- From Cadianda Mountain City to Dalyan Radar Hill and Yaka Art Academy: 5th-Century BC Lycian Acropolis, 450m Delta Panorama, and Olive Press Conversion
- Construction of Cadianda Lycian Mountain City Walls and Acropolis (400 BC)
- From Chalcetor Karian Walls to Hızırşah Mosque and Yaka Park Waterfalls: Archaic Stone Citadel, 14th-Century Menteşe Heritage, and Akdağ Springs
- Geographer Strabo's Education at Nysa ad Maeandrum and the Roman Library (50 BCE)
- From Colossae Purple Wool to Mount Honaz Peak and Kaklık Underground Pamukkale: Epistle to Colossians, 2,571m Peak, and Travertine Caves
- From Domatia Greek Stone Houses to Karina Pier and Thebae Walls: Mount Mykale Mansions, Lagoon Fisheries, and Hellenistik Fortresses
- Authoring of Anatomicis Treatises (First Description of Neuroanatomy and Nerves) by Physician Rufus of Ephesus (90 AD)
- Authoring of the Foundational Gynecological Encyclopedia Gynaecologia by Soranus of Ephesus (100 AD)
- Population Exchange of Eski Doğanbey (Domatia) and Trade at Karina Customs Pier (1923 CE)
- From Gerga Sanctuary to Köyceğiz Lake and Saklıkent Canyon: Megalithic Karian Temple, Kaunos Saltworks, and 300m Gorge Walls
- Command of the Naval Fleet by Queen Artemisia I of Halicarnassus at the Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
- Mechanics and Maritime Knowledge in the Hellenistic World
- From Herakleia Salbake Medical School to Medet Mound and Işıklı Lake Eumeneia: Surgical Reliefs, Bektashi Monastery, and Water Lily Sanctuary
- Foundation of Herakleia Salbake Medical Center and Charter of Eumeneia (180 BCE)
- Hermias, the dolphin, and the two memories of Güllük Gulf
- Hierapolis Plutonium (Gate to Hell) Sanctuary and Thermal Healing Cult
- From Iasos Fish Market Museum to Keramos Kurşunlu Yapı and Mobolla Chimneyed Mansions: Maritime Walls, Massive Ashlar Masonry, and Muğla Chimneys
- Construction of Iasos Maritime Walls and Roman Fish Market Monument (350 BCE)
- Lakes, Mounds, and Trade Routes of the Inland Aegean: From Beycesultan to Apameia and the Walls of Amorium
- Where Two Seas Meet: The Lighthouse of Knidos, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and Rock Tombs of Kaunos
- Invention of the Water Organ (Hydraulis) and Force Pump by Ctesibius of Alexandria (Hellenistic period)
- From İzmir Aelius Aristides' Smyrna Oratory to Magnesia Pytheos Architecture and Teos Theodosius Geometry: Imperial Oratory, Halicarnassus Mausoleum, and Spherical Geometry
- From İzmir Ephesus Rufus Neuroanatomy to Magnesia Hegesias Oratory and Bergama Telephus Grammar: Ancient Neuroanatomy, Asianism Rhetoric, and Imperial Tutoship
- From İzmir Ephesus Soranus Medicine to Aydın Tralles Apollonius Sculpture and Germencik Menesthes Architecture: Gynecological Medicine, Farnese Bull Sculpture, and Ionic Architecture
- From İzmir Ephesus Xenophon's Romantic Novel to Priene Isidore Hagia Sophia and Halicarnassus Bryaxis Serapis: Romantic Literature, Dome Architecture, and Monumental Sculpture
- From İzmir Epicurus' Teos Garden to Nysa Aristodemus Library and Miletus Hecataeus Map: Epicureanism, Roman Rhetoric, and World's First Map
- From İzmir Erythrai Sibyl Oracles to Teos Hermogenes Architecture and Tralles Apollonius Sculpture: Roman Capitol Oracles, Pseudodipteral Layout, and Farnese Bull
- From İzmir Homer's Meles Valley to Priene Bias Justice and Urla Anaxagoras Philosophy: Iliad and Odyssey Epics, Seven Sages Law, and Birth of Astrophysics
- From İzmir Colophon Mimnermus Poetry to Teos Nausiphanes Philosophy and Knidos Chrysippus Medicine: Lyrical Poetry, Atomist Philosophy, and Experimental Dietetics
- Alliance of Queen Ada of Caria and Alexander the Great at Alinda (334 BCE)
- Emergence of Native Karian Religious Cult and Construction of Gerga Megalithic Monuments (500 BCE)
- Sacred Ways and Key-Bearers of Caria: Mountain Rituals from Lagina to Labraunda
- Naval Expedition of the Indus River and Red Sea by Admiral Scylax of Caryanda and Writing of Periplus (515 BC)
- From Kayaköy Levissi to Gemiler Island and Afkule Cliffs: 500 Stone Houses, St. Nicholas Pilgrimage Tunnel, and Cliff Monastery
- Kleidophoros Key-Bearing Ceremony and Hekatesia Festivals
- Construction of Knidos Double Harbors, Eudoxus Observatory, and Scientific Revolution (4th c. BCE)
- Design of the 365.25-Day Julian Roman Calendar Reform for Julius Caesar by Astronomer Sosigenes of Knidos (46 BC)
- Discovery of Experimental Physiology and Central Nervous System by Erasistratus of Cnidus (280 BC)
- From the Latmos Mountains to the Walls of Alinda: Herakleia Rock Art, the Temple of Zeus at Euromos, and Queen Ada
- Erection of the Letoon Trilingual Inscription Pedestal (358 BCE)
- Establishment of the Lycian League and Entry of Pinara and Sidyma (168 BCE)
- From Lycus to the Büyük Menderes: Laodicea, Hierapolis and Tripolis
- Three cities in the Menderes valley: Nysa, Mastaura, Tralleis
- Meanders of the Maeander: Landlocked Cities from the Latmic Gulf to Lake Bafa
- Construction of Datça Hızırşah Mosque by Menteşe Ruler Hızır Bey (1390)
- Valley of Marble and Healing: Sculptors of Aphrodisias, Waters of Pamukkale, and Textiles of Laodicea
- Creation of the World's First Known Geographic Map by Hecataeus of Miletus (510 BC)
- From Muğla Bodrum Scylax Explorations to Balıkesir Xenocles Oratory and Aydın Nysa Strabo Geography: Maritime Exploration, Roman Oratory, and World Geography
- From Muğla Knidos Agatharchides Geography to Tralles Alexander Medicine and Halicarnassus Hegesander Laocoön: Red Sea Geography, Imperial Medicine, and Vatican Sculptures
- From Muğla Knidos Erasistratus' Physiology to Ephesus Artemidorus Dream Science and Tire Xenocrates Pharmacology: Experimental Neuroanatomy, Dream Psychology, and Imperial Pharmacology
- From Muğla Knidos Sosigenes Calendar to Yatağan Metrodorus Philosophy and Aydın Nysa Menestheus Grammar: Julian Calendar Astronomy, Academic Philosophy, and Classical Philology
- The Battle of Mycale: The Fleet Beached
- Freedom Battle of the Aegean on Mount Mycale: The Fall of the Persian Fleet and the Revival of Panionion
- From Mylasa to Labraunda: the threshold of city and mountain
- From the Canyon Library of Nysa to Mastaura Amphitheater and Arpaz Castle
- Authoring of Téchne Grammatikē (The World's First Systematic Grammar Textbook) by Dionysius Thrax of Nysa (170 BC)
- Composition of the Iliad and Odyssey by Epic Poet Homer along Meles Stream Valley (750 BC)
- Pergamon, Halicarnassus, Miletus: paths of knowledge
- From Pinara Hive Tombs to Sidyma Heroon and Babadağ Peaks: Vertical Acropolises, Roman Heroons, and Sacred Peaks
- Design of the Great Dome and Pendentives of Hagia Sophia by Master Architect Isidore of Miletus/Priene (532 AD)
- Seikilos Stele Inscription (1st–2nd centuries CE)
- Invention of the 9-Tower Optical Beacon Telegraph System across Anatolia by Leo the Mathematician of Synnada (840 AD)
- Construction of Cevher Pasha Mosque on Tabea Rock Citadel (1792)
- From Tabea Rock Citadel to Serinhisar Roasted Chickpeas and Acıpayam Yazır Mosque: Hellenistik Walls, 500-Year Ovens, and 1801 Painted Mosque
- From Amyntas Tomb at Telmessos to Tlos Acropolis and Letoon Sanctuary: Rock Tombs, Pegasus, and Trilingual Inscription
- Education of Epicurus by Nausiphanes of Teos and Establishment of Tean Atomist Philosophy (320 BC)
- Design of the Pseudodipteral Temple of Dionysus at Teos by Master Architect Hermogenes (220 BC)
- From Tralleis Üç Gözler to Seikilos Epitaph and Nysa Canyon Aqueducts: Vaulted Gymnasion, Oldest Surviving Complete Song, and Water Tunnels
- Training of Byzantine Master Builders of Hagia Sophia by Geometrician Metrodorus of Tralles (510 AD)
- Authoring of the 12-Volume Medical Encyclopedia Therapeutica by Alexander of Tralles (560 AD)
- From Tripolis Colonnaded Street to Buldan Weaving Houses and Peat Lake: Marble Avenues, Hand Looms, and Water Lily Plateaus
- Initiation of Forged Steel Yatağan Sword Craft by Yatağan Baba (1250 AD)
- From Yatağan Swords to Hırka Timber Mosque and Yeşildere Waterfall: 800-Year Forged Steel Workshops, 18th-Century Floral Paintings, and 55m Cascade
- From Yörük Ali Efe House to Cihanoğlu Tower and Karacasu Potters: 1919 Malgaç Victory, 1756 Ayan Tower, and 5,000-Year Red Clay Kilns
- Yörük Ali Efe's Malgaç Railway Bridge Raid and Kuva-yı Milliye Resistance (June 16, 1919)
Connected cultural inventory
- Acıpayam Yazır 1801 Timber-Columned Painted Mosque
- Akbük Public Beach
- Akyaka Ancient İdima and Kadın Azmağı Crystal River
- Alabanda Ancient City Birthplace of Brothers Menecles and Hierocles and Rhetorical Assembly
- Alabanda Ancient City Birthplace of Master Architect Hermogenes and Bouleuterion
- Alabanda Ancient City Carian Birthplace of Praetorian Prefect Papinianus and Legal Assembly
- Ancient City of Alinda and Karpuzlu
- Altınkum Beach
- Ancient City of Aphrodisias and Geyre
- Urban and marble layers of Aphrodisias
- Aphrodisias marble-workshop landscape and Geyre
- Arpaz Castle, Beyler Mansion, and Ancient Harpasa
- Babadağ (Ancient Mount Kragos) and Ölüdeniz Lagoon
- Ancient City of Bargylia and Artemis Kindyas Temple
- Beycesultan Mound
- Bodrum Halicarnassus Birthplace and Naval Base of Queen Artemisia I
- Bozdoğan Piginda Ancient City and Mountain Fortress
- Buldan Süleymanlı High-Altitude Peat Lake and Water Lily Sanctuary
- Buldan Yeşildere 55-Meter Waterfall and Ağla Canyon
- Colossae: layers of the Lycus Valley
- Çalış Beach
- Çine Alabanda Ancient City and Zeus Chrysaoreus Temple
- Çine Tepeköy 18th-Century Ottoman Wall-Painted Timber-Masonry Mosque
- Datça Burgaz (Old Knidos) Archaic City
- Datça Hızırşah Village and 14th-Century Menteşe Principality Mosque
- Datça Knidos Birthplace of Astronomer Eudoxus and Marble Sundial Observatory
- Datça Knidos Birthplace of Ocean Admiral Androsthenes and Military Harbor
- Datça Yaka Village and International Knidos Academy of Culture and Arts UKKSA
- İçmeler Bay, Dilek Peninsula
- Eski Doğanbey (Domatia) Village and Greek Stone Houses
- Ancient City of Eumeneia and Çivril Işıklı Lake
- Ancient City of Euromos and Temple of Zeus Lepsynos
- Urban and temple layers of Euromos
- Fethiye Afkule Cliffside Rock-Cut Monastery
- Fethiye Gemiler Island (St. Nicholas / Gemile) Byzantine Pilgrimage Basilicas
- Fethiye Kayaköy (Levissi) Ghost Village Greek Stone Houses
- Fethiye Yeşilüzümlü Cadianda Ancient City and Traditional Dastar Weaving
- Günlüklü Bay
- Halicarnassus Ancient City Birthplace of Master Sculptor Bryaxis and Mausoleum Workshop
- Halicarnassus Ancient City Birthplace of Master Sculptor Hegesander and Laocoön Sanctuary
- Halicarnassus Ancient City Mausoleum West Gallery of Sculptor Leochares
- Halicarnassus Ancient City Birthplace of Master Sculptor Timotheus and Mausoleum Sanctuary
- Ancient City of Halicarnassus and Bodrum
- Urban layers of Halicarnassus
- Herakleia ad Latmum and Latmos Prehistoric Rock Paintings
- Ancient City of Herakleia Salbake and Medical School
- Layers of Herakleia, Latmos and Bafa
- Ancient City of Hierapolis and Pamukkale Travertines
- Honaz Ancient City of Colossae and St. Michael Sanctuary
- Mount Honaz (Kadmos) 2,571m Peak National Park
- Honaz Kaklık Cave Underground Pamukkale
- Ancient City of Iasos and Fish Market Museum
- Kabak Bay
- Ladies Beach
- Kale Tabea (Tabae) Ancient City and Cevher Pasha Mosque
- Karacasu 5,000-Year-Old Red Clay Pottery Workshops and Kilns
- Karacasu Yeşilyurt Historic Stone Water Mills along Dandalas Stream
- Karadere–Kumluova Beach
- Karina Historic Stone Pier and Menderes Delta Fisheries Lagoon
- Caryanda Ancient City Birthplace of Admiral Scylax and Naval Harbor
- Katrancı Bay Nature Park
- Ancient City of Kaunos and Dalyan Rock Tombs
- Harbour, urban and rock-tomb layers of Kaunos
- Butterfly Valley
- Ancient City of Keramos and Kurşunlu Yapı
- Ancient City of Knidos
- Knidos Ancient City Birthplace of Astronomer Sosigenes and Julian Calendar Observatory
- Knidos Ancient City Birthplace of Geographer Agatharchides and Military Harbor
- Knidos Ancient City Birthplace of Royal Physician Chrysermus and Alexandrian Medical Atelier
- Knidos Ancient City Birthplace of Experimental Physician Chrysippus and Medical School
- Knidos Ancient City Birthplace of Physician Erasistratus and Medical School
- Terrace, harbour and production layers of Knidos
- Koçarlı Amyzon Karian Sanctuary and Artemis Temple
- Koçarlı Cihanoğlu Complex, Mosque, and Stone Defense Tower
- Köyceğiz Lake, Kaunos Saltworks and Dalyan Channels
- Sanctuary and mountain terraces of Labraunda
- Sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos at Labraunda
- Sanctuary of Hekate at Lagina
- Sanctuary and ceremonial layers of Lagina
- Ancient City of Laodicea on the Lycus
- Lycus Valley layers of Laodicea
- Letoon Lycian Sanctuary and Trilingual Inscription
- Magnesia ad Maeandrum Birthplace of Master Architect Pytheos and Artemis Temple
- Magnesia Ancient City Birthplace of Rhetorician Hegesias and Artemis Agora
- Magnesia Ancient City Birthplace of Architect Menesthes and Temple of Artemis Leukophryene
- Manastır Bay
- Mastaura Ancient City Birthplace of Rhetorician Diophanes and Circular Amphitheater
- Ancient City of Mastaura and Round Roman Amphitheater
- Mastaura: valley and passage layers
- Medet Mound (Apollonia Salbake) and Bektashi Tekke
- Milas Chalcetor (Karakuyu) Ancient City and Karian Fortifications
- Milas Tuzla Lagoon and Greater Flamingo Sanctuary
- Milas: Mylasa, Uzunyuva and Baltalı Kapı
- Miletus archaeological site and urban layers
- Ancient City of Miletus
- Miletus Ancient City and Birthplace of Cartographer Hecataeus of Miletus
- Mobolla (Asar Castle) and Saburhane Stone Mansions
- Ancient City of Myus
- Ancient City of Nysa ad Maeandrum and Canyon Library
- Nysa Ancient City Birthplace of Aristodemus and Two-Story Library
- Nysa Ancient City Birthplace of Grammarian Dionysius Thrax and Two-Story Library
- Nysa Ancient City Birthplace of Grammarian Menestheus and Library
- Nysa Ancient City Geography Academy and Library Study Site of Strabo
- Nysa Ancient City Canyon Vaulted Water Tunnel
- Gorge and urban layers of Nysa
- Ortaca Dalyan Radar Hill Summit and İztuzu Caretta Caretta Habitat
- Palamutbükü Bay, Ancient Amphora Kilns, and Datça
- Ancient City of Pinara and Rock-Cut Hive Tombs
- Ancient City of Priene
- Priene Ancient City and Birthplace of Bias of Priene (One of the Seven Sages)
- Urban layers of Priene
- Priene/Miletus Birthplace of Hagia Sophia Master Architect Isidore and Acropolis
- Reşadiye Mehmet Ali Bey Mansion and Old Datça
- Sarıgerme Beach
- Sarsala Bay
- Seikilos Epitaph Stele (Tralleis Music Inscription)
- Serinhisar 500-Year-Old Historic Roasted Chickpea Workshops and Ovens
- Serinhisar Yatağan 800-Year-Old Forged Steel Blade and Sword Workshops
- Sevgi Beach
- Seydikemer Saklıkent Canyon 18 km Giant Gorge
- Seydikemer Yaka Park (Yakaköy) Akdağ Spring Waterfalls and Watermills
- Ancient City of Sidyma and Roman Heroon
- Stratonikeia Ancient City Birthplace of Philosopher Metrodorus and Academic Assembly
- Ancient City of Stratonikeia and Eskihisar Village
- Urban and Eskihisar layers of Stratonikeia
- Sultanhisar Atça 1926 Radial-Grid Master Plan and Republican Reconstruction
- Historic Buldan Weaving Houses and Hand Looms Workshops
- Tavas Hırka Village 18th-Century Natural-Dyed Timber Mosque
- Tavşanburnu Nature Park
- Ancient City of Telmessos and Amyntas Rock Tombs
- Thebae ad Mycalem Fortress and Güllübahçe St. Nicholas Church
- Ancient City of Tlos and Bellerophontes Tomb
- Tralles Ancient City Birthplace of Geometrician Metrodorus and Mathematics School
- Tralleis Ancient City Birthplace of Sculptor Apollonius and Üç Gözler Gymnasium
- Tralles Ancient City Birthplace of Sculptor Apollonius and Marble Atelier
- Tralles Ancient City Birthplace of Imperial Physician Alexander and Üç Gözler Medical School
- Ancient City of Tralleis and Üç Gözler Gymnasion
- Plateau and urban layers of Tralleis
- Ancient City of Tripolis ad Maeandrum and Marble Colonnaded Street
- Road and urban layers of Tripolis
- Yatağan Gerga Karian Sanctuary and Stone Monuments
- Yenipazar Yörük Ali Efe House Museum and Memorial Grave