
The
Carians settled in south western part of Anatolia, between the
Menderes River and Köycegiz Lake and named this area as Caria.
The Datça Peninsula was also located within these borders,
and today it's in the Aegean region of Turkey. After the Turkish
Republic (1923) was founded the Peninsula regained its old name
of "Datça". Today Datça is a district
of the province Mugla. Some of the important sights to visit in
Datça are: The mosque in Hizirsah village was inherited
from the Seljuks period. It has been restored and is well worth
seeing. Eski Datça (Old Datça, 4 km) with beautiful
old stone houses, holiday and permanent residences of many Europeans
and Turks, is showing typical architecture of the area. Regular
bus services are available. Cnidus was famous for its naked statue
of Aphrodite. Kizlan and its windmills, which have become a symbol
for Datça, is worth visiting. There are the remains of
some ceramic manufactures between Old Datça and Hizirsah
village thought to have been worked during the 4th century BC.
CNIDOS (Cnidus):
1Famous as a center of art and culture in the fourth century B.C.,
Cnidos was established at the same time that Halicarnassus was,
as one of the six Dorian colonies in Asia Minor. It seems to have
kept a purer Greek character, no doubt because it set its sights
seaward and had little contact with the interior. Around 360
BC, the city was rebuilt at the windblown tip of the peninsula,
banking on the fact that a good harbor at the outer corner of
Asia Minor would become a popular calling-port for ships on
the Aegean - East Mediterranean transit routes. The rocky island
facing the shore at the new site was joined to the mainland
with a causeway, creating two deep harbors on either side of
the isthmus. One on the Aegean and the other on the Mediterranean
The
island section held the residential quarters, a series of colonnaded
walkways rose in tiers on the land side. Two large theaters,
an odeon and three temples completed what must have been a striking
ensemble in the midst of a desolate crag. The remains of a circular
temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite overlook remains
of the two harbors: the arcaded way was built of white marble
heart - shaped columns. The legendary Aphrodite of Praxiteles
statue, reputedly one of the most beautiful sculptures of the
antiquity, once graced this temple. The city was renowned as
one of the most beautiful in ancient Greece. Cnidos is considered
as the border between Mediterranean and Aegean seas where this
two waters mix. It offers also a good anchorage for the boats