Three Different Faces of Turkey...

Milas is a very old town. Before Halikarnassos, this town was the capital city of the Carian Kingdom. Today the city and the surrounding villages are inhabited mostly by nomads who live on olive oil production and carpet weaving. The carpets that they weave are some of the best in Turkey.

On Tuesdays, there is traditional Turkish bazaar where you can see village men and women selling their goods, including hand-made crafts and textile products.

Lake Bafa was connected with the Aegean Sea before it was silted up by the Meander River. Now it is a natural park where you can see many different types of birds. The 60 square kilometer lake also has four islands on which one can see ruins of castles and monasteries dating from the Roman and Byzantine period.

The ancient city on the shores of the lake is called Heraklia, and today at the same site there is a village called Kapikiri. During the Hellenistic period, Heraklia was an harbor city and it had the longest and highest city walls on which most of the houses in the village are built today. The Athena Temple, Agora, hidden theater, city walls and castles and monasteries are what remain from this old city. Behind the village is mythological Mount Latmos, one of the most beautiful mountains you can see in Turkey. .