Assos is a stone village high on a volcanic crag on the southern coast of Çanakkale province. A Doric temple from the 6th century BC crowns the summit, four kilometres of walls ring the hillside and, far below, a tiny harbour of stone warehouses looks straight across to the Greek island of Lesbos. Aristotle taught here, St Paul set sail from here, and today it is the place to catch your breath between Troy and the Aegean.
Half a day is enough, with a fish lunch by the harbour, and it is one of those places travellers remember more vividly than far more famous sites.
A little history
Settlers from Lesbos founded Assos in the 7th century BC, and in the 6th century they built the Temple of Athena, the only Doric temple of that period in Asia Minor. In the 4th century BC the tyrant Hermias, a former slave who had studied under Plato, invited Aristotle, who spent three years in Assos and founded a school of philosophy here before moving on to Lesbos to study marine life. The Persians later executed Hermias; Aristotle married Hermias's niece.
According to the Acts of the Apostles, St Paul walked from Troas to Assos to board a ship for Mytilene. The city declined in Byzantine and Ottoman times until all that was left was the village of Behramkale. American archaeologists excavated the temple in the 19th century, and several of its pieces are now in Boston and Istanbul.
What to see in Assos
The Temple of Athena
At the summit stand six re-erected Doric columns and the complete ground plan of a temple from 530 BC, with the sea 240 metres below and Lesbos straight ahead. At sunset, as the light fades over the sea and the island, it is one of the most beautiful spots on the Aegean.
The walls and the necropolis
On the way down the hillside you pass the Hellenistic walls of volcanic stone, among the best preserved in the Greek world, with their towers and main gate, and a necropolis of sarcophagi carved from the same stone. The stone was said to consume a body in forty days, and it gave us the word “sarcophagus”: the flesh-eating stone.
The theatre and the agora
On the southern slope lie the Hellenistic theatre, facing the sea, the agora with its stoa, and the gymnasium. A goat track with views links them all.
Behramkale village
Stone houses, the 14th-century Mosque of Murad I, built with stones from a Byzantine church, and the Ottoman bridge over the river as you enter the village. Local women sell lace, oregano and olive oil at the entrance to the temple.
The harbour
A single street of 19th-century stone warehouses, now hotels and restaurants, plus a fishermen's quay and a pebble beach. Lunch here means sardines and octopus with Lesbos across the water, and if you have time, this is the place to stay the night.
Tips for your visit
Allow an hour for the temple and the walls, and half a day if you add the village and the harbour. The climb to the temple from the car park is a ten-minute walk up a cobbled slope; the path along the walls is loose stone.
- Save the temple for late afternoon and the harbour for lunch or an overnight stay.
- Wear closed shoes: the volcanic stone is uneven and slippery under smooth soles.
- Strong winds are common here and make the exposed summit uncomfortable, so bring a warm layer, even in summer.
- The harbour is three kilometres downhill along hairpin bends: drive it, and don't try walking it in the heat.
Tickets and prices
Entry to the Temple of Athena site costs €12 at the official 2027 rates published at the time of writing; the village, the outer walls and the harbour are free. On my tours the ticket is either included or I take care of it for you.
Where it is and how to get there
Assos lies about 70 kilometres south of Çanakkale and 20 kilometres from Ayvacık, along mountain roads with views over the Gulf of Edremit; it is an hour and a quarter from Troy. Minibuses run from Ayvacık, but a car or a tour is far more comfortable.
Assos on my tours
On a private road trip south from Istanbul to Pergamon and Ephesus, Assos is the natural afternoon stop after Troy and its museum, and often where we spend the night. From here we carry on to Pergamon and the Aegean coast. The Grand Tour of Türkiye drives the same road but goes straight from Troy to Pergamon.
If you are planning the drive from Istanbul to the Aegean, tell me about your trip and I'll put the route together with Assos included.