Priene, Miletus and Didyma are three ancient Greek sites south of Ephesus, each about half an hour's drive from the next, and you can see all three in a day from Kuşadası. They were cities of Ionia, the region where Greek philosophy and science were born, and today they see very few visitors: at Priene you walk a street grid laid out in the 4th century BC, at Miletus you climb a theatre that seated 15,000, and at Didyma you step inside a temple whose columns stand almost 20 metres tall.
It's the trip I recommend to anyone who already knows Ephesus and wants archaeology without the coach parties. It isn't a light day, but it's one of the most rewarding on the Aegean coast.
A little history
All three cities looked out over the same gulf, at the mouth of the River Meander, which over the centuries filled with silt until the sea became a plain of cotton fields. Miletus, on a peninsula jutting into the gulf, was the richest city in Ionia and the home of Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, the first Greek philosophers; it founded colonies all around the Black Sea. Priene, on the slopes of Mount Mycale, was rebuilt in the 4th century BC on the grid plan named after Hippodamus, the town planner from Miletus. Didyma was the oracle sanctuary of Miletus, linked to the city by a sacred way some 17 kilometres long.
The cities lived on under Rome, but the silt cut them off from the sea, and earthquakes and abandonment did the rest. German archaeologists began excavating them around the turn of the 20th century, and many of their finest pieces are now in Berlin.
What to see at Priene, Miletus and Didyma
Priene: the grid-plan city
You climb stone steps through the pines to a terrace where the streets cross at right angles. Look out for the Temple of Athena, designed by the architect Pytheos, with five of its Ionic columns standing again; the small theatre, with marble seats of honour in the front row and an altar in the orchestra; the council chamber, its tiers of seats arranged in a square; and the courtyard houses, one of them said to have hosted Alexander the Great. From the top you look down on the plain that was once sea.
Miletus: the theatre and the baths
The Roman theatre, which held 15,000 spectators, with its vaulted passageways and imperial box, is the first thing you see from the road; from the top you can make out the layout of the old harbours. Behind it are the Baths of Faustina, named after the wife of Marcus Aurelius, with their lofty halls and the statue of the river god; the agora, whose monumental Market Gate was taken to Berlin; and the 15th-century İlyas Bey Mosque, standing among the ruins. In spring parts of the site flood and there are frogs everywhere.
Didyma: the oracle of Apollo
The Temple of Apollo was one of the largest temples in the Greek world, with 122 columns almost 20 metres high, and it was never finished. You walk through vaulted tunnels into an inner courtyard open to the sky, where the sacred spring rose and the prophetess delivered the oracles. A head of Medusa that fell from the frieze is the classic photo. The oracle hailed Alexander the Great as a son of Zeus, and Roman emperors were still consulting it centuries later.
Tips for your visit
Allow a full day. Priene means a climb up steps and stony paths; Miletus is flat but large; Didyma is easy going.
- Bring a hat, water and closed shoes: all three sites are in full sun.
- Visit Priene first thing, with the morning light on the temple, and leave Didyma for last, with the afternoon sun on the columns.
- You'll eat well in the town at Didyma or in the simple local restaurants of Akköy, near Miletus.
- With children, the entrance tunnel at Didyma and the tiers of the theatre at Miletus make up for the walk at Priene.
Tickets and prices
At the time of writing (2026), under the official 2027 tariff, entry costs €5 at Priene, €7 for the Miletus site and museum and €7 for the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. Prices for foreign visitors are revised every year, so check the official Turkish museums website (muze.gov.tr) before you go. On my tours all three tickets are included, or your guide takes care of them at the entrance.
Where they are and how to get there
Priene is about 40 kilometres from Kuşadası, Miletus some 20 kilometres further south and Didyma another 20, close to the beach resort of Altınkum. Linking them up without a car is difficult; with a tour or a hire car, the full loop is about 150 kilometres from Kuşadası.
Visiting them on my tours
This is the Priene, Miletus and Didyma day tour from Kuşadası, a full day with a licensed guide and lunch, and it can be added as an optional stop on longer tours of the Aegean. If you're coming from Ephesus, you'll inevitably compare it with the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre; for the rest of the coast, read what to see on the Aegean coast.
If you like your archaeology unhurried, plan your tailor-made trip with me and I'll put together the full Ionian route for you.