Kusadasi - Aegean Coast - Resorts Guide

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Overview: Kusadasi is one of the most swollen resort towns on the southern Aegean Coast, overflowing with shiploads of tourists in summer who enlarge the year-round population several times over. Once a small fishing village, today the busy town is packed with curios and carpet shops; its proximity to the ruins of Ephesus making it an ideal base for Aegean cruise ships. Despite the frenzied tourism, Kusadasi is situated amid splendid coastal scenery and several significant archaeological sites, including the three well-preserved Ionian settlements of Miletus, Priene and Didyma. There are plenty of good hotels and restaurants, and ferries link it with the nearby Greek islands of Samos and Mykonos.

Shopping: The Grand Bazaar in Kusadasi, near the harbour, is one of Turkey's largest shopping treasure troves, crammed with 1,000 or more stores and stalls open seven days a week from 9am until midnight. Bargaining for a variety of attractive items, like leather jackets, sandals, carpets and hand-made jewellery, is a fun experience, usually accompanied by a glass of tea. Despite the traditional trading atmosphere, most merchants accept credit cards, travellers cheques and even foreign currency for purchases.

Restaurants: All budgets and all tastes are amply catered for among Kusadasi's dozens of restaurants, cafes and lokantas. Most visitors opt for sampling Turkish cuisine or enjoying the sumptuous seafood on offer, but there are numerous alternatives from curry to Chinese and burgers. Acknowledged as one of the best seafood restaurants is the Cinar Fish Restaurant, where guests can watch their meal prepared in the open kitchen and dine with a view of the sea. For top class Turkish specialities the Konyali Restaurant opposite the marina, and the Erzincan near the post office, are hard to beat.