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 assus
may be reached by driving through the village of Karakuyu,
off the main road to Izmir. An alternative is to start off
with a fresh fish lunch in the quiet port of Gulluk, where
you can then hire an inexpensive boat for a half hour ride
to the ruins of Iassus across the scenic Gulf of Gulluk.
 Historians
credit Peloponnesians from Argos with founding Iassus in the
9th Century BC. It was latter inhabited by Ionians, then became
a member of the Delian Confederacy. The Spartans sacked Iassus
and turned it over to the Persians. King Mausolus controlled
the city during his reign, and it prospered from its salted
fish industry.
We don't know just how large Iassus was, especially
since the village of Kiyikislacik now sits atop part of it.
But tax records indicate that for several centuries it had
a good deal of wealth and importance. For unknown reasons
it declined, and by the time of the Roman Empire it was a
mere customs station.
Italian teams have excavated extensively at Iassus
exposing much of its history. The most striking feature of
this pleasantly wooded site is the thick, two km long wall
around part of it, attributed to King Mausolus. A well-preserved
mausoleum has been reconstructed to over thirty feet high
and now houses findings from the site. Also uncovered: a theatre,
a Byzantine castle and a Roman villa with mosaic floors and
wall paintings. The ruined hilltop castle is attributed to
the Knights of Rhodes.
After a tour of this interesting site the quite
and quaint village of Kiyikislacik is the perfect setting
for an afternoon's swim or secluded sunbathing, perhaps followed
by dinner at one of the seafront restaurants.
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