Iassus 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.

 

Iassus (Iassos)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.