Muğla The Archaeological Site of Iassos

"THE CITY WHERE THE SEA GIVES LIFE"

IASOS

Iasos Ancient City is located about 26 km west of Milas district, Muğla Province, Milas district, on the borders of Kıyıkışlacık District. The earliest archaeological find in the ancient city dates back to the 3rd millennium B.C. The earliest architectural remains are the wall remains of the Bronze Age settlement dating back to the 2nd millennium B.C.

BOULEUTERION: It rises in the southwestern corner of the agora just behind the southern stoa. This is one of the best-preserved structures in Iasos. Even before the excavations, the top of the steps was visible. The original structure was built in the 4th century  B.C when the city council was formed. However, the arrangement seen now belongs to the 1st century A.D. It has a rectangular plan, and rows of seating form three-quarter circles. Nine lower bastions of the cave were preserved. Above them was the separating diazoma of the three upper rows of steps. The side edges of the elegant profiled steps are made in the form of a lion's foot. The flooring was of multi-colored marble and the orchestra extended to the side steps.

BAKDAKHIN MAUSOLEUM, KNOWN AS THE CLOCK TOWER: A cemetery area is located on the low slopes of Çanacık Tepe on the east coast, 1 kilometer away from the city. A Roman funerary monument called the ”Clock Tower" dominates here. The monument, dated to the Late Roman Imperial Period, resembles the Syrian tombs known as tower or podium tombs. The roof of the building, which consists of two rooms on top of each other, is covered with a small dome. The small room at the top has arches on three sides and Decking walls at the corners. From the traces on the rear facade of the building, it is understood that the walls of the monument were covered with a plaster that imitated marble slabs in due time. The building is dated to the 2nd century A.D.

MENDİREK TOWER: Two piers, now submerged, were blocking the western port of Iasos. Considering the transverse and reverse position of the city against the open sea, as well as the direction of the wind, it is understood that these are not breakwaters, they control the entrances and exits to the port. These shares belong both to the same building floor as the agora and to the period when the port structures along the eastern coast were built, that is, to the Early Imperial Period. During the Middle Byzantine Period, a tower was added to the small harbor in the east. The north and west of the tower were reinforced with solid support walls and two rows of loophole holes were drilled for the use of weapons.

MEDIEVAL CASTLE ON THE ACROPOLIS: The castle walls enclose a trapezoid-shaped area that houses a cistern from the Byzantine period and a small temple, probably belonging to the Hellenistic Period, traces of which are partially visible today in the northwest. The ramparts are protected by fourteen semicircular or square towers, located on the sides most open to the terrain, but no towers were built on the western side, which follows the steep cliff. A large number of convoluted materials were used for its construction; in the eastern part, it is possible to see column drums and other architectural elements belonging to older buildings. The rampart has two entrances; the main entrance on the north is protected by two square-planned towers.