Miletus

Miletus was the leading city of Ionia and, in the sixth century BCE, the birthplace of Greek natural philosophy - Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes all worked here, asking what the world was made of without invoking the gods, which is conventionally where Western science starts. Hippodamus, who gave his name to the grid plan, came from here too. The city stood on a peninsula with four harbours; the Meander river has since filled the entire gulf with silt, so the ruins now sit in flat farmland several kilometres inland, which is the single most striking thing about visiting. The Roman theatre dominates the site, seating some fifteen thousand with its vaulted passages and stage building substantially standing, and a Byzantine castle sits on top of it. Around are the baths of Faustina with their lion and river-god fountain, the agora, a stadium, the delphinion and the İlyas Bey mosque of 1404 nearby.

What to look for

• The Roman theatre - the great bowl with its vaulted passages.
• The Faustina baths - the fountain with lion and river god.
• The silted plain - farmland where four harbours once were.
• The İlyas Bey mosque - the 1404 building beside the site.

When to go

April to June and September to October, in the morning. The site floods in places after winter rain and bakes in summer.

Things to know

Parts of the site are marshy and can be waterlogged in winter and spring. Shade is minimal and interpretation limited. A car is effectively required - public transport is poor.

Nearby

Priene is north across the plain; Didyma and its temple of Apollo are south toward Didim.

Key facts