Cesme, Turkey

By all means, Turkey is one of the most popular destinations when one plans a cultural travel in order to explore historical heritages and cultural prosperities. Having been the host of many big civilizations during decades distinguished Turkey as one of the richest countries in terms of history and culture. Since the lands of the country connects Asia to Europe and accommodates the routes of migration and trade, it has always been a popular dwelling area. Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, Ionians, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottomans Empires are among the civilizations that lived within this territory. Thus, it is not surprising that they left countless ruins, ancient buildings, and structures. On the other hand, their cultural effects on today's contemporary life are still conspicuous, especially in cuisine, art and philosophy.

Seaside towns in Aegean side of Turkey

On the other hand, Turkey is also a popular destination for the ones who seek to enjoy the nature, sea and sun during the holiday. Turkey 's Black Sea coast is a paradise for the nature lovers. Since that the sky is mostly gray and it is rainy throughout the year, this part of the country is full of forests and fresh air. Inversely, Turkey 's Mediterranean and Aegean coasts offer the best seaside vacations and leisure times for both local and international tourists. Turkey 's Mediterranean shore called as Turquoise Coast is especially popular for the all inclusive 5 stars hotels, resorts and sandy beaches. Although Mediterranean coasts attract more international tourists, the Aegean side of Turkey also accommodates world class beaches and seaside towns.

Aegean Region is the western part of Turkey and it takes its name from the Aegean Sea which is shared with Greece. It surrounds the Aegean shore of the country and accommodates several small Greek and Turkish islands. Aegean Region of Turkey is divided into two parts, as interior and coast, which are extremely rich in terms of history, culture, agriculture and cuisine. Besides those prosperities, it has magnificent shores to have seaside vacations.

Since the last few years, a coastal town of Aegean Region have become very popular and is distinguished among the other ones. Cesme, which is the western-most point of both the region and the country, is a perfect destination for the ones who wish to explore a new place and have many alternatives to do during the holiday.

Cesme, known as Erythrai during the Middle Ages, was one of the 12 Ionian cities. At those times, it was holding an important statute in commerce with Egypt, Cyprus and western countries thanks to its harbour. It was especially an important area for the commerce of wine. Because of its strategic location, it was a favourite area to be acquired by the biggest civilizations. It was consecutively conquered by the Lydians, Persians and finally by Romans who changed the name of Erythrai to Cyssus. Since the area had been under the influence of different civilizations, it had a great prosperity of ancient constructions and ruins. However, when Romans had been divided into 2 different parts, it remained in the territory of the Byzantine and all had been destroyed because of the adverse convictions about idols and polytheistic religions.

In 1081, an Ottoman admiral, Caka Bey, conquered Cesme and brought it back in Ottoman's territory. As the closest Greek island to Cesme and Turkey, Chios had continuous relations with the area during the history, especially in terms of commerce. In 1566, when Chiros had been acquired by the Ottomans, the relationships between the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires had been totally ruined. This brought very bad consequences for the destiny of the town. Since the commerce was nearly stopped, natives had to leave the area and moved either to the closest largest city, Izmir or Greece. This brought good development opportunity for Izmir which is now the third biggest city of Turkey. Today, Cesme is a part of Izmir Province.

Beach at Cesme

 

In spite of a recession period, the development of the town has never ceased to continue for many decades and today it is one of the most popular places for local and international tourists. What is surprising about Cesme is that not many foreign tourists knew about it until it became a world class area for windsurfing during the last few years.

People partying in Alacati

Alacati, which one of the most popular areas of Cesme, provides one of the unique windsurfing areas in the world since it offers the most suitable wind conditions without waves. Alacati has a fantastic bay which has very shallow and clear water. Different types of winds like breeze, southwest wind, and northeast wind visit this bay throughout the year and provide a good opportunity for the windsurfers. Besides the windsurfing bay, it also has several beaches that are known by the very cool water and happy hour parties. In addition to water activities, Alacati has a great town centre which has been developed two years ago in order to provide good entertainment opportunities for the visitors. It is full of restaurants, cafes, bars, and designer shops which are open until late in the nights. Even though it sounds like a touristic place, it reflects the local traditions of Turkey which is partly based on eating and drinking. Alacati is also famous for the small boutique hotels which are known of providing very friendly and hospital services.

Beach in Ilica

On the other hand, Ilica area is one of the oldest parts of Cesme. In the past, more concretely before the development of Alacati, it was the richest part of Cesme since wealthy people of Izmir used to have villas there in order to pass the summer. Thus, villas of Ilica reflect a great architectural prosperity and are still popular among the wealthy people. On the other hand, Ilica has the longest beach of Cesme and is still the best since it is marvellous to watch the sunset and enjoy finest sand on earth there. Ilica is also famous for thermal springs.

Since Cesme has always been a seaport town, it still provides maritime services today. There are two big ports, Alacati Port and Marina Port which also function as entertainment centres in addition to the port services. Both contain several restaurants, bars and shops inside of it, not to mention about nightlife!

For Turkish people eating fish has its own rituals

If one day you have the chance to visit Cesme, do not leave without eating fish. Dalyan is a famous part of Cesme known for the fish restaurants. For Turkish people eating fish has its own rituals. First of all, you start with cold appetizers, and then continue with hot ones. Afterwards you will have the main dish and finally you will have the desserts which will be followed by traditional Turkish coffee. Thus, going to dinner in a fish restaurant requires long hours on the table and excellent chat. Another thing that you will notice in fish restaurants will be the gray-colored beverage that almost everybody takes. It is the famous Turkish beverage called raki that is made of anise and alcohol. It is very typical to serve raki with fish and meat. Don't miss to try it!

Cesme traditional food: Kumru with Ayran

Talking about eating, Cesme has its own traditional food called as "kumru". Even though it looks like an ordinary sandwich, it is made of a special bread which can only be found in Cesme. Kumru is usually companied with "ayran" which is a traditional drink of Turkey. It is made by yogurt, water and salt. A perfect combination for hungry stomachs!

Cesme is also very well known of the fast nightlife. There are hundreds of bars and night clubs outspread on the different parts of the town. A common night starts at 12 at night and can last until 6 -7 in the morning. There are several music alternatives and festivals that can be enjoyed during the summer. Each summer new places are opened in order to serve increasing numbers of visitors in addition to classic places Paparazzi, Sole Mare, Babylon, and Nar.

 

Cesme Castle

Finally, the centre of Cesme is very nice to see some historical structures. The Cesme Castle is still preserved and is the most visited historical piece in the town. It accommodates the archaeological museum which displays some ruins obtained rom the ancient city of Erythrai.

Cesme is a fantastic destination if you want to combine cultural and seaside vacations. On the other hand, it has great beaches, restaurants, night entertainment and sports alternatives. For the last few years, it has also become a good alternative to pass the New Year Eve. Street festivals are organized for this special night and the hotels are opened throughout the whole year.