Reading list | The Aegean

Turkey’s Aegean coast takes on many guises as you head south from the cool waters of the Dardanelles, across the Troad peninsula to the classical world of the Ionian Greeks and conquering Romans, at Troy and Ephesus, the country’s most spectacular ancient site. At its centre is Izmir, once a trading centre for the western world, and still buzzing with life. There are many other ancient sites, too, culminating at Knidos on the Datça peninsula, while fishing villages have become popular tourist destinations, from Ayvalik and the Cesme peninsula in the north to Bodrum in the Blue Cruising grounds of the Gulf of Gökova.