"Cesme Peninsula" a Cesme Travel Page by KIZGINdamdakiKedi

ou will find the Cesme peninsula about ½ way down the Aegean coast of Turkey at its most western point. It is less than 1 Hours drive from the City of Izmir and Adanan Menderes International Airport.

Cesme is renowned for Thermal Spa's, Blue Seas and Golden Beaches, which range from crowded to remote and secluded. There are about 20 of them spread around the peninsular so transport is necessary to get to any of them. One option is to use one of the many the public "Dolmus" (Mini bus) services or just take Taxi. You could also hire a Car or Motorcycle for the day too and explore the peninsular at your own pace and convenience.

Cesme town itself is a "compact" and "bustling" collection of Souvenir, Leather, Carpet, Clothing, Footwear and Jewelry stores punctuated by Bars, Disco's Bistro's, Restaurants, Coffeehouse's and Ice Cream stalls. There are also a fair number of Pharmacies (Eczani) around so you can take on extra supplies of Sun Tan oils or After Sun Balm in case you happen to "overdo it" in the first few days of your vacation.

The central waterfront of Cesme stretches from the yacht harbor to the south and a public beach to the north with the Castle taking center stage. It is mainly a collection of hostelries and Travel Agencies but you also find there the PTT, the Tourist Information Center, the Ferry Port for day trips to the island of Chios and in case of Emergency a Tourist Police Station.

A casual visitor should have little trouble finding accommodation, Cesme boasts over 10,000 Tourist Hotel beds, ranging from small and friendly Pensions to 5 Star Luxury Hotels or Holiday Villages, something to match every budget. One good starting point for accommodation is the Tourist Information Center another is to surf inside this site and work out your own arrangements. There are plenty of Travel Agencies in Cesme who are ready and willing to help. Another option is of course the ubiquitous Taxi drivers who always "Have a friend." Finally for the really adventurous ones amongst you, the, walk the streets and ask, method works well too.

Cesme is a pretty coastal town situated about 70 km from Izmir in Western Anatolia. Its history can be dated as far back as 3000BC. Erythrai and Çesmeköy were the first settlements whereas the central district of Çesme is a more recent development.

Even though its history is largely unclear, information gathered from excavations and research done in the ancient city of Erythrai place its establishment around 3000BC.

In around 2000 BC Leleghs, who were native Anatolean people, settled in the area. For a variety of reasons there seems to have been an influx of people from Greece who came over the Aegean sea and from the islands but the Leleghs were still the dominant force.

As a result of research, there also seems to have been a small settlement to the East of Çesme called Kalemburnu. The area came under the dominance of the Lydians in the 6th century BC and throughout its history it was also controlled by the Romans and Alexander the Great. In or around 334BC the area became independent but flourished due to its connection with the Roman Empire.

In the 3rd century AD it lost its influence and its development was curtailed. It wasn't until a famous Turkish chief Emir Çaka used the Çesme peninsula as a base for his sea wars against the Aegean islands that Çesme became important again.

In the 13th century the Germian Lord was Sasa Bey and in the 14th century the area was conquered by Aydinogullari and was settled by them.