40 Geographical Regions
 
Geographical Regions 41  
 
   
 
 
  
  
  converted into a hotel, and it also dates back to the 16th century. Çeşme shores are ideal for surfing, sailing and yachting and Altın Yunus Marina offers excellent services to yachts. An International Song Contest is also held in Çeşme every year.  
 
Close by Çeşme is Ilıca, a developed thermal spring center. The hot springs in the sea are unmatched in the world, more than 250 of them in Ilıca Bay alone.
 

Sığacık in the south of Çeşme Peninsula is an important yachting center. There are many beautiful bays around, each with distinct beauty. Close by Sığacık there are the ancient cities of Teos, the faith center of the wine god Dionysus, and Claros, where the Temple of Apollo is located. Gümüldür, known for its beaches to the southeast of Sığacık, is a prominent tourist resort.
 

Foça (Phocaea), an important trading center in ancient times, is another favorite holiday resort north of İzmir. The Phocaeans, who were also noted for their seamanship, are known for establishing trading colonies in various places around the Mediterranean.
 
Bergama (Pergamum) is a well-known town not only in Turkey, but also all over the world. In the west of the town, a very  important  center  of  culture,  arts  and  medicine  in
 

Altın Yunus, Çeşme - İZMİR
 
 
 
 
   

Akropol, Bergama (Pergamum) - İZMİR
 
ancient times, there is one of the oldest and largest hospitals in history, the Asclepion. At the entrance of the hospital constructed in the name of Aesculapius, the god of health, there are snake reliefs, which symbolized the god and eventually became the symbol of medical science. Galen of Pergamum, the noted medical scientist, practiced in this hospital.
 

The most important architectural monuments of the district where parchment paper was invented stay on the Acropolis. The library famed for its 200,000 books, the Temples of Athena and Trajan besides the steepest amphitheater in the world and the foundations of the Altar of Zeus, one of the artistic wonders of the world, are located here. (Today, the entire altar is in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.)
 
The Aegean Inland: Denizli, the second largest city in the region after İzmir, is located in the Aegean inland. There are 40,000 looms in and around this city which has accomplished great progress in the textile field, the livelihood of 30% of its residents. Pamukkale has been a home for many cultures since the Roman era because of its wonderful appearance and healthful thermal springs.