Euromos, just a bowshot away

Several years ago, while driving down from Kusadasi to Milas, I was intrigued by a signpost pointing towards Euromos. I had never heard of this city that showed on my map with three dots, typically telling me these were ruins of some kind.

I was in for a shock when this bunch of tall Corinthian columns rose from a clearing amidst the pine trees. I was utterly speechless and dying to know more about this hidden treasure! 

As it turned out, these columns belonged to a temple dedicated to Zeus, which with its 17 columns still standing, is one of the best-preserved temples in Anatolia! 

Wind and weather have definitely left their marks on this building dating from the 2nd century BC. As so often, I was the only visitor, but I had a ball stepping onto the crepidoma of the temple, trying to figure out its layout and the sacred cella. I even found a strange relief of a double ax, which I learned, later on, belonged to the Carian Zeus.

Since 2011, excavations have started again at Euromos. These will involve cleaning the blackened columns but also a more extensive analysis of the site. There are still many blocks of this temple lying around, and they hope to use them to understand this wonderful place better. 

When I walked away from the temple, I thought there was very little else to see. However, I soon discovered a few tiers of what must have been the theater and a flat that could have been the agora. More excavation work has been carried out in recent years, exposing more of the theater and the agora and a bath and some city walls.

As usual, the purpose of these restorations is to draw more tourists to the area, but for me, nothing can replace that very first approach frozen in time!