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Kaunos, Dalyan

Ruin · Historic Site
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Explore the ancient ruins of Kaunos, once an important sea port founded in the 9th century BCE between the empires Caria and Lycia. Because of manmade alterations to the landscape, the site no longer sits directly on the coast. You'll need to join a guided boat trip or board one of the private rowing boats in Dalyan that take you across the river and walk 20 minutes to the site. Walk along the remnants of city walls up to the acropolis perched on a 152 m (500 ft) high rock, which offers vistas of the ruins, the river, the bay, and the beach. A Hellenistic-Roman theater on the slope of the acropolis is still occasionally used for performances. See the gymnasium with its Roman baths, a wind-measuring platform, and a domed Byzantine basilica. Do not miss the floor mosaics next to the basilica. Wear sensible shoes, since you'll be doing lots of walking. PutKaunos into our Dalyan road trip planning tool and find out what's close by, where to stay, and where to head next.
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Kaunos reviews

TripAdvisor traveler rating
TripAdvisor traveler rating 4.5
1,183 reviews
Google
4.6
TripAdvisor
  • The Kaunos are amazing and well worth a visit, in fact seeing them at night under the lights makes a totally new experience. Every time you see them they look better. 
    The Kaunos are amazing and well worth a visit, in fact seeing them at night under the lights makes a totally new experience. Every time you see them they look better.  more »
  • Visited as part of a small group tour. We arrived by boat on the way back from the beach,then walked up,saw the ruins and then walked back down the other side to meet the boat.. Good view across the.....  more
    Visited as part of a small group tour. We arrived by boat on the way back from the beach,then walked up,saw the ruins and then walked back down the other side to meet the boat.. Good view across the.....  more »
  • There’s a path all the way to the top of the mountain . Ask the guy at the ticket desk for directions . The view will blow your mind. Secondly, if you like birds, head down to the lake where you will....  more
    There’s a path all the way to the top of the mountain . Ask the guy at the ticket desk for directions . The view will blow your mind. Secondly, if you like birds, head down to the lake where you will....  more »
Google
  • Fascinating ancient area with 2.5 thousand year old tombs carved into solid cliff rockface. Then there are the ruins, particularly the amphitheatre with a magnificent view of the Mediterranean.
  • Excellent archaeological site. Lots to see and it's in great condition. You can get a rowboat from the Dock and its 40lira for 2 people. (You only need to pay to cross there, its free on the way back, but do leave the ladies a tip) the walk itself is not a hard walk, it is hilly, best to walk on a morning as its cooler, also the site itself is open air ofcourse so it gets super hot up there. You can walk to the Fort at the top of the mountain but it's not for the faint of heart. The Amphiteatre is amazing and the views from the top of this is unmatched.
  • Very good experience. It was very convenient to have a ferry that took us across from dalyan to the Kaunos side. Kaunos is kept clean, very well maintained and pleasant to explore.
  • Well, it's not Ephesus,but still an interesting site. The Ampitheatre is being partly restored and a rather faded tesserae floor beneath the Byzantine church has been uncovered. Signage is quite poor and a simple map would be very helpful.
  • Great place the history of this place is great the stones are still standing as well as the other ruins. It can get very hot as the place is very open so would advise plenty of water and a hat.

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