Miletus was an important Ionian settlement. Founded on the coast in the 14th century B.C. by the Carians, it lies today far from the sea, due to the silting of the Meander River. The people of Miletus founded colonies around the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and had trade relations with Egypt. After 650 B.C., they resisted invasions in Anatolia, but they were defeated. The city was destroyed by the Persians and 80 ships were burned in Lade Island.

The architect Hippodamus rebuilt the city in the 5th century B.C. on a grid plan. It was controlled by the Persians, and then Alexander the Great took control. Miletus regained power during the Roman period, by which time the harbor was slowly silting. This caused constant problems, and gradually drove the city into an economic decline.

Miletus played an important role as a cultural centre. The famous architect Isodorus, who (with Antemius of Tralles) built the Haghia Sophia in Constantinople, was from Miletus.

Miletus was taken by the Emir of Menteşoğulları; the Ottomans took control of the city in 1424. The city also played an important role during the Ottoman era, becoming a maritime trading centre.

The theatre in Miletus was built in the 4th century B.C., and rebuilt in the 2nd century A.D. There were four harbors around the peninsula on which the city was laid out. The Bay of Lions was the most important. Two carved lions still stand in place today, marking the end places of a chain that was once used to close off the entrance to the bay in times of danger.

The mosque on the site was built in 1404 during the region of İlyas Bey, and recently refurbished. The decorative carving and the entrance with its stalactite vault are well executed. The ruins of ancient city’s agora, baths, Bouleuterion, Turkish bath, as well as the Museum on the site, are all worth visiting.

The first excavations in Miletus were