Tucked away in a lush corner of Turkey lies the Gulf of Edremit, overlooked by the dramatic Kaz Mountains (or Kaz Dağları in Turkish). To the Ancient Greeks this area was Mount Ida, a center of the cult of Zeus, and has the ruined cities to prove it, as well as mountain villages, quaint sea-side towns, beaches, forest hikes, waterfalls, and more. A short drive from Edremit airport or a slightly longer one from Istanbul or Izmir makes Kaz Dağları a revitalizing, wonderfully green bit of headspace for anyone looking to escape the city for at least a few days.
History of Kaz Dağları
The history of the area starts with Greek colonization around 1000 BC. Its first reference was in Homer’s Iliad, in which Zeus watched the Trojan Wars from Mount Ida. Devotees built the Altar of Zeus on the side of the mountain, where sacrifices were made to the gods, and which attracted pilgrims from across the land. Many of these settled in the ancient city of Antandros by the coast, which was a major city in its day, the ruins of which can still be seen.
In the 14th century, the Greek population was largely displaced by the arrival of the Tahtacı Turks, forest-dwelling Central Asians who had themselves been displaced by the Mongol invasion of Persia. They found a home in the region’s lush mountains and were later recruited by Mehmet the Conqueror to build his navy on account of their woodworking skills.
Most of the remaining Greeks moved to Greece in 1924 during the post-WW1 population exchange and were replaced by Turkish former residents of Crete.
The area was put back on the map in the 1980s when the traditional stone houses of two mountain villages, Yeşilyurt and Adatepe, were restored by city types seeking an escape from the smoke and stress of Istanbul and Izmir, inadvertently turning them into tourist destinations and monuments to Turkish rural life. Adatepe was registered as a protected area in 1989.
Sights of Kaz Dağları
Probably the prettiest and most happening village in the Kaz Dağları area is Adatepe, built atop the original settlement next to the Altar of Zeus. The town’s central square, restored stone houses, and surrounding hills make for a great afternoon of hiking, clean air, and animals. As you arrive in the village, a right turn will take you on a 5-minute walk to the Altar of Zeus, built for sacrificial offerings and supposedly where Zeus watched the Battle of Troy from. The view is indeed worthy of a god, although Troy is clearly out of shot.
Adatepe’s sleepy twin village is Yeşilyurt, a similarly laid-back collection of stone houses, cobbled streets, and forested surrounds. Alongside the pretty town square is a converted Greek church that now serves the community as a strangely gothic mosque.
To get between Adatepe and Yeşilyurt, or to get from them to anywhere else, you will have to pass through Küçükkuyu. The town has a pleasant beachside strip of restaurants, bars, and more, as well as a surprisingly engaging olive oil museum, showcasing 3000 years of olive processing contraptions, and, bizarrely, some celebrity flair in the form of an olive tree donated to the museum by Yoko Ono, who had featured it in a 2016 art installation in Istanbul.
14 km, or an easy minibus ride away is Altınoluk, once the Ancient Greek city of Antandros. Altınoluk is reclaiming its past glory and the ruins of Antandros are in the process of being restored. The town’s corniche is a pleasant stroll, and if you have time, take a taxi up into the mountains to see a brand-new, vertigo-inducing lookout point over the coast and the Kaz Dağları National Park.
Another 16 km east of Altınoluk is Akçay, yet another pleasant seaside town and beach front. The main draw here is a beautiful spot with a morbid name. Hasan Boğuldu translates as “Hasan Drowned” and is named after a pool where a local supposedly died in a tragic tale of unrequited love. The story is laid out in a delightfully bad and weirdly long translation. The walk to the pool takes you past waterfalls, rivers, picnic areas, and a random section of Roman aqueduct. Get a taxi from Akçay, which will take about 15 minutes.
Around Kaz Dağları
As the gateway to the Biga Peninsula, the area is a short trip from several other places of interest. Foremost among these is Assos, the perfect combination of stone village, beach, and ruins that Aristotle once called home. See our Assos video for more information. For anything beyond that, check out our Biga Peninsula video.
Transportation To and From Kaz Dağları
If you have your own transport, Kaz Dağları is a pleasant 4-hour drive from either Istanbul or Izmir. If not, intercity busses will drop you at either Küçükkuyu or Edremit, from which regular minibuses zip along the coast. To reach Yeşilyurt or Adatepe a 10-minute taxi from Küçükkuyu is your best option. The local airport is in Edremit, from which regular minibuses run past Akçay and Altinoluk to Küçükkuyu, which takes about an hour.
Accommodation, Eating, & Drinking
We suggest staying in either Yeşilyurt or Adatepe and launching day trips to these other destinations. The best value and best range of hotels are in Yeşilyurt, where we can recommend Kariye Müze Hotel, which has nice rooms with forest views, a very cozy bar/restaurant, an excellent included breakfast, and a quirky ‘Technology Museum’ in the basement. The best option in Adatepe is Hunnap Han. All hotels serve food all day, and double as bars in the evenings. For a quick bite in Adatepe try Zeus Café or Dut Dibi Restaurant.
Let us know what you think of Kaz Dağları in the comments.
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For ESL instructors, we’ve also shared comprehension, vocabulary, and discussions questions and a crossword puzzle.
