The Carians settled in south western part of Anatolia, between the Menderes River and Köycegiz Lake and named this area as Caria. The Datça Peninsula was also located within these borders, and today it's in the Aegean region of Turkey. After the Turkish Republic (1923) was founded the Peninsula regained its old name of "Datça". Today Datça is a district of the province Mugla. Some of the important sights to visit in Datça are: The mosque in Hizirsah village was inherited from the Seljuks period. It has been restored and is well worth seeing. Eski Datça (Old Datça, 4 km) with beautiful old stone houses, holiday and permanent residences of many Europeans and Turks, is showing typical architecture of the area. Regular bus services are available. Cnidus was famous for its naked statue of Aphrodite. Kizlan and its windmills, which have become a symbol for Datça, is worth visiting. There are the remains of some ceramic manufactures between Old Datça and Hizirsah village thought to have been worked during the 4th century BC.


CNIDOS (Cnidus):
1Famous as a center of art and culture in the fourth century B.C., Cnidos was established at the same time that Halicarnassus was, as one of the six Dorian colonies in Asia Minor. It seems to have kept a purer Greek character, no doubt because it set its sights seaward and had little contact with the interior. Around 360

BC, the city was rebuilt at the windblown tip of the peninsula, banking on the fact that a good harbor at the outer corner of Asia Minor would become a popular calling-port for ships on the Aegean - East Mediterranean transit routes. The rocky island facing the shore at the new site was joined to the mainland with a causeway, creating two deep harbors on either side of the isthmus. One on the Aegean and the other on the Mediterranean

The island section held the residential quarters, a series of colonnaded walkways rose in tiers on the land side. Two large theaters, an odeon and three temples completed what must have been a striking ensemble in the midst of a desolate crag. The remains of a circular temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite overlook remains of the two harbors: the arcaded way was built of white marble heart - shaped columns. The legendary Aphrodite of Praxiteles statue, reputedly one of the most beautiful sculptures of the antiquity, once graced this temple. The city was renowned as one of the most beautiful in ancient Greece. Cnidos is considered as the border between Mediterranean and Aegean seas where this two waters mix. It offers also a good anchorage for the boats.