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From NationalGeographic.com

By Alex Crevar

Near the Gediz Delta, a third of the way across Turkey’s section of the EuroVelo Cycle Route 8, a flamboyance of flamingos appears overhead. As if the 300-mile journey hugging the Aegean Coast isn’t dramatic enough, the honking birds provide a fiery-pink chevron escort along a corridor that was once the stomping ground of Greek poet Homer and Alexander the Great. Bookended by UNESCO-listed sites, this route across Izmir Province forms one small part of the cross-continent EuroVelo cycleways network. It opened in 2019 and was developed for average cyclists; though it takes four to five days to complete using a combination of quiet streets, bike paths and packed-gravel roads, riders can also tackle it as single day rides. It starts near the ruined city of Pergamon and ends in the ancient city of Ephesus. In between, cyclists pass through vineyards, nature reserves and seaside towns with bazaars and cafe-lined harbours, including Urla, Çeşme and Sığacık. Here are four highlights on route.

1. Pergamon

Likely established between the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, Pergamon was a regional powerhouse for nearly 150 years and is one of Turkey’s most important sites. Travellers can visit the remains of the city, once capital of the Attalid Kingdom and later the Roman Empire’s Asia Province capital. Today it forms a UNESCO-inscribed cultural landscape with relics of Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history. Take the cable car to the ancient Acropolis for views south across the countryside, the modern city of Bergama below and the route you’ll soon be cycling. At the top, you’ll also see the giant Altar of Zeus, a theatre with vertiginously banked hillside seating and the Temple of Trajan with its giant, free-standing, Corinthian-capped columns.

Photo by Aydin Hassan on Unsplash

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