Alinda Ancient City

Alinda is an ancient Carian city located on a hill above the center of Karpuzlu district in Aydın province, near Demircideresi. It draws attention with its extensive ruins and the view of the fertile Karpuzlu Plain stretching below.

Although research often points to the 4th century BC for the city’s emergence on the historical stage, its past dates back to the 14th century BC. It is known that during the reign of Hittite Emperor Mursilis II, it was affiliated with the Seha River Land and was named Ialanti at that time. Furthermore, it is recorded that it paid taxes to the Delian League in the 5th century BC.

Alinda was an important stronghold held by the exiled Carian Queen Ada. Welcoming Alexander the Great here in 334 BC, Ada was granted the authority to rule the entire region after Alexander captured Caria.

It is understood that the city was briefly renamed “Alexandria by Latmos” and recorded by Stephanus of Byzantium, although sources do not agree on the exact location of this settlement. The name Alinda came back into use no later than 81 BC and appeared as such in Ptolemy’s Geography in the 2nd century AD.

Minting its own coins from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD, Alinda was a prominent trading center. Stephanus noted that the city housed a temple of Apollo containing a statue of Aphrodite by Praxiteles.

Among the ruins of the city are a partially excavated necropolis containing queen’s tombs, a Roman aqueduct, an almost intact marketplace, a relatively well-preserved Roman theater with a capacity of about 5,000 people, and numerous temple and sarcophagus remains.

Serving as a bishopric subordinate to the Metropolis of Aphrodisias during the Byzantine period, Alinda was a suffragan bishopry dependent on Stauropolis. Throughout history, it hosted bishops such as Promachios, John, and Theodoretus, and was later revived as a titular see by the Catholic Church.

Alinda, which stands out today with its unrestored yet exceptionally well-preserved ruins, can be visited via mountain roads and organized tour vehicles departing from Bodrum or Milas. In 2018, it was reported that a 4-kilometer section of the ancient stone road connecting Alinda to Latmos was destroyed by villagers to clear land for olive groves.