Aydin is one of the major cities in the Aegean region of Turkey and is
rapidly expanding. The city is located 90 km southeast of Izmir and 50 km inland
from the ruins of Ephesus, an ancient Ionian city on the Aegean Sea. Aydin is in
the centre of the agriculturally rich Buyukmenderes River valley surrounded by
the Aydin Mountains to the north and the Mentese Mountains to the south.
The ancient name of the province of Aydin was Tralleis, a celebrated as the
centre of sculpture with a well-known sculpture school.
The museum in Aydin exhibits the relics of many civilizations that passed
through this important centre in Anatolia. The remains in the city date back to
the 2nd century AD.