Gulf of Kuşadası

The Gulf of Kuşadası lies on the eastern Aegean, facing Samos and the island routes off western Anatolia. As the older harbour of Ephesus silted up, maritime activity shifted toward other landing places along this coast. Kuşadası became known in Mediterranean commerce as Scalanova, the new landing place, and traded with Venetians and Genoese. Ottoman authority was established in 1413, bringing the port into an imperial system while retaining its role as an outlet toward the Aegean.

A major investment in the harbour's commercial life came in 1618, when the grand vizier Öküz Mehmed Pasha built a caravanserai near the landing. High walls enclosed a rectangular courtyard surrounded by two levels of rooms and arcades. Its fortified appearance and attention to the seaward approaches joined the shelter of merchants and goods with the need for defence. A mosque and bath belonged to the same programme. The gulf's early modern shoreline thus combined shipping and inland access with buildings designed to receive, protect and provision those moving through the port.