Lake Marmara

Lake Marmara lies in the Gediz basin north of ancient Sardis. Known to the Greeks as the Gygaean Lake, its shores were overlooked by the great burial mounds of Bin Tepe. Among them rises the tomb traditionally associated with Alyattes, king of Lydia. The lake, low hills and cultivated plain formed the setting for a royal cemetery whose mounds remain visible across the landscape.