Cesme: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Çeşme means fountain, and the little port at the tip of the peninsula, eight kilometres from the Greek island of Chios, is full of Ottoman fountains. In its bay in 1770 a Russian fleet burned the entire Ottoman navy in one night. An hour on foot along the waterfront.
A short history of Cesme
In 1508 Sultan Bayezid II built a castle at Çeşme to guard the harbour facing the Greek island of Chios. In 1770, at the Battle of Çeşme, the Russian fleet destroyed almost the entire Ottoman fleet in the bay. For centuries the town was inhabited mainly by Greeks, who left in 1922–1923. The name Çeşme means "spring" in Turkish, after the hot springs in the area.
The ten best sights in Cesme
1Çeşme CastleAn Ottoman castle of 1508 with a small museum
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2Hasan Pasha and his lion
The admiral who survived 1770, with his pet lion
3CaravanseraiAn Ottoman inn of 1528 around a courtyard
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4Ayios Haralambos
A Greek church of the 1830s, now an art gallery
5DalyanA fishing village of fish restaurants on a narrow harbour
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6Ovacık
A farming village in the hills behind the town
7AltınkumLong sandy beaches and clear cold water on the south coast
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8Pırlanta Beach
A wild beach of dunes, good for kitesurfing
9AlaçatıA stone village of shuttered houses and boutiques
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10Alaçatı Windmills
A row of old windmills on the hill above the village
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Cesme →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Cesme:
Free walking tours in Cesme
The town of the fountain
Çeşme means fountain, and the little port at the tip of the peninsula, eight kilometres from the Greek island of Chios, is full of Ottoman fountains. In its bay in 1770 a Russian fleet burned the entire Ottoman navy in one night. An hour on foot along the waterfront.
- Çeşme Castle · Sultan Bayezid II built the castle in 1508 to guard the strait facing Chios, then a Genoese island. Its walls hold a small museum of finds from Erythrai and the wrecks of the bay, and in summer it hosts concerts.
- Hasan Pasha and his lion · On the night of the seventh of July 1770 Russian fireships drifted into the crowded bay and burned almost the whole Ottoman fleet, killing thousands. One of the few officers to escape was Hasan Pasha of Algiers, who later became grand admiral. His statue shows him with the lion he kept as a pet and walked through Istanbul.
- Caravanserai · An inn for merchants built in 1528 under Suleiman the Magnificent, two storeys of rooms around a courtyard, when Çeşme was the port for the trade with Chios and the islands. In modern times it was turned into a hotel.
- Ayios Haralambos · Until 1923 most of Çeşme’s people were Greek Orthodox, and this large church of the 1830s was theirs. After the exchange of populations it stood empty, and it is now the town’s art gallery.
- Çeşme Marina · From the port beside the marina a ferry crosses in about half an hour to Chios, the island of mastic, whose resin from a small tree has been chewed since antiquity. The two shores were one Greek world until 1923.
- Dalyan · A fishing village north of town on a narrow inlet, where the restaurants stand at the edge of the water and serve the morning catch. The name means a fish trap.
Alaçatı and the wind
Alaçatı was a Greek village of stone houses and windmills, emptied in 1923 and slowly ruined, then rebuilt in the 2000s into the most fashionable village on the Turkish Aegean. Below it is a bay where a steady wind blows every summer afternoon. Half a day; evenings are busy.
- Alaçatı · The lanes are lined with houses of yellow stone with blue and green wooden shutters, built by Greek farmers and vine growers who came from the islands in the nineteenth century. Today they are boutique hotels, cafés and shops, and the village is crowded in summer evenings.
- Alaçatı Windmills · A row of stone windmills on the ridge above the village, built to grind the grain of the plain with the same wind that now brings the windsurfers. Several have been restored as restaurants.
- Alaçatı Bay · The bay is shallow for hundreds of metres, and in summer a strong, steady north wind blows across it almost every afternoon, flattening the water — near-perfect conditions for windsurfing. World cup races are held here, and dozens of schools teach beginners.
- Alaçatı Marina · At the head of the bay a new marina village has been built in the style of the old one, with restaurants on the water. From here the coast runs west to the beaches of the south.
- Altınkum · The south coast of the peninsula has beaches of fine golden sand — the name means golden sand — with water clear and cold even in August, because of currents from the open Aegean.
- Pırlanta Beach · At the western end, a long beach of dunes left wild, where the wind is strong and kitesurfers gather. The sunset over the open sea toward Chios is best from here.
Springs and an Ionian city
Along the north coast of the peninsula hot springs rise even under the sea, and at its eastern end stands Erythrai, one of the twelve cities of ancient Ionia, home of a famous prophetess. Half a day by car.
- Ilıca Beach · Ilıca means hot spring: thermal water rises from the sea floor off this beach, so in places the shallow water is noticeably warmer. The beach of fine sand runs far out shallow, and the spa hotels pipe the springs into their pools.
- Şifne · A small bay where hot springs and a thermal mud have been used for cures since antiquity; people coat themselves with the mud and wash in the sea.
- Reisdere · A quiet village on the inner bay behind the springs, with tables under trees and a small harbour of fishing boats, away from the crowds of Alaçatı.
- Germiyan · An inland village of farmers known for its village cooking, which the women of the village serve at tables in the square on festival days; the rest of the time it is a quiet place of fields and stone walls.
- Erythrai · One of the twelve cities of the Ionian league, on a hill over the village of Ildırı, with a theatre cut into the acropolis and a view over islands. It was famous in antiquity for the Erythraean Sibyl, a prophetess whose oracles were consulted across the Greek world; Michelangelo painted her on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
- Ovacık · On the way back, a farming village in the hills behind Çeşme, where the peninsula’s famous melons, artichokes and herbs grow on small fields between stone walls.
Getting to Cesme and getting around
- Çeşme Marina · The waterfront; ferries to Chios leave from the port beside it. İzmir airport is about an hour away
Cheap eats in Cesme
Çeşme’s street food is the kumru, a soft bun covered with sesame seeds, stuffed with spicy sausage, cheese and tomato and pressed on a hot grill — the Ilıca shops have made it for decades. The peninsula also eats wild herbs from the hills, served cooked in olive oil, artichokes in spring, melons in summer, and ice cream flavoured with mastic from Chios across the water. A kumru with ayran costs a few euro.
- Ilıca kumru · The kumru sandwich where it was made famous
- Alaçatı · Wild herbs in olive oil; the herb festival in spring
- Dalyan · The morning catch by the water
- Çeşme Marina · Mastic ice cream on the waterfront
- Germiyan · Village cooking inland
- Ovacık · Çeşme melons in summer
Museums in Cesme
Çeşme’s history is a frontier: an Ottoman castle facing a Greek island, the sea battle of 1770, a Greek town emptied in 1923, and an Ionian city on a hill.
- Çeşme Castle · The castle museum
- Ayios Haralambos · Art in a Greek church
- Erythrai · The city of the Sibyl
- Caravanserai · Suleiman’s inn
Nature and day trips near Cesme
The Çeşme peninsula is windy, dry and bright, with clear cold water from the open Aegean, sandy beaches on the south coast, and hot springs on the north.
- Alaçatı Bay · Windsurf lessons in shallow water
- Altınkum · Golden sand and cold clear water
- Pırlanta Beach · Dunes and kitesurfers
- Şifne · Thermal mud by the sea
Things to do in Cesme with kids
With children Çeşme is shallow beaches, a castle, a statue with a lion, and windsurf lessons in waist-deep water.
- Ilıca Beach · Shallow warm water
- Çeşme Castle · Climb the walls
- Hasan Pasha and his lion · The admiral and his lion
- Alaçatı Bay · Kids’ windsurf school
Holy places in Cesme
The peninsula’s churches were left empty in 1923 and turned to other uses, while the mosques of the Ottoman town still serve.
- Ayios Haralambos · The Greek church
- Alaçatı · The church that became a mosque
- Erythrai · The oracle of the Sibyl
Nightlife in Cesme
Çeşme is İzmir’s summer playground: beach clubs on the south coast, the bars of Alaçatı’s lanes, and the waterfront of the town until late.
- Alaçatı · The bar lanes on summer nights
- Altınkum · Beach clubs
- Çeşme Marina · The waterfront bars
- Pırlanta Beach · Sunset toward Chios
Frequently asked questions about Cesme
What is there to see in Cesme?
The top sights in Cesme are Çeşme Castle, Hasan Pasha and his lion and Caravanserai. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Cesme?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Cesme without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Cesme?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Cesme, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The town of the fountain.
How do you get to Cesme and get around?
The main ways are Çeşme Marina. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Cesme, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Cesme that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Cesme for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.