The little island that gives Kusadasi its name sits just off the seafront, joined to the town by a causeway you can stroll across in a few minutes. Guvercinada, Pigeon Island, is crowned by a small stone fortress with roots in the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, once part of the town's sea defences against pirates and raiders. Today it is a green park: paths wind between walls, gardens and cafes, and from the ramparts you get the classic view back over Kusadasi's harbour, marina and the hills behind. The setting marina is one of the largest on the Turkish Aegean, packed with yachts, and the streets just inland form the old quarter, where a handsome seventeenth-century caravanserai and a maze of bazaar lanes recall the town's trading past. It is an easy, pleasant place to walk in the cool of late afternoon, ending with tea or a meal by the water as the sun goes down over the sea.
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