Söke: Domatia = Doğanbey

Although the area we visited after leaving the ruins of Priene has a history dating back to the 7th century BCE, we didn’t go that far back in time.

The original inhabitants of the old village of Domatia — now known as Doğanbey — consisted of a group of Greeks, who in the 1850s were allowed to settle here by the order of Abdülaziz, the Ottoman Sultan of that period. This Greek community lived here until the population exchange of 1924 that followed the end of the Turkish War of Independence. After they departed, some of the Turks who left Greece in the same population exchange settled in the village.

The village is a mix of old and new stone buildings … some still in ruins … others restored to fit in with the historic ambiance. We wandered around the cobblestone streets first, Then we peeked into the visitor center established to introduce the native flora and fauna of the Meander River Delta National Park … which sits on the same peninsula as the village.

We wrapped up our visit at a café where we enjoyed homemade lemonade and black mulberry juice … and nibbled on kourabiyedes and gözleme … a little sustenance before the 70-mile drive back home to Alsancak.Read more