I was actually on my way to Selcuk to explore the huge castle which sits on the top of a hill and was constructed by the Selcuk Turks who predate the Ottomans. Whilst driving along a secondary road from Didim via Söke to Selcuk on yet another European destination trip, I saw the turn off to Priene and, on the spur of the moment, decided to follow the sign.

The road is narrow and steep and after the first two bends, I saw three columns peeking over the dense tree tops, far up on the mountain.

I knew about Priene, one of the smallest and less visited remains of antiquity on Turkey’s west coast. Located north of Miletos, Priene was a Hellenistic city, albeit a minor one with, reportedly, no more than 5000 inhabitants. Yet, it was the site of an important  temple dedicated to Athena Polias.

It was Alexander the Great who, during his siege of Miletos stayed in Priene in 334 BC and ordered the temple to Athena be built by the same architect who also designed Halikarnassos. The temple is considered an example of the purest Ionic style and a smaller version of the same statue of the goddess which was placed  in the Parthenon in Athens graced her Priene temple.

Legend has it, that Alexander the Great was resting atop a hill surrounding Smyrna, which is today Izmir and being so impressed with what he saw, that he decided to found the city.

I can just envision him, doing the same here in Priene, devising strategies to  conquer mighty and powerful Miletos and coming to the conclusion that  a bit of help from the goddess of war might be useful for his endeavour.

What distinguishes Priene from other historical sites like Ephesus or Troy is that it’s glued to a steep mountain side and grants a sweeping view of the plain below. This location may also be the reason that Priene never became a big city and, although there are city walls, remains of houses and an agora, the center was always the temple.

Parking the car in the tiny parking lot, I look around and see with satisfaction, that access for big tour buses is impossible. No crowds can ever at any one time invade a spot which exudes peace, silence and serenity the moment you approach.

A footpath which mostly consists of pebbles, small rocks and, finally, several very steep stone steps, brings the columns which I had seen from below into view.

Surrounded by leafy trees, softly swaying in the wind and  to the twitter of birds, five graceful Ionic columns have remained standing from the original 66.

The basis of the temple shows inscriptions in Greek and, when you walk towards the remains of the agora, you need to be careful not to step too far out or you might tumble down the mountain.

I thought that, if I were Athena, this was the place where I would come to  put down my weapons and rest my feet if I were tired of my responsibilities for the good people of Athens, all the wars I needed to watch over, my beef with Poseidon and all the other demands which were made to the goddess. Alexander, of course, might not have approved.

It doesn’t take long to tour the site, but it’s well worth a visit because it’s so picturesque and different.

Back on the road towards Selcuk, just after the modern town of Güllübahce which is located next to Priene, you don’t find ‘Rosegardens’ (the translation of the Turkish name) but a variety of particularly nice Turkish cafes with out door ovens. Enticed by the smell of freshly baked bread we stopped for a belated Turkish breakfast of cheese, boiled egg, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, butter, honey and hot, fluffy pide to recharge batteries for the next climb to the castle of Selcuk.