Marmaris is located on the site of the ancient city of Fiskos. On its territory, as in many cities in Turkey, the old town has been preserved virtually intact. This city was ruled by many civilisations: Carians, Minoans, Rhodesians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Ionians, Dorians, Macedonians, Syrians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans. In Fiskos, one can find traces of all these great peoples. Today the town occupies only the top of a hill in the northern part of Marmaris. This place is known as the archaeological centre of Ashartepe.
An ancient acropolis is located here, about two kilometres north of the from the current bay. Archaeological excavations are still ongoing on its territory, the findings of which reveal to the world more and more new monuments of that time. Nowadays you can see the ruins of the old walls, of which little has survived. It is believed that the inhabitants of Fiskos were forced to destroy the city rather than give it to Alexander the Great. But the main Ashartepe's attraction is the remains of an ancient fortress, built by the Greeks three thousand years before Christ.Archaeological excavations are still ongoing on its territory, the findings of which reveal to the world more and more new monuments of that time.
After the decline of Fiskos in the second century BC, the foundations of Ashartepe's buildings and the Ashartepe stone slabs were dismantled to build new structures elsewhere or used as ballast for ships.Archaeological excavations are still ongoing on its territory, the findings of which reveal to the world more and more new monuments of that time.
A lot has happened in these places since then: the city has been conquered many times, destroyed, rebuilt again, but the remains of the fortress give us information about of past events. Today there is a museum where you can get acquainted traditional Turks' dwelling, visit the exhibition of paintings, as well as examine the amphorae of antiquity. In addition, there is a beautiful courtyard, the so-called living part of the museum, where beautiful peacocks walk around the luxurious garden.
