The Carians settled in south western part of Anatolia, between the Menderes River and Köycegiz Lake and named this area as Caria.
The Datça Peninsula was also located within these borders, and today it's in the Aegean region of Turkey.
Around 1000 BC Dorians invaded the southern part of Caria and established the Dorian Hexapolis
with the cities of Cnidus (near Datça), Halicarnassos (modern Bodrum), Cos (Greek island), Kamiros, Lindos and Ialissos (the last three were in Rhodes). Cnidus was also the center of this City Union. It had quite an
effective political and economic structure considering the period.
Some of the important sights to visit in Datça are;
The mosque in Hizirsah village was inherited from the Seljuks
period. It has been restored and is well worth seeing. Eski Datça (Old Datça, 4 km) with beautiful old stone houses, holiday and permanent residences of many Europeans and Turks, is showing typical architecture of
the area. Regular minibus services are available to Eski Datca. Cnidus was famous for its naked statue of Aphrodite. Kizlan and its windmills, which have become a symbol for Datça, is worth visiting. There are the remains
of some ceramic manufactures between Old Datça and Hizirsah village which have been worked during the 4th century BC.
