Milas
An old inland town near Bodrum, once capital of Caria and of the Menteşe beylik.
The Turkish name
Milas
At a glance
- Province
- Muğla
- Ancient name
- Mylasa
- Landmark
- Beçin castle, seat of the Menteşe beylik
- Known for
- Milas carpets, olives, Labraunda
Read more
This page was written from these sources.
- Beçin ↗Vikipedi · Checked 2026-09-23
- Menteşe Beyliği ↗Vikipedi · Checked 2026-09-23
The story
Milas sits on a wide, fertile plain in Muğla, on the road many travellers pass through on the way to Bodrum. Its ancient name was Mylasa, and it served as a capital of Caria and, much later, of the Menteşe beylik, the Turkish principality that ruled this corner of Anatolia before the Ottomans.
Five kilometres south, Beçin castle, a Byzantine fortress rebuilt by the Menteşeoğulları, became the beylik's seat of government; UNESCO added Beçin to its tentative World Heritage list in 2012. In the hills to the north lies the sanctuary of Labraunda, once joined to Mylasa by a sacred road, and the ruins of Euromos stand at Selimiye.
In town, the Gümüşkesen tomb of the 2nd century AD is a small model of the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos. Milas is known for its carpets and its olives, and Milas–Bodrum Airport, 12 km from the centre, carries its name.
