Alabanda: Hıstorical Geography, Topography, Survey and Excavations

Today, the ancient settlement is located on approximately 7 km western side of çine district of aydın province, and the settlement is situated towards the western side of the stream marsyas (çine). it is one of the most important cities in the central caria. in the founding myth of the city, ala” is said to mean 'horse' and “banda” means 'victory' in carian language. in regard to the earliest settlements, the name of this settlement was waliwanda in hittite texts and the first excavations of alabanda were carried out by halil edhem bey in the years 1904 -1905. then excavations were carried out by emin yener and assoc.prof. suat ateşlier on behalf of aydın museum. and since 2015, a team headed by assoc. prof. ali yalçın tavukçu continues to shed light on the history of alabanda. to this day, castle walls, theater, temples, agora,bouleuterion, baths, stadium, nymphaeum, aqueducts, churches and mausoleums have been identified in the ancient city and a large number of sarcophagus have been identified in the necropolis of the ancient city.