Things to do
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Alaçatı Surf Beach
A shallow flat-water bay with a dependable afternoon meltemi, which is why it holds a round of the PWA world windsurfing tour and why the schools here take complete beginners. The peninsula's surf schools are based along it, renting windsurf, kitesurf and paddleboard kit, and the water stays waist-deep a long way out from the beach.
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Çeşme Castle
An Ottoman fortress built in 1508 under Bayezid II after two Venetian raids on the town, with moats on three sides and six bastions. Silting has left it slightly inland of the harbour it once stood over. The ramparts are walkable and take in the strait to Chios, and the town museum and the summer music festival are both inside.
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Çeşme Museum
The castle's own museum, covering the peninsula from the Ionian settlements through the Ottoman port and the naval battle of 1770 fought in the bay outside. One hall holds finds from rescue excavations at Erythrae, including coins and amphorae, another Archaic, Roman and Byzantine lamps and figurines, and the whole museum is entered through the castle.
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Delikli Koy
A rocky cove on the western tip near Ayayorgi, at the far end of a peninsula that is Turkey's westernmost point, with clear deep water and no sand. It is reached by a track from the Çeşme road, and it is where locals swim when Ilıca is full.
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Ilıca Beach
A long sand bay of about 1.5 km on the north side of the peninsula, where hot springs rise through the seabed, so the shallows stay warm into autumn. It began as a summer retreat for wealthy İzmir families, still has mud baths, and is now the busiest beach on the peninsula and popular with families.
