Etymology
The name comes from 'kuş' (bird) and 'ada' (island) as the peninsula has the shape of a bird's head (as seen from the sea). It was known as Ephesus Neopolis during theByzantine era, and later as Scala Nova or ScalaNuova under the Genovese and Venetians.Kuş-Adası was adopted in its place at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, citizens of Kuşadası often shorten the name to Ada.
Antiquity
The area has been a centre of art and culture since the earliest times and has been settled by many civilizations since being founded by the Leleges people in 3000 BC. Later settlers include theAeolians in the 11th century BC and Ionians in the 9th century. Originally seamen and traders the Ionians built a number of settlements on this coast including Neopolis.
An outpost of Ephesus in ancient Ionia known as Pygela (Πύγελα), the area between the Büyük Menderes (Maeander) and Gediz (Hermos) rivers, the original Neopolis is thought to have been founded on the nearby point of YılancıBurnu. Later settlements were probably built on the hillside of Pilavtepe, in the district called Andızkulesi today. Kuşadası was a minor port frequented by vessels trading along the Aegean coast. In antiquity it was overshadowed by Ephesus, until Ephesus' harbor silted up. From the 7th century BC onwards the coast was ruled by Lydians from their capital at Sardis, then from 546 BC the Persians, and from 334 BC along with all of Anatolia the coast was conquered by Alexander the Great. From then onwards the coastal cities in Anatoliawere a centre of Hellenistic culture.
Rome and Christianity
The Roman Empire took possession of the coast in the 2nd century BC and made it their provincial capital and in the early years of Christianity. St John the Evangelist and (according to Roman Catholic sacred tradition) Mary (mother of Jesus) both came to live in the area, which in the Christian era became known as "Ania"
