Features and sights of interest

The Cyclopean walls surrounding the temenos of the temple of Zeus Osogoa (called Zeus Carios, the Carian Zeus) are still visible, as well as a row of fourteen columns.

The eighteenth-century English traveller Richard Pococke relates, in his Travels, having seen the temple of Augustus here; its materials have since partially been taken by Turks to build a mosque.

There is also a two-storied tomb, the Distega, apparently a copy of the famous tomb of Mausolus in Halicarnassus, who was native of Mylasa.

There are a number of historical Turkish buildings in Milas, dating from both the Menteşe and the Ottoman periods. A number of old houses built in the nineteenth or early twentieth century that have been preserved in their original appearance are worthy of mention.

Milas carpets and rugs woven of wool have been internationally famous for centuries and bear typical features. In our day, they are no longer produced in the city of Milas, but rather in a dozen villages around Milas. For the whole territory of Milas district, up to 7000 weavers' looms remain active, either full-time or at intervals following the demand, which remains quite lively both in Turkey and abroad.

Beçin Castle, the capital of Menteşe Beys, is situated at the dependent township of Beçin, at a distance of 5 kilometers from Milas city. The fortress has been restored in 1974, and the compound includes two mosques, two medreses, a hamam, as well as the remains of a Byzantine chapel.