The Perfect Harmony of Nature and History, Aydın The Most Beautiful Earth Under the Sky Created by God (Herodotus) The Büyük Menderes Basin (Büyük Menderes Havzası), known as the “Valley of Civilizations” with its favorable climate and fertile land, has witnessed an intense cultural development throughout history. Aydın has an important place in this cultural process. According to the archaeological finds, the city goes back to 4,500 BCE. The first mention about Aydın was in Hittite sources. Tralleis, the city of architects and physicians and the city of “Seikilos”, the first written musical notation in history was the ancient settlement of Aydın. The region hosts many important ancient cities such as Tralleis, Aphrodisias, Miletos, Alinda, Alabanda, Nysa, Magnesia, Amyzon, Panionion, Neopolis, Mastaura, Antiokya, Gerga, Akharaka, Harpasa, Piginda, Orthosia, Phygela. Aydın, a modern city which was the vilayet center of the Ottoman empire, looks like an open-air museum with its cultural and natural assets. It is one of the important tourism cities that has embraced many civilizations throughout history and where you can see the traces of history from past to present. Aydın, where the magnificent nature and the sea are in harmony with cultural and archaeological values, is a unique tourism city that must be seen in the Aegean Region.