Route 15 - Amos Mountain Track v4

Category: Moderate
Distance: 8.2 km
Time: 4.0 hours

A moderate, circular walk partly on paved roads and partly on a rough mountain track, leading to the ruins of Amos Antik Kenti (the ancient city of Amos ). The ruins, thought to date back to around 200 BCE, are in surprisingly good condition, and are a must see for anyone visiting the area.

The walk takes about four hours, although you should allow longer on a really hot day. The route uses a mountain track on the outgoing sections. The track is way marked and mostly very easy to follow but does include some sections over rough loose stone.

To visit the ruins you leave the road for a short distance but the path is in good condition and there are wooden steps to aid the climb to the ruins themselves. Alternatively you can take a rest and enjoy the views before embarking on the return to Turunç via the paved road.

Amos dates to the Hellenistic era and now consists of an amphitheatre on the side of the hill, a temple and statue pedestals. Surrounded by ramparts dating back to the same time, this amphitheater is in good condition, including its seating area, side walls and stage with three chambers. Excavations in 1948 by Professor George Evards Bean revealed four inscriptions, which mentioned three rental contracts, thought to date from around 300 to 200 BCE.


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Amos Mountain Track
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Mountain goat

View the complete route in Google Maps:

1 - Mosque to Antik roundabout (550m)

The walk starts at the village Mosque in the middle of Turunç. From here, proceed south along the main street, with the sea on your left, cross over the canal bridge toward Palette Bar. Follow the road up a gentle hill to MyMeriç Hotel. Here keep right, with the Veranda restaurant on your right, and continue following the road.

Another road joins from the right and shortly after you pass the closed Turunç petrol station on your right. A little further and you reach a large road junction - Antik Restaurant will be on your right and a small roundabout in front of you.

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Amos Mountain Section 1
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Antik roundabout

2 - Antik roundabout to Villas (490m)

Turn left at the Antik roundabout, following the sign to Amos. After about 150m, as the road starts to climb, watch out for the turning on your right (37 Sokak leading to 39 Sokak) that is the start of the mountain track.

Ascend the hill, keeping to the left, ignoring roads and tracks off to your right, and the road leads to the gate of some private villas.

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Section 2 map
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Start of 37 Sokak

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Ascend 39 Sokak, keeping left

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Villa Gate, follow the wall

3 - Villas to Amos Profesörler Sitesi (1.74 km)

From the villa gates go straight ahead, keeping the villa walls on your left. Follow the walls as the dirt track ascends until the track drops down into a little valley.

As you drop down into the valley, look to your right. The path has been damaged by the logging work following the forest fires. Follow the zig-zag logging track and look for two stone cairns – the first is on a tree stump and the second marks the start of the track.

The track here is overgrown and indistinct for a short distance as it heads up the mountain, but look out for the red waymarkers as the path turns left.

From here the track is reasonably easy to follow and is way marked with red and white paint on the rocks. The ascent is straightforward although care is required in a few places. Once on the top the route is easy, with a little caution required where the mountain drops down in places on your left.

Take a moment to enjoy the views back to Turunç village ... and out to the south.

The descent is steep in a few parts and, due to the loose rock, requires caution However the majority is a very pleasant walk. As you approach the road (you will see it on your left) you will follow a fence line on your right and then turn left to join the Turunç to Amos road.

On joining the road, turn right to visit the Amos ruins (or turn left if you are ready to return and follow the road back to Turunç). A further 200m or so and, on a bend, you will pass the entrance to the Amos Profesörler Sitesi. Here you will find the famous Amos White Houses, at the top end of the site, and Amos Red Houses lower down. Formerly holiday homes for staff from Marmarar and Anadolu universities, they are now largely privately owned.

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Section 3 map
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Drop down into valley

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Follow the arrow to find the cairns

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Look for the 2 cairns

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Cairn marks start of ascent

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Views back to the village

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Views to the south

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Amos Profesörli Sitesi from the beach end of the site.

4 - Amos Profesörler Sitesi to AmosRuins (1.9 km)

The road continues for around 500m until you reach the ancient city of Amos. There is plenty of interesting scenery, flora and fauna to keep your interest as you approach this fascinating historical site. There is a clear sign showing the entrance to the site.

At the entrance the track leaves the road but is clearly marked and recently refurbished with new signs and wooden step on the steeper parts. The ancient ruins are quite unique and well worth the effort.

It is about 220m to the summit - look out for the remnants of the City Walls on the way up.

At the summit you can turn right to visit the Theatre or left to go to the 'panoramic view area'.

A visit to the Ancient Theatre is essential. The whole site has never been fully excavated and you can sit in the theatre and view the stage while soaking in the atmosphere; this is a completely unspoiled site.

From the Theatre walk a few meters to View Point 2 and you can enjoy spectacular views over Kumlubükü Bay.

400m from View Point 2 you will find the spectacular Amos view point. This has stunning views over the Amos Profesörler Sitesi to your left, the Mediterranean straight ahead, and Kumlubükü Bay to your right.

Watch out for the variety of insect and plant life on your way. When you are ready, retrace your steps and return to the road for the return journey.

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Section 4 map
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Entrance to Amos Antik Kenti

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Exploring the ruins

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City Walls

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Theatre or Panoramic View?

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View over Kumlubükü Bay

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Amos Theatre

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View from Amos View Point

5 - Return via road (3.5 km)

When you get back to the road from the Amos ruins, turn right. The return to Turunç follows the road all the way back to the village centre, although you can rejoin the mountain track if you prefer.

Approximately 200m after passing the Amos Profesörler Sitesi, on a bend, you will see the start of the mountain track on your left. You can turn left here and retrace the mountain track or continue on the road to make the return more interesting.

Continuing on the road for another 600m and you will pass the Turunç Sewerage Works set down towards the sea on your right - you probably won't want to linger here on a hot day!

A further 300m brings you to View Point 1 and an amazing view across the Mediterranean.

From View Point 1 the road meanders downhill, passing the large Turunç Hotel on your right, emerging at the Antik roundabout where you turn right.

Passing the old petrol station on your left, keep right at the Yunus (Dolphin) Restaurant and at the My Meriç Hotel keep left onto the main street leading you back to the village Mosque and the end of your walk.

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Section 5 map
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View Point

Feedback on Route 15 - Amos Mountain Track v4

Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Rich: 04 Oct 2023)
Hi thanks for the guide. Did it today 04/10/23. 30+ deg. Was quite sheltered due to the cliff face. Hard to find the start of the track past the house on the track but managed due to the forest fire where they have cleared it. Not impossible though and with the gpx loaded into my suunto was done in a minute. Track has some drops and not for beginners. Set off at 9. walked to ruins then a steep walk down to Amos beach to cool off. Then returned by the road which took 41min from beach to turunc.
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Elizabeth: 07 Jun 2023)
We followed this route in June 2023. Sadly many of the way markers are no longer visible following the fires, very easy to stray off the track and get tangled up in the brambles. We had to abandon the track and we came back via the road, safer option.
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Ian: 02 May 2022)
Great walk to start the holiday. Route clear, and clearly marked. Rocky under foot to keep you alert and not too strenuous. Lots of photo opportunities towards Marmaris and Turunc. The open ruins at Amos were a treat for someone used to managed sites in UK. With no-one else at the site I really enjoyed investigating. Stunning views of Amos bay and Kumlubükü bay from the Amos view point. Journey back by road in the shade was a bonus.
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Tina and Mike: 05 May 2019)
A great walk with clear way markers in both red and white and also blue arrows. Quite rocky underfoot and the bushes are a little overgrown in places. It is worth it for the magnificent views alone. It took us about 2 hours to get there as we kept stopping to take photos and to look at the abundance of wild flowers. A walk with an ancient ruin at the end has to be pretty perfect and we sat with our picnic at the top of the Amos ancient theatre and enjoyed the views. We returned by the road , which was quicker but no comparison to the lovely mountain walk. Thank you for publishing/ maintaining the walks on this website. We plan to do some others during our stay here.
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Paul Boreham: 10 Jul 2016)
an excellent, enjoyable walk with great views. A clearly defined path with a number of painted markers. Does require good foot ware and remember to take plenty of water.
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Sue: 28 Oct 2015)
This was a great walk with enough challenge in terms of exercise and the views amazing! I did it in walking sandals and was fine - flip flops - NO! if you take kids they should be used to walking and old enough to do exactly what they are told as there are sheer drops - but no need to go very near the edge.We set out out at 8.30am so as to avoid the sun at its hottest (even in October) and once we reached the Roman ruins of Amos, we continued along the road and planned to get the dolmus back to Turunc. As luck would have it, a taxi stopped so we avoided the 30 min wait and paid 5TL each to be dropped at the door of our apartment in good time for a glass of wine and early lunch!! A fab walk and thank you to those of you who have put this website up. The directions and photos were invaluable.
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar (Steve Fawcett: 26 Oct 2015)
A great walk far preferable to the road in my opinion as you get higher and therefore better views. The view improves as you turn every corner on the climb. Not really one for flip flops but not overly strenuous if you are mobile. There are plenty of places to sit and admire the view if you need it.
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