A small antique town on the shores of the Aegean Sea, the center of Hellenistic culture, art and architecture, built on picturesque terraces and steep mountain slopes. This is what Priene looked like in the 4th century BC, founded by the ancient Greeks and buried under feet of alluvial soil today. Recapture from the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great, the city was to become an exemplary center of Macedonian culture, led by a temple built in honor of the goddess Athena. The inscription on a stone board, which says about the dedication of the temple to the goddess of wisdom, is kept in the British Museum. The cult of Athena is also evident from other ancient artifacts - the head of a goddess in a military helmet was depicted on Priene's coins. Other sanctuaries, the stone ruins of which can be seen today, were the temples of Demeter and Isis, Asclepius and Anubis, as well as the ancient Priene synagogue, dating back to the 2nd century AD. Despite the fact that Priene lasted only a few centuries, it was a very wealthy city, as evidenced by the numerous urban buildings of pure marble with inside toilets and fountains, which in those days was considered a luxury. Even in such large Greek cities as Athens, most of the people used the water of public fountains and did not have a separate sewage system for each house. Nowadays the remains of the original Priene are still inaccessible to archaeological research, and excavations on the territory of the ancient city have been regularly conducted for many years. But even those ruins that are open to the public today can amaze experienced travelers. Cobbled streets, walls and stairs, terraces and doorways, a Hellenistic theatre and Roman baths, as well as a large stadium, are considered to be the most preserved whole ancient city in Turkey.