Küçük Menderes ("Little Meander"), Cayster River, Caystrus River or Kaystros River () is a river south of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It generally flows westward and arrives at the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

at Pamucak beach, near

Selçuk Selçuk is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 317 km2, and its population is 38,151 (2022). The town Selçuk is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, o ...

. The ancient city of

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

was once an important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

on the river, but over the centuries,

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

ation gradually filled in the inlet around the city. The ancient port of Panormus was near its mouth. The coastlines moved seaward, and the ruins of Ephesus are now some inland from the coast. Its tributaries are the Fertek, Uladı, Ilıca, Değirmen, Aktaş, Rahmanlar, Prinçci, Yuvalı, Ceriközkayası, Eğridere, Birgi, Çevlik and Keles. The river is currently just north of the

Büyük Menderes Büyük means "big" in Turkic languages and may refer to: People Given name * Büyük Jeddikar (1929–2013), Iranian retired footballer * Büyük Vatankhah (born 1943), Iranian retired footballer Surname * Adem Büyük (born 1987), Turkish ...

("Great Meander") River; both rivers have often changed their course.

References

Rivers of Turkey Landforms of İzmir Province {{Turkey-river-stub