The ancient city of Knidos (Cnidus in some texts) existed in the fourth century BC, and was once highly advanced in science, architecture and the arts. Great astronomer and mathematician Eudoxus, physician Euryphon, renowned painter Polygnotus, sculptor Praxiteles who created the masterpiece “Aphrodite of Knidos” and architect Sostratus who designed the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, all lived at Knidos. The sundial that Eudoxus developed, the pedestal of the Aphrodite statue (the statue itself has been lost to time), an 8,000-person amphitheatre, the Temple of Demeter are among the remains of this populous ancient city that can still be seen today.

Knidos was once surrounded with 15-kilometre city walls and had three entrance gates; two on the northern and one on the eastern wall. The acropolis was located on a hill northeast of the city. As far as is understood from the surviving ruins, the town used to have two theatres, one Odeon, two temples, a stoa, an agora, and a number of other buildings. The most interesting among them was perhaps the Temple of Aphrodite.

According to the historian Strabo, the military port was large enough to hold 20 warships and its entrance used to be closed off with chains when necessary; whereas the second, commercial port to the south used to have a windbreaker extending out from both sides.

Marble, a locally-quarried stone was used often in Knidos architecture and art. Many works of art unearthed here during the excavations run by C. T. Newton in the mid-1800s were sent to the British Museum and are still on display there. Blue cruise writer Azra Erhat notes: “To be able to understand this, one would need to look at the marble artefacts that have been left in place on the one hand, and on the other, see the masterpieces exhibited singularly in large halls at the British Museum; and to consider what this means.”