This was one of the most densely populated parts of the ancient world , with many famous cities to its name Troy , city of the Iliad and the Odyssey , and Smyrna , the birthplace of Homer ; Sardis , home of the wealthy King Croesus ; Ephesus , where St. Paul preached the gospels ; and Halicarnassus , birthplace of the historian Herodotus .
Thousands of ancient history buffs come to this region every year to see these famous places .