Ancient Sites

While we are currently in Rovinj, Croatia (just around the corner from—and east of—Venice, Italy), we’ve got some catching up to do. So in this blog we are still back in Turkey…

A modern country with all the conveniences, Turkey is home to some of the earliest sites of human habitation found. While the oldest are in Eastern Turkey near the Syrian border, there are any number of interesting archeological places to explore in Antalya.

Three pop to mind immediately (from all the signs advertising tours of them, I suppose): Aspendos with a magnificent theater; Perge and its rows of columns; and Termessos, extensive but completely undeveloped. They are all ancient: Aspendos was first settled around 1000 BCE, and Perge about 600 BCE. Termessos has the distinction of being one of the very few cities that successfully resisted defeat by Alexander the Great, so it was thriving in the 4^th Century BCE.

We didn’t go to Aspendos, as it is a bit outside Antalya and we never worked out the logistics. Perge is an easy 40-minute tram ride (on the new tram!), then a short hop by taxi. Termessos is far outside the city. We were quite fortunate in that our host in Antalya, Fuat, offered to take us there. It’s up in the mountains, a good hour by car, so a tour or a taxi are about the only ways for the car-less traveler to get there.

Museum

 Ah, but there is a fourth site well worth mentioning: the archeological museum in Antalya, right at the end of the old tram line. We went there on one of the few rainy days we had, and were astonished at the collection of Roman statuary. Most of the statues come from Perge. There is also a great collection of stone sarcophagi from the Anatolian region, plus some pottery and carvings from very ancient sites. The hours we spent there flew by. Apart from the wonder of the impressive displays and astonishing artifacts, our visit also gave us a good context for our later visits to Perge and Termessos.

Tiny figurines. Upper and left are from around 6000 BCE.

Some of the extraordinary work of the artists of Perge; probably 2nd C. CE (Roman).

Floor mosaics recovered from Pergre.

The Anatolya museum houses an extensive and amazing collection of statuary from Perge.

There's also a rich collection of carved stone tombs from the Antalya area.

Some of the sarcophagi have incredible carvings.

Perge

The easiest site to access: 40 minutes or so on the new tram (as distinct from the old, or nostalgia, tram), then a 10-minute taxi ride. We arrived in the late morning, and there was exactly one other couple there (by the time we left several other people had showed up—the advantage of off-season travel!). While Perge has been around for a long time, founded sometime in the 6^th Century BCE—and one of the very many cities that swore allegiance to Alexander the Great in the 2^nd Century BCE—the on-going restoration is from the later Roman era, around the 2^nd Century CE. (While in Antalya, the Emperor Hadrian paid a visit to Perge, so he’s got a gate named for him there, as well as in the city of Antalya).

Perge, a very extensive Roman site.

How did they do that? 1800 years old and still standing! But I'm not walkin' under that...

The reconstructed agora (marketplace) of Perge.

The site is quite large (in fact, I found after we left that I’d missed about half of it!. Thankfully Paula was more aware. It would have helped if we'd seen the scale model set up at the entrance.) It is in the process of being excavated and restored; the many columns we saw have been set up in a way that makes sense to the archeologists (and so are likely in their original spots—but who knows for sure?). Many statues, whole and in parts, have been found, and are now in the museum in the city of Antalya. Apparently, though, the original location of most are not known. Many of the walls that have been uncovered have niches, but no one knows what was placed where.

Niche: "a shallow recess in a wall to display a statue." But what statue went where??

A decorative aqueduct serving the city (similar to one in the modern town of Antalya today!).

Like every site we’ve visited—and there have been many!—Perge leaves strong impressions. People have been here for a long, long time. Those Romans, such builders! And explorers. And conquers. And administrators! Perge, like many Roman cities, had (has?) a large market place (covered, in the original plan), impressive waterworks and aqueducts, neat rows of stone houses, huge public works (temples, gates, towers).  All this had to be planned, built, maintained, and paid for. Each of which is a feat unto itself! So yeah, Perge is an indication of a pretty advanced civilization.

Arches! The Romans were big on arches. Top right: above the theater. Lower right: arched chambers supporting seats in the stadium (the spaces were used for shops... just like today!)

 

Paula looking for her seat in the theater.

In the top view of the theater, note the light-colored band of carved marble along the back of the stage. Below, a detail of these intricate decorative carvings. Theaters were always important in Roman cities!

Perge is still under excavation. I watched as diggers lifted shovelfuls of dirt onto a slow-moving conveyor belt that was picked over by a couple of women with hand trowels, pulling out any shards or artifacts. And large areas of the grounds near the entry are covered with bits and pieces—some quite large—of columns and lintels and arches and who-knows-what, all decorated with intricate carvings.

Incredible stone carvings are everywhere!

I find this level of detail and symmetry--carved into solid stone--mind boggling. (Background: arched chambers under the stadium, where shops probably sold the Roman equivalent of hot dogs and beer.)

Odds and ends waiting to be identified and assembled.

While our outing to Perge was fun and rewarding, it was not the most intense, nor the most satisfying, of the ancient sites we visited. For that, we'll have to wait for the next blog!