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| Aspendos | ||
| province | Antalya | |
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| Residents | unknown | |
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| height | unknown | |
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| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
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Aspendos is an ancient city on the Turkish Rivierawhich is visited for its ruins.
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Aspendos was like Perge and Side already at the height of the Hittite Empire in Ḫattuša founded. On coins from the 5th century BC One can still read the city name Estwediiys (Greek ΕΣΤFΕΔIIΥΣ). The Lydian king Croesus out Sardis took the city at the beginning of the 6th century, but already in 546 it became Persian, because the Persian Cyrus defeated Croesus. The Persian Xerxes gathered in 469 BC. A large army and fleet in front of Aspendos, to against Athens To wage war. The ancient river Eurymedon and today's river Köprü, on which Aspendos lies, was still navigable at that time. Today it silted up. The Athenian general Kimon put Xerxes to flight. Later in 386 BC The Persians lose against Sparta and retreat to conquer the cities of Asia Minor. When Alexander the Great approached, Aspendos bought himself free from a crew for a price of 50 gold talents (approx. 1000 kg gold) and horses. But since Aspendos did not want to pay, Alexander returned, occupied the city, asked for 50 gold talents twice and took rich citizens hostage. The city had grown rich with salt from Lake Kreoia. The lake dried up in summer and made salt production possible. Aspendos was also famous for horse breeding and local viticulture. In the 7th century AD, the Eurymedon and with it the main trade route increasingly silted up. In addition, the incursions of the Arabs made the situation increasingly unsafe. The city lost its importance and shrank to a small village. That changed, however, when the Seljuks ruled large parts of Turkey in the 13th century. They set up an important caravanserai here and not only relocated trade routes into the village. The Seljuks used the theater and repaired it for it. After the collapse of the Seljuk Empire, Aspendos shrank back to an insignificant village, until archeology and tourism rediscovered the place and, above all, the theater, which was so well preserved thanks to the Seljuks. The nearby tourist strongholds Antalya and Side ensure a steady stream of visitors and make Aspendos one of the most visited archaeological sites in Turkey.
getting there
It is 51 kilometers from the bus station in Antalya.
By plane
The nearest international airport is in Antalya (40 km to the west). From here, continue on the D400 road.
In the street
From Antalya you follow the D400 in the direction Side or. Alanya. After approx. 45 km after the village of Serik, turn left towards the hinterland, following the signs. After another 4km you reach Aspendos.
Especially from the beach holiday regions Antalya, Side or Kemer Numerous agencies offer transport, guided tours or tours (often in conjunction with Perge) at. These can usually also be booked directly from the all-inclusive hotel resorts. These are often much more expensive but usually not a tourist trap. On average, independent tour operators offer tours / transport at half price. But you should make sure beforehand that the tour does not include an undesirable long stay at the carpet dealer on the program.
There are numerous connections by bus from Side or Antalya with the village of Serik on the D400. From here there is a dolmuş to Aspendos every two hours.
mobility
The best way to get around is on foot. Many of the paths are only small paths and cannot be described as barrier-free. Fortunately, the highlights of Aspendos are outside the actual city so that parts of the theater and aqueduct can also be approached by car and viewed from there.
Tourist Attractions
Aspendos is particularly known for the theater and is minimized to this on many guided tours or round trips. It goes without saying that this actually does not do justice to this place. Even here some ruins are only something for archaeological lovers, but at least the aqueduct is often referred to by connoisseurs as the most beautiful aqueduct in Anatolia and should not be left out. Here is an overview of the ruins:
The city is essentially divided into two parts. The Acropolis, a natural hill on which the actual ancient city was to be found and in front of the buildings east of the Acropolis. The latter also features the visitor car park and entrance area to the archaeological site.
Upstream buildings in the east of the Acropolis:
- The Roman Theater (11). One of the largest and best preserved ancient theaters from the 2nd century AD is located in Aspendos, Rome. According to an inscription above one of the stage entrances, the building was financed by brothers named Curtius. The spectators sit in the lower part in 20 and in the upper part in 19 tiers. The upper ranks were partially subject to a permanent reservation. The names were engraved on the seat. 20 or 10 flights of stairs lead up to quickly fill the theater with 20,000 spectators. The upper row of seats is 95.5 m in diameter and the rear wall of the stage is 30 m high and 62 m wide. It used to be richly decorated with marble statues, some of which have been recovered and are in the museum in Antalya you can see. Operas and ballets are still performed here today. The Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival takes place here once a year[1]. In the past, concerts and other show events were also held here. On May 15th, 2005, for example, the ZDF "Wetten dass." aligned. In recent years, however, the masonry has increasingly suffered from these events, which is why the number of events has been reduced significantly. Despite everything, everyone can convince themselves of the excellent acoustics. From all seats, the speaker in the orchestra can be easily understood, which tourists like to test.
- The stadium (3). The stadium is located north of the theater and is 220 meters long and 30 meters wide. Parts of the grandstands and the shops below can still be seen. The best preserved part can be found on the northwest side (facing the Acropolis). All in all, the remains are quite bulky. Should still be on the sightseeing program Perge stand, you should walk past the stadium and save the time gained for the stadium in Perge.
- The bathroom (13). The bath is located south of the theater and consists of four rooms. These are undoubtedly the classic rooms apoditerium (changing room), frigidarium (cold water room), tepidarium (warm water room) and caldarium (hot water bath). An exact assignment could not be made so far.
- The Gymnasion (14). The high school is located in the southeast of the entire complex. Presumably it comes from a later building phase of the city in the 3rd century AD. Although the ruin has a lot of substance, even entire arches and parts of the ceiling have been preserved, so far no statement can be made about the exact use of the individual rooms. In general, high schools were places of sport and culture with sports rooms and bathing facilities.
The acropolis
- The north gate (2), east gate (5) and the south gate (12). Not much is left of the gates. And what is still there has not yet been excavated. The Acropolis was and is to be entered via a north gate near the aqueduct, an east gate north of the theater and a south gate south of the theater.
- The Agora (8). The central square in what was then the city. Even now it is still the center of tourist interests. All interesting buildings (except for the aqueduct) are located around the square, which has never been built either today or in antiquity.
- The basilica (9).. This can be found on the Acropolis southeast of the agora. The floor plan reveals a three-aisled building 105 meters long and 17 meters wide. The space below the basilica was previously used as a cistern. This was fed by rainwater. The floor of the square was slightly inclined towards a tunnel under the basilica, so that the rainwater was fed to it, which in turn filled the cisterns. At the top of the basilica is a 25 by 25 meter room, the walls of which have been preserved up to a height of 15 meters. A statue of Emperor Hadrian and his wife were found in each of these rooms. These are in the museum of Antalya to see.
- The Exedra (10). This building is at the south end of the basilica. The semicircular building used to have a dome and was used by philosophers to teach or give lectures of all kinds.
- The market hall (6). This is opposite the basilica at the agora. On an approximately 2 meter high platform, numerous two-story shops were to be found behind a colonnade. Much of it is not preserved today. The walls of thirteen shops have been preserved up to the height of the roof.
- The Nymphaion (7). This can be found on the Acropolis northeast of the agora. This is the central well and source of drinking water in the city center. Today there are still two floors with a total height of 15 meters. Since the architecture is similar to the stage of the theater, it can be assumed that it was built around the 2nd century AD. Traces on the fountain prove that the front was completely covered with marble in the past. It is very likely that there were various statues in the niches.
- The Bouleuterion (4). The bouleuterion can be found from the agora behind the Nymphaion and was the assembly hall of the city council and thus the town hall, so to speak. The entrance is on the east side of the building. There is also an altar and a tribune for the speakers. Archaeologists assume a wooden roof. Since there was no music hall (Odeon) in Aspendos, it is obvious that this building was also used for this. This building, too, probably dates back to the 2nd century AD.
- The aqueduct (1). The Aspendos aqueduct also dates back to the 2nd century AD and used to carry water to Aspendos over a length of fifteen kilometers. Of the total length, 1½ km can still be viewed in good condition. You can still see two water towers and large parts of the aqueduct and the supporting bridge in the first 1½ km long section. Before the construction of this water pipe, Aspendos was supplied with water using normal water pipes made of lead. However, no stable water pressure could be achieved here, so the lines were decided similarly to in Patara to be built from one meter long stone blocks ground into each other. These had a hole 28 cm in diameter inside to guide the water. The water towers were used to regulate the pressure and supply oxygen to the water. In addition, the otherwise straight course of the water pipe could be changed here. The height of the water towers is thirty meters. The line between the water towers is led on a straight bridge, which also served as a pedestrian bridge when the fertile pastures and fields below were regularly flooded in winter.
Practical advice
Entry (2018): 25 TL. Entry (2019): 42 TL., Children free. You can only pay with TL.
When visiting the facility beyond the theater, you should pay attention to sturdy, closed shoes. In addition, the facilities should be carefully explored, as there are still unsecured cisterns here.
literature
See also general travel guides for Turkey or the Turkish Riviera.
