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İstanbul, Türkiye
terrazas
-Nova santiye cafe
-sohbet durum evi menu 2€
-kebap house restaurant and cafe (pasta turca)
-hammam traidicional :mihrimah sultan
mezquitas
-santa sofia
-suleiman
-rustem pasa
buen desayuno
yigit sofram gozleme ve kahvalti
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İzmir, Türkiye
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Pergamon Ancient City, Türkiye
4h from Istambul
2h to Ephesus in Selçuk
history
Pergamon was established in 301 BC by Lysimachus, King of Thrace. Unfortunately
for the king, Thrace soon collapsed and Pergamon became the capital of a new
kingdom, also called Pergamon. The Attalids, who ruled the new kingdom, were
allies with Rome and were said to rule the area with generosity, helping the
cities in their domain to thrive.
In 133, after the then-ruler failed to produce a male heir, Pergamon was
bequeathed to Rome. Sustaining a couple hundred years of decline, the city was
then restored and expanded by Emperor Hadrian (yes, he of the wall), who built
temples, the theatre, a stadium, and a fancy spa. At its peak, 200,000 people
lived in Pergamon. Just like Ephesus, the city was badly damaged by the
earthquake in 262 and soon after, was sacked by those nasty Goths.
Fast-forward to 1878, when Carl Humann, a German engineer, began to excavate the
site with the co-operation of the Turkish government. Fragments of the site were
shipped to Berlin, where they were reconstructed and eventually put on display
in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin
[http://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/pergamonmuseum/home.html]. Until
2020, you won’t be able to visit the altar though – the rooms housing the
Pergamon artifacts are under construction.
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Selçuk, Türkiye
history of Ephesus
Built by Greek colonists in the 10th Century BC, Ephesus was established as a
port and became the Western Terminus of the Silk Road. From Ephesus, goods were
shipped by sea to Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries. But that
wasn’t all that was being shipped. After the Romans took over in around 100BC,
Ephesus became the world capital of slave trading for about 200 years. In 262,
Ephesus was devastated by an earthquake and then sacked by the Goths. Around the
same time, the port silted up and Ephesus was never the same again. In 1869,
British engineer J. T. Wood began excavations at the site in the name of the
British Museum. About 30 years later, the Austrian Archaeological Institute took
over and they are still excavating Ephesus today!
- From Izmir, Kusadasi, & Selcuk: Day Trip to Explore Ephesus
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Aphrodisias Ancient City, Türkiye
History
Aphrodisias ancient city is home to the Temple of Aphrodite and a famous marble
sculpture school whore marble products were known over the Roman world.
Aphrodisias: Is the city of Aphrodite, the Goddness of Love... Only 2:20h drive
from Izmir or 50 min away from Pamukkale, it’s really worthwhile seeing.
Aphrodisias is one of the most amazing places in the region and hardly any
tourist go there, so be prepared that you will be pretty much alone to enjoy
this amazing site!
Aphrodisias is in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List
[http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1691/] since July 9th, 2017
Take your time to see the Museum inside and if you want to see/walk all over the
site, it can take you easily 1,5 hours minimum. Don't miss seeing the Stadium!
Open from 08:00 to 19:00, in winter times only until 17:00. You can enter with
the Müzekart
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Hierapolis, Türkiye
tips and advice
*
* The site is open every day from 8am to 7pm. (To avoid crowds, we clearly
recommend that you come to the opening)
* The entrance fee is 50 TL 200TL (price August 2022). The entrance fee
includes access to Pamukkale, Hierapolis but this does not include the
thermal baths at the top of the site (50 TL more for bathing in these hot
springs… we do not think is especially worth it)
* The exit of the site is final. If like us you come at the opening, you will
not be able to go out in the middle of the day and then come back for sunset.
You’ll have to pay again an entrance fee.
* Duration of the visit: If you only want to see the pools then this would
probably take about 1 hour…. But it would REALLY be a shame not to go see
Hierapolis. We spent 5 hours on the site and had plenty of time to enjoy it.
* 2 entrances are located at the top of the site (where buses arrive). If you
are travelling independently, the easiest way is to enter through the
entrance located in the village (point 2 on the map).
* We really recommend that you come on your own! Many agencies organize tours
from the coast but these tours are really fast… Many hours of driving and
very little time on site. Most of the groups did not stay more than 2 hours,
which is not enough to visit Hierapolis. If you don’t have the time to come
by yourself you can check the organized tours here
[https://www.novo-monde.com/go/getyourguide/getyourguide-pamukkale/].
History
Hierapolis was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess
of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable
and copious hot springs in classical Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia. Strangely
enough, we hear less about it, yet Hierapolis is on the same site as Pamukkale!
This ancient spa town was founded in the 2nd century BC by Attalides of
Pergamum. The city was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the year 60 and
was later rebuilt in a 100% Roman style this time around the year 100.
Its extensive remains are adjacent to modern Pamukkale in Turkey
The name Pamukkale literally means “cotton castle” in Turkish and it is true
that it looks quite like one. 🙂 This strange “white waterfall” is basically a
100% natural phenomenon. As early as the Roman period, these large basins were
used for bathing… Hierapolis, the ancient city, was built next to this natural
site which already existed at the time (we are talking about more than 2000
years ago).
Pamukkale (1) is not really a “real” village; it is more like a base for
visiting the site with lots of hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and small
shops. Whether you decide to stay here or to arrive from Denizli or elsewhere,
you will inevitably go through it…
To access the site, go to the entrance at the top of the village (2). From this
point you have to remove your shoes and walk up the large alleyway built in the
middle of some artificial pools to reach the top of the site.
To continue the visit, we advise you to continue on the wooden footbridge that
runs along the entire site. The further we go, the more alone we are! After a
few hundred meters we reach other basins which are very nice. Go to the point
where the footbridge stops (5) and then go up to the central aisle.
From there, you can reach the ruins of Hierapolis (6) and follow the wide alley
between the columns. Then you can continue on the left (7) using small paths
which are not very well maintained but still very pretty to reach the church
which is at the top of the site (8).
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Ölüdeniz, Türkiye
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Fethiye, Türkiye
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Seydikemer, Türkiye
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Kaş, Türkiye
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Antalya, Türkiye
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Sille, Türkiye
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Cappadocia, Türkiye
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Ankara, Türkiye