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ALL TURKEY TOURS |
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INFORMATION |
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PERGE ;
The ruins of Perge are located 16 kilometers along the Antalya-Alanya
highway in the district of the town of Aksu. It is one of
the better-preserved archaeological sites in Turkey.
Although the Pergeans attributed the founding of their city
to Kalkhas, Mopsos, and Arnphilokhos after the Trojan War, a
tablet discovered at Boðazköy is the proof of that it
existed at least during
Hittite times when it was known as "Parha". We have little
information about the city until Alexander's arrival here in
333 B.C. The Pergeans opened up their gates to Alexander and
allowed him to make use of the city as a base during his
Pamphylian campaigns. With the death of Alexander, Perge
remained in Seleucid hands until 190 B.C., in which year it
was annexed to the kingdom of Pergamon. Like all the
Pergamene possessions, it too came under Roman rule in 133
B.C. and it was during the Roman imperial period that the
city flourished. Most of the ruins we see at the site today
are from Roman times. Excavations at Perge were begun in
1946 by Professor Arif Müfit Mansel. Following his death
they were taken up by Professor Jale inan and are still in
progress.
It is still possible to see some of these in place today.
The seats of the theater are divided into two sections with
thirteen sets of steps. During late Roman times, the theater
was used for spectators of gladiatorial combats and a
fountain was built into the outer wall.
Before the theater is a U-shaped stadium which is in a fine
state of preservation. It too was built in the 2nd century
A.D. and there are seats for 12,000 supported by
barrel-vaulted constructions. The entrance to the 34 by 234
meters arena is on the southern side, but the once
monumental gateway has been destroyed. Below the vaults on
the eastern side there are thirty shops.
Perge is surrounded by a Hellenistic period wall reinforced
here and there with towers. The fortifications on the
southern side were expanded in the 4th century A.D. We enter
the ruins through a gate built during the reign of Septimius
Severus (193-211 A.D.) that passes into a courtyard in the
walls.
The rectangular courtyard before the gate was created when the 4th century
walls were built. After entering through the Roman gate we
are confronted by a round portal that was the main gate of
Perge in Hellenistic times. Between the two is a courtyard
measuring 92 meters in length from the 2nd ,century A.D. On
the western side of the courtyard is a nymphaion, a
richly-decorated monumental fountain that was dedicated by:
Septimius Severus to the Pergean Arternis. The statues of
the emperor and his wife that were once here are now in the
Antalya Museum. Beside the fountain there is a propylon
belonging to the baths. This entranceway was also richly
decorated with statues, many of which have been unearthed in
excavations, and was also built during the reign of
Septirnius Severus.
After passing by both structures we come again to the
Hellenistic period gate. This well-preserved structure is
flanked on either side by towers and leads to a
horseshoe-shaped courtyard that was magnificently beautified
between 120 and 122 A.D. by Plancia Magna, daughter of
Plancius Varus, the Roman governor of Bithynia. Plancia
Magna contributed much to the development of Perge. Her tomb
is located at the right of the main gate and there is a
statue of her in the Antalya
museum. The northern side of the courtyard has three
entranceways built in the form of a two-storied entrance.
The niches once contained statues of the Roman emperor and
empress. On the eastern side of the Hellenistic gate is the
Pergean agora, a column-enclosed area with shops and rooms
around the perimeter that was built in the 4th century A.D.
In the center of the agora is a round temple. Excavations
have revealed a colonnaded portico measuring 4.30 by 96
meters alongside the agora. On the southern side of the
agora is a church. Recent excavations have shown that the
Roman baths located opposite the agora are very well
preserved.
A broad, marble-paved double-colonnaded street measuring 300
meters in length extends from the main gate to the
acropolis. A water channel two meters wide runs down the
middle. There are shops on either side of the street.
Another street running east and west intersects this main
street and the remains of a monumental palaestra is to be
found on its western extension. Measuring 76 by 76 meters in
size, this structure is in a very good state of
preservation. The building was dedicated by C. Cortunus to
the emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) At the western extremity of
the street adjacent to the city walls are the ruins of
baths. These two main streets thus divide Perge into four
quarters. In the western section there is an episcopal
basilica with a double nave. At the northwestern end of the
street at the skirts of the acropolis is another nymphaion,
a semicircular structure from the reign of Hadrian (130-150
AD).A statue of a river god was located in the center of
this huge fountain, which measured 21 meters long and 37.5
meters wide and from which numerous examples of sculpture
have been recovered. The acropolis of the city of Perge is
located above the fountain.
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