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ALL TURKEY TOURS |
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INFORMATION |
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The
refreshing coolness of the site of Termessos makes a
delightful change after the sometimes enervating heat of the
coastal plain. Located 1,650 meters above sea level,
Termessos is rather difficult to reach but the effort is
well worth it as the route takes one through country marked
by wild mountainous beauty. The ruins of Termessos are
situated on plateau between two peaks south of Güllük
Mountain. Termessos is now part of a national park that can
be reached by a good asphalt road thirty kilometers from
Antalya. A steep track from the park leadas up to the ruins.
The city of Termessos was founded in a remote spot at the
foot of Mt Solymos (Güllük). Despite its closeness (''as the
crow flies") to Antalya, it was not part of ancient
Pamphylia, lying instead within the boundaries of Pisidia.
The inhabitants of ancient Termessos referred to themselves
as "Solymians" and they were a war-like and extremely brave
people. The harsh Alpine conditions of their home probably
had much to do with this. Termessos is referred to in the
Iliad but the Termessians do not appear in history until 334
B.C., when they refused to surrender to Alexander on his way
through Asia Minor. Though Alexander tried to subdue them,
the remoteness and inaccessability of the Termessian
stronghold made the effort futile. He was forced to raise
the siege and continued on his way via Sagalasos. All he
could do in retaliation was to burn down the Termessians
olive groves surrounding their town.
We do not know when Termessos was founded, but from the name
of the town and from the inhabitants descriptions of
themselves we surmise that they were an indigenous Anatolian
folk who migrated here from Lycia. The city enjoyed two
periods of prosperity: the first being during Hellenistic
times and the second during the 2nd and 3rd centuries when,
under very nominal Roman rule, the Termessians were
acknowledged by the Roman senate as "friends and allies" of
the Roman people and were granted the right to "fonnulate
their own laws". Most of the ruins that we see today are
from the Roman period.
Towards the end of the 3rd century the population of
Termessos began to wane for some reason and so too did the
fortunes of the city .By the 5th century , the site was
abandoned entirely.
The ancient city was very well located to take maximum
advantage of the defensive possibilities the site afforded.
It was protected by natural outcrops to its east and west
while the entrances to the valley were protected by upper
and lower walls. The site is entered through a gate in the
walls. Roads leading from the main gate proceed first to the
southwest and then to the south. Running towards the
necropolis they rejoin near the gymnasium. Other streets
connect the gymnasium to the theater, lead to the odeion,
and link these buildngs to the stoa. The "Royal Road" is
today difficult to make out because of the underbrush and
indeed many of the ruins are concealed in the dense foliage.
The monumental gate is an attractive structure that was
dedicated to Hadrian. It is a propylon that leads to a
ruined Ionic peripteros with a cella 8 meters wide. The
Termessian gymnasium is completely covered except for the
northeastern section and so it is impossible to say how big
it originally was. On the way to the gymnasium is a cistern
and the remains of a house. The theater at Termessos is
approached by an overgrown path passing the gymnasium to the
left. This well-preserved structure with its beautiful
ashlar masonry is probably the most attractive building on
the site. Compared with the theaters of Pamphylia however it
is small and could accommodate an audience of only 4,200
indicating that the population of Termessos probably
numbered less then 20.000 The theater was originally built
in Hellenistic times while the skene building is a Roman
period addition. Five doors -the largest being the one in
the center-lead off the skene into the actors' dressing
rooms.
There is also another small temple, this one being of the in
antis type and measuring 5.78 by 6 meters. It was in the
Corinthian order and stood on a high podium. It was probably
built in late Roman times but it is not known which deity
was worshipped here.
The temple of Zeus Solymeus is a beautifully-constructed
building with a cella measuring 6.10 by 7.36 meters. The
remains still stand to a height of four meters. This temple
was dedicated to a peculiarly Tennessian veriion of the Zeus
cult. Fragments of reliefs depicting scenes of the gods
combatting monsters have been found lying around.
The Termessos agora was probably surrounded with stoas
originally. The stoa on the west was a two-story Doric-order
structure built during the reign of Attalos II (159-138
B.C.). According to an inscription that has been found, the
northern stoa was built by someone named Osbaras as a gift
to the people of Termessos some time during the 1st century.
The agora is today in a very ruined state. To its southwest
are the remains of a monumental tomb consisting of a
semicircular bench preceded by broad flight of steps.
The Corinthian-order temple nearby is a pro style with a
cella measuring 9.50 by 10.85 meters. There is another
Corinthian prostyle temple that is smaller and measures 6,70
by 7.20 meters. It too is preceded by a flight of steps and
is from the Late Roman period.
The"Founder's House" is a well-preserved typical Roman house
with rooms arranged around a central atrium containing an
impluvium (a pool for catching rain water). The front door
was of the Doric order and still stands to a height of 6
meters on the west side of the house. The name of the
building comes from an inscription on the left jamb of the
door, which refers to the owner of the house as the "founder
of the city". The colonnaded street to the north was a broad
promenade bordered on either side by colonnades" and shops.
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