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07:15
Konyaalti
08:15 Departure from the
hotels
· Visiting Perge antique site in detail; Stadium, Roman
Gate, Nymphaeum, Roman Bath, Hellenistic gate,
Colonnaded Main Street and the Agora
· Lunch on the Köprüpazari stream near the Aspendos
Theater
· Visiting Aspendos Theater and the Historical Aqueducts
· Shopping Break where also the Turkish handcrafts are
introduced
· Introduction of Side and an hour and a half free time
· 18:00 Returning to
Antalya distribution to hotels
PERGE
Perge was one of the important cities in antiquity. The
founding of the city varies depending on the sources.
The inscriptions found in the Hellenistic gate refer to
Calchas and Mopsus (from the Trojan Wars) and M.
Plancius Varus and C. Plancius Varus, father and brother
of Plancia Magna, from the 2nd century AD as well.
Hittite records mention the name along with the river
Cestros as Parha, which means that the city was already
large and must have been founded before. It has
benefited from the navigable Cestros (modern Aksu) river
even though it is some 12 km inland. Perge has two
famous women benefactors. Plancia Magna of the 2nd
century AD and Prof. Jale Inan. The previous one helped
building the city and the latter one uncovered it for us
to see it. The theater is the first building that meets
us. Unfortunately it is under restoration. The stadium
which is one of the best preserved in Turkey, is next.
After the Roman gate we are in the grandeur 2nd century
Roman city of Perge with its monumental nymphaeums, the
Roman bath, and the Hellenistic gate (renovated in the
Roman times as an honorary hall with the statues of the
founders of the city). After the Hellenistic gate, you
may walk the splendid colonnaded Cardo of Perge with
artificial waterfalls all along the street to the foot
of the acropolis. The Agora can be visited on the way
back.
ASPENDOS
The city was originally built on the, then navigable
river Eurymedon, on the mountain where the acropolis is
today. The oldest name of the city we know; Asiawanda (the
land of the horses) in the old local Anatolian languages
is now very famous for its most intact 2nd C AD Roman
Theater and the aqueducts which are a rare feat of
engineering. The Theater was built by Zenon one of the
most famous architects of the time in the 2nd century
AD. It is known as the best preserved Roman Theater with
very good acoustics with a capacity of 15,000 spectators.
It is known to hold 20 000 people nowadays when there
are concerts by nationally and internationally famous
orchestras of classical music and singers. There are
concerts, plays and other entertainments through out the
tourist season. It was used as a church during the
Byzantine times and as a palace during the Seljuk’s
reign. Other than the lack of decorative statues, etc.
of the stage building, it is in perfect condition. The
water was brought to the city from the mountains through
tunnels and over the aqueducts. The aqueducts that bring
water to Aspendos are a great feat of engineering, very
rare of its kind. The aqueducts cross a marsh of almost
one kilometer by piping made of stone fittings on lower
aqueducts. The towers of 30m height are used to change
the direction of the piping and also for the siphoning
system.
SİDE
She has existed at least since 1400 BC and has still
kept her original name Side, which means pomegranate in
the old anatolian Sidetan language. This is provided by
the coins from the 6th C BC and three records from 3rd C
BC. This language has not been deciphered yet two of the
only three records found are bilingual. This language
was in use until after the invasion of Alexander the
Great around 333 BC, when ‘koione’ the common dialect of
greek was used. Side is unique in many ways. It still
offers the small sweet anatolian fisherman town
atmosphere despite the flood of tourism. The long, fine,
sandy beaches are also worth mentioning. The city was
built on a flat peninsula instead of a mountain
acropolis, for defense, like Perge, Sillyum and
Aspendos. Instead the peninsula is walled on both the
land and the sea all around. The first buildings that
meets you are the aqueducts, bringing water from 32km
from the mountains. The monumental nymphaeum is the next.
The colonnaded main street with shops and houses on both
sides take you to the inner city. The Roman bath which
is restored as a museum is on the right near the
monumental Roman gate.The theater, the largest in
Pamphylia, is built on flat land instead of resting on a
slope. It rests on a multi-story sloped arches, 17m high,
and is a true wonder of Roman engineering. The stage
building is higher, 21m. The adjacent buildings of the
extensive agora and the temple of Tyke and fine public
toilets within are closed to visitors for the time being.
The Temple of Apollo and Athena have some columns that
and have been restored on the beach near the harbour are
the symbol of Side. The Byzantian Basilicas, the Temple
of Man and the Bibliotect are a few of the other
buildings.
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