Perga : A great Hellenistic ancient port city

By asad russel –

Perga (Perge), Antalya, Turkey:
In the region of Pamphylia once Perga was a very important city and near the town of Aksu about 18 km east of Antalya is located the ancient ruins of Perga.

The ancient Perga:
Near the Kestros River is located the Perga and on a major trade route was originally a port city. During the Hellenistic period Perga was a wealthy Greek city, however silted up when the whole bay area, the status and sea trade of Perga’s port city that ended.

In 46 AD visited Perga twice the St. Paul and his companion St. Barnabas and a sermon also delivered by the St. Paul, according to the Acts of the Apostles. Perga became an important city for Christianity during the time of Constantine the Great and through to the 6th century it remained so.
During the Roman period in Perga were carried the major construction works and in Anatolia into one of the most beautiful cities Perga grew. With the skills for what the Romans were famous for they built a theater, a stadium and many other structures. This city was abandoned after destroyed by an earthquake.

Visiting places in Perga:
At different times in history of various Hellenistic kingdoms although Perga became a part, much photographed towering the Hellenistic Gate left from this period is the only prominent standing structure, in scaffolding which was partly covered for the visitors unfortunately. From the Roman era much of the ruins today the visitors see in the Perga.

Since 1946 Istanbul University have been restoring and excavating the site of the Perga and in the heat of the day being carried out the painstaking work, when the visitors visit this site they will see that. At the Antalya Museum are on the display the statues and reliefs recovered in the excavations of this site. In fact are from Perga in Antalya Museum’s most of the statues on display. Seems endless the restoration projects although, this site is impressive from the work done so far.

From the acropolis behind the Nymphaeum (water fountain) to view the Perga site is a good place. For the grand colonnaded marble street the visitors will have a fine panoramic view from the elevated point and along the boulevard to the city and shops from the Nymphaeum the water channel that transports water. During the hot season to keep the city cool the flowing water also helps.

There are many other impressive structures in Perga which include a theater and the capacity of this theater almost 12,000. With sea cultures the theater frieze of Neptune, in the Antalya Archaeological Museum this can be seen. Measuring 34 square meters there was also a stadium for the peoples and the Agora which was common for almost every Roman cities and used for commercial purpose and as the center point of the city politics had been discussed here. The structures of this city also includes like the Roman Baths, Roman gates, gymnasium and the city walls like the other ancient Roman cities.

Some information:
On the town of getting into alone there is no easy way. The visitor can reach this place by the public transports, like the visitors can ride minibus from the bus terminal (Otogar) in Antalya towards a village named Aksu, then the visitors have to walk about 2 km to the north to reach the Perga. According to the Turkish Ministry of Tourism and Culture every year around 399,805 tourist visit this ruin city. 

Posted by : Unknown 8:02 PM Tags : Travel Destinations

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