Perge, Ancient City

Sadly, we had to leave the beauty of the Med and head back to Bursa. But on the way out, we visited the ruins of Perge, a very ancient city. There is evidence that Perge was a settlement from 3000 BC and experienced 3 periods of rule. The first being the 2nd to 3rd centuries BC during the Hellenistic period, represented by the partly standing walls and towers; the second during the Roman Empire, 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, represented by monumental structures such as the theater, stadium, bath houses, and fountains, remains still standing. At this time Perge contained the most important school of sculpture in the Mediterranean region; and the third was the Christian period in the 5th and 6th centuries AD when Perge was a metropolitan center and many churches were constructed. St. Paul and Barnabas were said to have been part of founding the Christian Community. There had been a temple to the Goddess Artemis, but no trace whatsoever remains, and it is said to have been destroyed in the Christian Era to erase any signs of cults. The city was built inland on the Asku River, mainly for defense purposes, but was in it's high times, a major port city. By the 7th century the river had been diverted and the area became marshland, making it hard to defend from Arab raids. Most of the inhabitants fled to Antalya for safety.




The first gate encountered into the city, erected during the 4th century, most probably by the Romans




One of the Hellenistic Towers that form the original entry to the city.




Just inside the Hellenistic Gates was a courtyard with a monumental fountain, the back walls of which remain.



Columned Streets - the Housing section of the city.



Restoration in process to piece them back together. It is hard to imagine the hours and hours of tedious, methodical work it must take to reconstruct these ancient ruins. Even more, to imagine how in the world, all those years ago, they built something that still stands today.

When you walk through the ruins and it is quiet and peaceful, you almost get a sense of what it might have been like and you feel somehow connected. It is an odd feeling to walk where so many thousands of years ago someone walked, see the ruts left by carts, and feel the stone and marble carved and moved into place by those same people. The feeling is just hard to describe.