Of Antalya’s many historical sites, Perga stands out for its unrestored beauty, historical significance, and location, just a few kilometers from Antalya airport. From its humble origins a full 6000 years ago, Prega grew to become the fourth-biggest city in the Roman Empire, a title it held for centuries, bestowing upon it some of the largest and best-preserved classical buildings in Turkey, surrounded by lush hills that offer views of what was once one of the world’s biggest cities. Although it faces tough competition from Antalya’s other historical sites, no trip to Turkey’s tourism capital is complete without an afternoon visit to Perga, which exudes an Indiana Jones vibe unmatched by many better-known ruined cities.
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HISTORY OF PERGA
People have lived here, between the rivers Catarrhactes and Cestrus, since around 4000 BC. The settlement, known as Parha came under the influence of the Hittites to the north and the Lycians to the West, turning it into a cultural and ethnic melting pot.
Like the rest of the region of Pamphylia, Perga changed hands many times, but was mostly loyal to Persia. This relationship was on the rocks by 360 BC, when Perga’s leaders joined the failed Great Satraps’ Revolt against the Persians. Just 25 years later Alexander the Great showed up, liberated Perga, and proceeded to kick the Achaemenids out of Asia Minor.
Following Alexander’s death, Perga passed to the Seleucid Empire, which in turn was defeated by the Romans 150 years later, who donated the city to their local allies, the Kingdom of Pergamon, as a show of friendship. Perga’s first golden age saw the original city walls built and the minting of its first coins.
Around 200 BC the city’s first celebrity resident, mathematician Apollonius of Perga, performed studies on conical sections that are still used today. He has since been venerated by having a crater on the moon named after him.
By now, rising international trade meant that Perga’s importance was being rivaled by its own port, which eventually grew into a separate city and officially founded by Attalos II, who named it after himself, what we today know as Antalya.
When his successor and nephew died heirless in 133 BC, the whole kingdom, including Perga, passed to the Romans, who gave the city its second golden age, which most of the ruins we see today date from. The construction boom was accompanied by peace, wealth, and a newfound importance as a center of religion, with Perga becoming a guardian city of the imperial cult and the cult of Artemis, in whose honor a huge temple was built.
The high watermark of this period was the rule of Plancia Magna, a great director of public works, high priestess at the Temple of Artemis, high priestess to the imperial cult, and one of the most powerful women of her time. She is best remembered as one of the most impressive statues in Antalya Archaeology Museum.
As one of the most important cities of the day, St Paul and St Barnabas twice passed through on their missions into Anatolia. Under Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, Perga became an early adopter and center of Christianity, a position it continued to hold under the Byzantines.
Another matriarch of the city was Matrona of Perge, a 6th-century saint known for disguising herself as a man to avoid her abusive husband and political opponents, as well as founding her own monastery in Constantinople, and living to 100.
In the 8th century, the river Cestrus had started silting up, starving Perga of trade, and much of the population moved to Antalya, which was rising in importance as one of the Mediterranean’s main port cities. Perga was finally abandoned when the Seljuk Turks swept through Anatolia around the year 1000.
SIGHTS OF PERGA
The first part of Perga you will see is its mighty amphitheater, one of the biggest Roman theaters in the world, oddly separated from the rest of the site by the main road. A climb to the top of the building offers great views over the rest of Perga.
After entering the main site, the first building on the left is the stadium, built in around 60 AD, and the biggest and most complete building of its kind in Turkey, with a capacity of 12,000 people. The vaults under the main structure were used as shops.
Past the stadium you enter the city through the outer Roman Gates, built in the 3rd century AD.
Once inside you will see the towering, original, Greek city gates, built more than 500 years earlier than the Roman ones, when the city was smaller.
Between the two gates to the left are the Southern Baths and the Nymphaeum of Septimus Severus, dedicated to the emperor who himself visited the city around 200 AD.
Opposite the baths is the square Agora, the city’s marketplace and one of the biggest agoras in the Roman Empire.
Follow the colonnaded main street north and notice the expertly built water channel running through the middle of the street.
This will lead you to the ornate Kestros Nymphaeum, originally dedicated to the Greek River God Kestros.
To the west of the Kestros Nymphaeum is the Western Street, sporting a gymnasium, a well-preserved floor mosaic featuring a scene from the Trojan War, the remains of the Western city gate, and another nymphaeum, because you can never have too many nymphaea. Perga had six.
Behind the Kestrus Nymphaeum is a set of steps leading to a lookout point and the acropolis, where the windswept remains of a Byzantine church offer amazing views of the valley below.
TRANSPORTATION
It will take you around 2 hours to see all the sights mentioned in this video on foot, and the site is conveniently open until 8 pm. Perga is located in Aksu, a suburb of Antalya, just 17 km from the city center or 3 kilometers from Antalya airport, which means it can be easily seen on your way in or out of town.
AROUND PERGA
Antalya is Turkey’s fourth city and the country’s official tourism capital. The Antalya Archaeology Museum is where many of Perga’s best-preserved statues have retired, along with representatives of other classical cities in the area, including Termessos, Phaselis, Aspendos, and Side, for each of which we have made a separate video that you should check out.
EATING, DRINKING, ACCOMMODATION
Just down the road from the entrance to Perga is a branch of Osman Simsek, celebrated local purveyor of kofte and other meaty specialties. For anything more ambitious than a quick lunch, including hotels, bars, and a bigger range of restaurant options, you will have to return to Antalya and check out the recommendations in our Antalya video.
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