Thousands of years ago, Aspendos was the most peaceful and wealthy city state in the classical world, trading with all the great powers of the day and becoming a melting pot of different peoples and cultures. It has been a tourist attraction since Ottoman times and has drawn celebrity musicians and Hollywood film crews with its dramatic buildings and still-functioning amphitheater. The city’s name is derived from Estwedus, founded by the Hittites around 1000 BC. Its wealth made it a target for invading Greeks, Persians, Romans, and pirates, before its neutrality was finally trampled by a petty act of treachery. Today, Aspendos stands as a testament to the magnificence of ancient civilization and a must-see historical site for anyone visiting Antalya or Alanya. Please watch the rest of our video! Let us know what you think, if there is anywhere else you want us to cover, and if you need help planning a trip or move to Turkey, let us know in the comments.
HISTORY OF ASPENDOS
Aspendos was founded by the Pamphylians, a multi-ethnic society of Hittites, Armenians, and Greeks. True to its heritage, Aspendos was an unusually peaceful and tolerant place. Stability and a strong economy saw coins minted as far back as 500 BC, making Aspendos the most important city in the region for 1000 years, deriving great wealth from trade in wool, oil, and salt. Its people were the original capitalists, more interested in trade and good living than politics and identity, and adapted to whatever the dominant power was: first the Hittites, then the Lycians, then the Persians, then the Greeks, then the Persians again.
However, they were relieved of both their pragmatism and their wealth in 389 BC, when Athenian leader Thrasybulus blockaded Aspendos with the Greek navy and demanded a huge tribute. The citizens of Aspendos gathered all the money they had and gave it to Thrasybulus, who then had his troops trample all the city’s crops. Enraged, the Aspendians crept into Thrasybulus’ camp and stabbed him to death, marking the end of the city’s neutrality, peace, and wealth.
50 years later, Alexander the Great conquered Aspendos, between taking Perga and his failed siege of Termessos (see our Perga and Termessos videos!). He left Aspendos after being promised the taxes that had previously been paid to the Persians. But the citizens squabbled over the details, so Alexander returned and forced the city into a much harsher settlement, from which its fortunes never recovered.
By the time the Romans claimed the city in 189 AD, the river had started silting up, starving Aspendos of trade. To make matters worse, 100 years later the legendarily corrupt official Gaius Verres pillaged much of its art and remaining wealth. By the Byzantine era, Aspendos (by now known as Primopolis) was already in ruins.
The city was gradually abandoned, and by Ottoman times had already become a tourist attraction. Kemal Ataturk visited the site in 1930 and was so impressed that he commissioned a restoration of the amphitheater, which means it is still used for concerts and performances today.
The site has also become a favorite set for the Turkish movie industry. In 2023, the finale of Guy Richie’s Operation Fortune was filmed in Aspendos (an admittedly unlikely place for a meeting of international arms dealers).
SIGHTS OF ASPENDOS
Opening hours: 8 am and 7 pm.
The highlight of Aspendos is its magnificent, 1500-seat Roman amphitheater, considered one of the best-preserved in the world, built 155 AD in honor of emperor Marcus Aurelius. 1000 years later, the building was used as a caravansary and then as a royal palace by the Seljuks. It has hosted the annual Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival since 1994, as well as the last concert of Italian-French singer Dalida in 1987.
A lot of people only come to see the theater, but make sure you see the rest of the site.
Aspendos Museum displays a collection of artifacts discovered during excavations.
The city’s main gate was dedicated to Roman Emperor Hadrian, who visited in 130 AD.
Past this are the dramatic and massive remains of the agora, Doric Temple, basilica, bouleuterion, and nymphaeum.
One of the most impressive surviving feats of Roman engineering anywhere is Aspendos’ aqueduct, built in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, several kilometers of which are still standing. The 40-meter-deep siphon was designed to exert enough water pressure to deliver water to the whole city.
The 7000-seat hippodrome was built for athletic competitions and chariot races.
3 km south and outside the site itself, the 1500-year-old Köprüpazar Bridge unassumingly still serves the local community, originally built by the Byzantines under Justinian, then rebuilt by the Seljuks.
TRANSPORTATION AND AROUND ASPENDOS
It will take you a couple of hours to see the whole site on foot.
From Antalya’s main bus station, take the 47-km, 40-minute ride to Serik, then minibus no 10 to the site, which runs every 2 hours. Or just get a taxi.
Half-way from Antalya you will pass the ruined city of Perga, for 1000 years the 4th-biggest city in the Roman Empire. (See our Prega video!). To the east are also-great historical sites of Side and Alanya.
There aren’t many good eating or accommodation options around Aspendos, so our advice is to return to Antalya and check out the recommendations in our Antalya video.
Thanks for watching! If you have any suggestions, or if you need help moving to or traveling in Turkey, let us know in the comments. We have also created a set of ESL exercises and activities in case you want to use this video to teach or learn English.
Have you been to Aspendos? Do you agree with our recommendations or is there anything we should change? And are there any other places you would like us to cover? Let us know in the comments and thanks for watching.
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