Memories of ancient Aspendos (2 of 2)

Saturday 22 November, 2014 by Uncle Spike

The first part of this post introduced you to Aspendos, an ancient Greco-Roman city on our southern Mediterranean coast, close to the resort city of Antalya. You saw the magnificent 7000 seat amphitheatre in that post, and from the comments, many of you agree it’s one of the finest you’ll see.

The next structure of significance there is the ruins of the entrance hall to the Roman Basilica. So much of the site has not been excavated and is just ‘there’ on a grassy hill. It’s quite unique in that way, and I much preferred it to some of the more tourist-grabbing sites throughout Turkey.

Looks like something out a movie set; quite an imposing building!

To the right of this next picture is the remaining wall of the nymphaeum (monumental fountain) on the acropolis hill of Aspendos.

As I mentioned, the site is extensive, and largely untouched, and so you can wander around the hillside at will, and come across all sorts of walls, and partially standing structures.

But if you think that lot’s impressive, you need to take a look at this… the aqueduct! Dating to the third century, around the time of Tiberius Claudius Italicus, this colossal 19km (12 mile) structure was operational for an estimated 150 years.

So, if you are ever visiting that part of Turkey (Antalya, Beldibe, Kemer, Side, Manavgat, Alanya), be sure to make a trip to see Aspendos. Just allow enough time to wander at your leisure though. There isn’t masses to see, such as Efes (Ephesus), but I found it to be rather special.