18 km from Antalya. It was established between the Düden and Aksu rivers in the east. On the road from Antalya to Alanya, turn north from Aksu and drive 2 km. Then Perge is reached. Since it was not located on the seashore, it remained away from the oppression and plunder of the Pirates.

For this reason, there are no pauses in the development process. Perge, one of the leading cities of Pamphylia, was founded on a wide plain between two hills, 4 kilometers west of the Kestros (Aksu) River.

B.C. IV. Skylax, who lived in the 16th century and was the first writer to mention Perge, states that the city is in Pamphylia. In the New Testament, in the Activities of the Apostles section, the sentence “… When Paul and his companions left Paphos, they came to Perge in Pamphylia” shows that Perge could be reached by sea in ancient times.

Just as Kestros provides convenient communication today, divers played an important role in ancient times by making the region more productive and enabling maritime trade in Perge. Although Perge was 12 kilometers inland, it could benefit from the advantages of the sea as a coastal city, thanks to Kestros. Moreover, since it was inside, it was protected from pirate attacks from the sea.

In late copies of the third- or fourth-century world map, Perge is shown next to the main road starting at Pergamon and ending at Side. According to Strabo, the city was discovered by colonists coming from Argos under the leadership of heroes named Mopsos and Kalkhas after the Trojan War. Linguistic research shows that the Achaeans arrived in Pamphylia B.C. confirms that it entered towards the end of the second millennium BC.

In addition to these studies, an M.S. Inscriptions from the years 120 – 121 also testify to this colonization; In the writings under the statues, seven heroes named Mopsos, Kalkhas, Riksos, Labos, Machaon, Leonteus and Minyasas, who were the founders of the city, are mentioned.

There are no further written records about Perge until the mid-fourth century. However, until the arrival of Alexander the Great, Perge was under Persian rule. B.C. In 333, Perge surrendered to Alexander. After Alexander’s death, Perge briefly came under the influence of Antigonos and later under Seleucid rule.

When the border dispute between the Seleucids and the king of Pergamon continued after the Treaty of Apamea, Roman Consul Manlius Vulso A.D. He was sent to Rome as a mediator in 188. When Manlius Vulso learned that Antiochus III had a garrison in Perge, he besieged the city at the insistence of the King of Pergamon.

At this point, the garrison commander informed the consul that he could not surrender the city without Antiochus’ permission and that he needed thirty days to do so. At the end of this period, Perge fell into the hands of Pergamon. Approximately B.C. When the Kingdom of Pergamon was transferred to Rome in 133, Perge became fully independent.

Artemis has an important place among the gods and goddesses considered sacred in Perge. This ancient Anatolian goddess, called Vanassa Preiia in the Pamphylia dialect, appears with this name on the coins of the Hellenistic period and took the name Artemis Pergaia after Greek colonization. In addition to being printed on coins as a cult statue or huntress, Perge’s Artemis is also the subject of many statues and reliefs found during excavations.

A relief in the form of a cult statue on a square stone block is particularly interesting. The cult of Artemis Pergaia is seen in many other cities.

Although Artemis Pergaia is so famous, traces of her temple have not been found yet. There is information obtained from the schematic depictions on coins of this famous monument, which preserves only the gold-adorned statue of Artemis and whose size, beauty and architecture were praised by ancient writers. M.S. In 46 BC, Perge hosted an important event for the Christian world.

New Testament, in the Acts of the Apostles, St. It is said that Paul went from Cyprus to Perge, then to Antiocheia in Pisidia, and then returned to Perge and gave a sermon. St. Paul then left the city and went to Attaleia.

From the beginning of the imperial period, business projects were implemented in Perge and in AD. In the second and third centuries, the city became one of the most beautiful cities not only in Pamphylia but in all of Anatolia. In the first half of the fourth century, during the reign of Constantine the Great (324 – 337), Perge became one of the important centers of Christianity when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The city continued to be a center of Christianity in the fifth and sixth centuries. Citizens, who could only defend themselves within the acropolis against frequent rebellions and raids, retreated inside the city walls. Perge lost its remaining power with the Arab raids that broke out in the middle of the seventh century. During this period, part of the city migrated to Antalya.

The first building that a person entering the city encounters is the Greek-Roman type theater built on the southern slopes of Kocabelen Hill. The cavea (the area where the audience seats are located), which is slightly larger than a semicircle, is divided into two by a wide diazoma (horizontal wide step) passing through the middle. The theater, with a total capacity of 13,000 people, consists of 19 rows of seating below the diazoma and 23 rows above it.

In accordance with the architectural rules of the Roman theater, in the theater galleries used as entrance and exit routes, the audience would reach the diazoma from both ends, through arched passages and stairs, through the parados (side exit doors) on both sides, and from there they would disperse to their seats.

The area allocated to the orchestra between the cavea and the stage is slightly wider than a semicircle. The orchestra area was used as an arena in the mid-third century, when gladiator and wild animal fights were popular. This area is surrounded by carved panels passing between marble balls made in the form of Herme to prevent the animals from escaping.

The partially standing two-storey stage ruin, with its columned architecture and sculptural decorations, dates back to A.D. II. It can be dated to the middle of the century. On the façade of the ruin, the columns between the five doors that provide the artists’ entrances and exits support a narrow podium above.

The most distinctive feature of the theater is the mythological reliefs decorating this side of the podium. The first relief on the right depicts one of the women known in mythology as nymphs (fairies living in water, mountains and forests) and a local god who personifies the Kestros (Aksu) River, the lifeblood of Perge. From here on, the reliefs respectively tell the whole life of Dionysus, the god of wine and the founder and protector of theatres.

Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of a king and whose beauty is legendary and compared to spring. Goddess Hera, who is constantly jealous of her husband, wants to get rid of Semele with her son. To deceive Semele, the goddess disguises herself as the girl’s mother and asks Semele to persuade her to allow her to see Zeus in all his glory and power. Semele, who believes in everything, comes to the trick and begs Zeus to consent.

Zeus, who could not resist the pleas of his lover, descended from Olympus with his two-wheeled chariot and appeared to them, but mortal Semele could not stand the brightness of Zeus and was burned to ashes in the flames. As he dies, he gives life to the fruit of his love, which still has time to be born, and throws it out of the flames. Zeus takes this baby boy, places the baby in his own hip, stitches the wound and hides the baby there until the time for normal birth comes.

For this reason, the child born first from his mother’s womb and then a second time from his father’s hip is called Dionysus-born (double-born). Thus, the baby is taken to the nymphs on Mount Nysa by Hermes so that he can be protected from Hera’s evils, be fed, and reach adulthood. Nymphs raise the child here with special care and love.

Finally, one day, Dionysus, a young man, drinks the juice of all the grapes growing on the walls of the cave. This is how wine was discovered. In order to introduce his new drink to every corner of the world and to spread the culture of the vine, the god of wine goes on a world tour with his two-wheeled chariot pulled by two panthers. Unfortunately, a significant part of these beautiful reliefs were damaged as a result of the collapse of the stage.

These pieces, found during the excavations that started in 1985, are evidence that the building was originally decorated with more friezes on different subjects. The subject of a 5-meter-long frieze, which cannot be understood to which part of the building it belongs, is particularly interesting. In this frieze, Tyche carries a horn of plenty in her left hand and a cult statue in her right hand.

On either side of it are the figures of an old man and two young men bringing bulls to sacrifice to their goddess.

To the right of the asphalt road leading from the theater to the city is one of the best-preserved stadiums that have survived from ancient times. This large rectangular structure, measuring 34×334 meters, has a horseshoe shape at the north end and is open to the south. The building was probably entered from this point through a monumental wooden door.

There are a total of seventy arched rooms under the stadium, thirty on each of the long sides and ten on the short side at the north end. These rooms are connected to each other, and every third bay has an entrance to the theatre. It is understood from the inscriptions on the surviving parts of these compartments that the names of the owners are written and various goods are listed, and that these places were used as shops.

The seating rows above the arched rooms provide a seating capacity of 12,000 people. When gladiatorial wild animal fights became popular in the mid-third century, the northern end of the stadium was surrounded by protective cages and turned into an arena. The architecture and stone workmanship of this large structure dates back to AD II. It proves that it belongs to the century.

Another notable ruin outside the city walls is the sarcophagus of Plancia Magna, the daughter of Plancius Verus, Governor of Bithynia. Plancia Magna, who owned many parts of the city adorned with monuments and statues and was the head of public affairs in Perge, was a wealthy and civic-minded woman. In recognition of his services to society, the public, parliament and senate erected statues of Plancia.

In various inscriptions, Plancia’s name is written together with the title “demiurgos”, the highest-ranking official in the city’s administration. In addition, Plancia Magna was a lifelong priestess of the mother of the gods, a priestess of Artemis Pergaia, and a high priestess of the imperial cult.

A large part of Perge is surrounded by walls, some parts of which date back to the Hellenistic period. Towers 12-13 meters high were built on the fortification walls. However, during the Pax Romana period, when permanent peace and tranquility were achieved, the walls lost their importance and structures such as theaters and stadiums beyond the walls were built without fear.

Anyone entering the city through one of the late gates in the walls built in the fourth century comes to a small, rectangular courtyard 40 meters long, surrounded by walls built in later periods. From this courtyard, you can access a second gate in the form of a triumphal arch, which is quite ornate, the southern gate. This gate leads to the trapezoidal courtyard, which is 92 meters long and 46 meters wide. Emperor Septimus Severus (AD.

There is a monumental fountain or nymphaeum on the western wall of this courtyard, which was used as a ceremonial area during the reign of B.C. 193 – 211). The building consists of a two-storey, richly ornamented façade behind a large pool. It is clear from the inscription that the building was dedicated to Artemis Pergaia, Septimius Severus and his wife Julia Domna and their sons.

An inscription on the facade of the building, parts of the facade and marble statues of Semptimius Severus and his wife, found during the Nymphaeum excavations, are now in the Antalya Museum. The monumental corridor just north of the Nymphaeum opens to the largest and most magnificent bath in Pamphylia. The large pool (natacia), measuring 13×20 meters, occupies the interior of a semicircular room in the south portico (columned entrance) of the large public sports area (palaestra).

The palaestra is bordered at the front by a portico. People of Perge used to clean themselves in this pool after exercising in the palaestra. From the dynamic architecture of the facade, the colorful marbles used on the facade, and the statues of Genius, Heracles, Hygiea, Asclepius and Nemesis used as decoration, it is clear that this area has a dazzling beauty. From here, another door leads to the frigidarium (cold water room), which is also an area with a pool.

Before entering the bath, people would wash their feet in the water flowing from a shallow channel along the northern edge of the pool. Existing evidence shows that the frigidarium was decorated with Muse statues (the general name given to each of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the nine goddess sisters of arts). From here there are the interconnected tepidarium and caldarium.

Under these rooms, rows of bricks belonging to the heating system that circulates the hot air coming from the boiler room can be seen. Bathing in a Roman bath was a multi-stage process. The person entering the bath would first take off his clothes in a room called the apodyterium and then enter the palaestra, where he exercised. He would swim in the pool or wash with the hot water in the caldrium to get rid of the sweat and dirt resulting from his physical exertion.

From there, he would go to the tepidarium or frigidarium for a cold water bath.

In Roman times, the bathhouse was not only a place for bathing, but also a place where men met to spend their days or discuss various important issues. The long rectangular section to the north of the Frigidarium was probably a place where bath visitors strolled and chatted. There is a long marble bench on the western walls of this room.

The inscriptions found on many column bases during the excavations indicate that the statues on the columns were donated by a person named Claudius Peison. At the northern end of the inner courtyard is the Hellenistic entrance gate, the most magnificent structure of Perge. Date: III BC. Dating back to the 16th century and consisting of two towers with a horseshoe-shaped courtyard behind it, this gate was cleverly designed in accordance with the defense strategy of the age.

The towers have three floors and are covered with cone-shaped roofs. With the help of Plancia Magna, M.S. Various changes were made in the decoration of this courtyard between 120 and 122, and this structure, which was used for defense, was turned into a courtyard of honor. To create the facade of the building, layers of colored marble were laid, several new niches were opened and Corinthian style columns were added.

In the niches at the bottom there were figures of gods and goddesses such as Aphrodite, Hermes, Pan and Dioskouroi. Inscribed bases of nine statues were found during the excavations in the courtyard, but the statues have not been found yet. According to the inscriptions, these statues, probably located in the niches above, represented the legendary heroes who founded Perge after the Trojan War, as described in historical documents.

In the inscription on the two statue bases, the names of M. Plancius Varus and his son C. Plancius Varus are listed as “founder” due to their generosity and greatness towards Perge. This honor was deemed appropriate for them and they were accepted as the second founders of Perge. The horseshoe-shaped courtyard is limited to the north by the monumental entrance gate in the form of a triumphal arch built by Plancia Magna.

The inscriptions on the statue bases unearthed during the excavations show that in the niches at the entrance doors stood the statues of the emperors and their wives who reigned from Nerva to Hadrian. The 65 square meter agora is located to the east of the Hellenistic entrance gate. A wide stoa (columned promenade) surrounds a center lined with shops on all four sides. The floors of these shops are covered with colorful mosaics.

An interesting stone used in ancient games can be seen in front of a shop in the north portico. It is thought that the game, played with six stones per person and throwing these stones like dice, was popular in the region at that time, since similar stones were also found in neighboring cities. There is a round building in the middle of the courtyard, like the agora (bazaar) in Side; The exact properties of this structure are not yet known.

A colonnaded street, whose restoration work is still ongoing, runs from north to south throughout the city center, passing under the Triumphal Arch of Demetrios-Apollonios, located near the acropolis (citadel). This street intersects with another street going from east to south. On both sides of this 250-meter-long street, there are wide porticos with rows of shops behind them.

In this way, architecture with columns on both sides offers various examples reflecting the Romans’ understanding of perspective. Additionally, these porticos provided people with shelter from heavy rains in winter and the scorching heat of Perge in summer. Due to its suitability for climatic conditions, this type of streets were frequently encountered in southern and western Anatolian cities.

The most interesting aspect of Perge’s columned street is the pool-like water channels that divide the road in the middle. This clean and clear water, flowed by the river god Kestros, came out of the monumental fountain (nymphaeum) at the northern end of the street, and from there it flowed calmly into the canals and cooled the people of Perga somewhat in the scorching heat of Pamphylia. Almost in the middle of the street, four columns decorated with reliefs belonging to the portico stand out.

In the first column is Apollo riding a chariot pulled by four horses; in the second column, the huntress Artemis; Calchas, one of the mythological founders of the city, is depicted on the third column, and finally Tyche, the goddess of luck, is depicted on the fourth column.

The main road, at the foot of the acropolis, was built in A.D. II. It ends at another nymphaeum (monumental fountain) built in the 19th century. The rich façade architecture and numerous sculptures of the two-storey building make it one of the most striking monuments of Perge. The water brought from the source emptied into the pool below, under the statue of the river god Kestros in the middle of the fountain, and from there it flowed to the streets through canals.

When you turn left from the Triumphal Arch of Apollonios, where the streets intersect, and pass through the Hellenistic gate, you come across the palaestra, known as the oldest building in Perge. Here, the young people of the city would do wrestling training and physical education under the supervision of their teachers. According to an inscription, this large square building, consisting of an open area surrounded by rooms, was built by C. Julius Cornutus in AD 1600. It was built in memory of Emperor Claudius, who reigned between 41-54.