Short History of Turkey Civilizations

Majority of Tourist spots of Turkey located in south and west coast. We can offer many Turkey tours package full of history and nature.

Antalya-Side: city founded by Greek settlers from Cime, 7th century BC, was part of the Persian empire and surrendered to Alexander the Great. After his death it passed into the hands of several of his generals until he achieved some autonomy and a great economic and cultural boom. Before the Roman Republic annexed it, it was an important slave port at the hands of Cilician pirates. The site highlights: the Hellenistic gate, remains of the walls, the agora, the theater, the nymphaeum and the temple of Apollo.

Lyrbe: founded in the 3rd century B.C. by General Seleucus the Victor after the death of Alexander the Great as part of the new Seleucid empire. It was inhabited during the Roman and Byzantine period, finally stopping being abandoned and hidden by the undergrowth. Discovered in the 60s of the 20th century AD, this place is rarely visited, so we can enjoy its 9-meter walls with tranquility, an exceptional Agora surrounded by columns and facades, baths, temples, cisterns, churches and tombs.

Aspendos: This city founded in the 10th century B.C. by colonists from the city of Argos it was conquered in successive centuries by Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, suffering a progressive abandonment during the Byzantine period. During the visit we can enjoy its magnificent theater, the basilica, the nymphaeum, the agora and the aqueduct.

Perge: possibly founded before the Greek colonization, this huge site contains a large number of buildings from the Roman period, the era of maximum splendor. Today we can still see remains of walls, streets full of columns, the forum, several temples, baths, a theater and a circus.

Termeso: nestled within the Tauro mountains, the remains of this city are located at 1,050 meters of altitude. This position earned him the reputation of impregnable and lair bandits, although the army of Alexander the Great destroyed it in its advance within the Persian empire. I enjoyed a certain well-being during the Hellenic and Roman period, until an earthquake destroyed it in the 5th century AD. You can still see several buildings among the vegetation: the walls, the fore, the odeon, such as the theater, the agora, six temples and several tombs carved in limestone. A real gem for those who like to get lost among the stones and discover a treasure behind a bush.

Olympus: the remains of this coastal city, founded sometime in the Hellenistic period, are piled on either side of the mouth of a river. The city took its name from the nearby Mount Olympus, one of twenty that had that name in the ancient world. Like other coastal cities, it was a refuge for pirates until the Roman Republic subdues and annexes it. A young Julio Cesar participated in its conquest. Mixed between stones and vegetation, we lose ourselves in its remains to find a bathhouse, streets and ditches, sarcophagi and temples. It is advisable to approach the beautiful pebble beach after the visit.

Myra: Founded sometime before the 5th century BC, the remains of this city are still largely under a sea of greenhouses and sediments. Today, the theater and the set of tombs carved in the rock and dating from the 4th century BC stand out. In the year 2.00 A.D. new structures that are still partially excavated were detected.

Patara: the remains of this port city belong to Patara, one of the ancient cities of Lycia that had the greatest political weight. In Vespasian’s time it became the capital of Lycia and Pamphylia. The city was also important for hosting the Apollo oracle, the second most important after the Delphi oracle. During the visit we will be able to see part of the walls and a door, a theater carved out of the rock, sarcophagi, a porticoed street with columns, thermal baths, a temple and what appears to be the oracle.

Xanthos: the remains of the largest of the cities of Lycia are located next to the Janto river, from which it takes its name. The city was destroyed and rebuilt on several occasions: after the Persian conquest, the Lycians themselves destroy the acropolis, in the conquest of Alexander the Great and during the third civil war of the Roman Republic. Today we can visit the theater, the necropolis with a column inscribed in Lycian and Greek, a large pilaster called “of the lion” and the monument of the Harpies. The Nereids Monument was found in this site, which is now exhibited in the British museum.

Cauno: This ancient city is currently located next to some wetlands at the mouth of the Dalyan River. Originally it was populated with people who claimed to come from Crete. Like all the peoples of the area, in the 6th century BC they were conquered by the Persians, but their fierce character led them to rebel against the empires that conquered them, be it Persia or Rome. In Cauno we can visit the walls, an acropolis, a theater, a port area, a circular altar, a forecourt, an agora, a stoa, a nymph and six temples, four Romans and two Greeks. 1.5 kilometers upstream we can visit six tombs carved out of the rock.

Laodicea: the remains of this city founded in the 3rd century BC is located in a fertile valley far from the coast. On a limestone promontory we find the remains where we can see a theater, an amphitheater, an aqueduct, baths, temples, stadium, nymphaeum, streets flanked by columns and a necropolis. A whole city of Roman architecture ready to explore and admire.

Hierapolis: they are the remains of the ancient Greco-Roman city that was built on thermal waters and with the aim of being a great spa. On the cotton mountain of Pamukkale, and going up a white road of precipitated calcium carbonate, we find a city in which we lose ourselves to discover the access doors, the Decumano, the theater, the nymphaeum, the temple of Apollo, its oracle on the plutonium, hot springs and an extensive necropolis

Aphrodisias: the city of the goddess Aphrodite was founded in the Hellenistic era and lasted well into the 12th century AD. A multitude of earthquakes shook and lowered it, and later it was rebuilt again thanks to a marble quarry located nearby. Throughout the site we will be able to see how this refined rock shapes the tetrapylon, the agora, the theaters and stadiums, the Adriano hot springs and the bouleterion

Halicarnassus: This ancient city dates back to the 1st millennium BC, when Dorians of Trecen founded it as a colony. From that time until today it has never ceased to be inhabited. The remains of the ancient Halicarnassus are under the ground of the current Bordum, so that we will find among its streets remains of the wall, fountains, a theater, a temple and the Mindo gate. Of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, only part of the foundations remains

Didyma: This Greek colony was founded by the Dorians in the 1st millennium B.C. and it was famous in the Greek world for the sanctuary of the temple of Apollo, which housed an oracle. Due to its proximity to Miletus, about 15 kilometers, it was always closely linked to it. As many Greeks as Persians came to the oracle to ask him about his future. The temple was burned by the Persians as the Ionian revolt and later expanded by Alexander Mangno. Today we can mainly visit the temple of the oracle.

Miletus: the remains of this important port city of Greek origin surprise the visitor just by parking the car next to the theater. According to archaeological evidence, Miletus was founded before the Hittite period and received mining influences. Conquered by the Greeks and later by the Persians, she was the architect of the Ionian revolt against the Persian empire, which is why she suffered retaliation from King Dario in the first degree. Alexander the Great released it in the 3rd century B.C., enjoying great prosperity for some centuries, until the silting of the river valley removed the Sea of Miletus and caused its ruin and abandonment. In this site, both buried and flooded, we will be able to enjoy its magnificent theater, the stoa, some hot springs, a gym, an agora, several temples and a multitude of cobbled streets

Priene: ancient city of Greek origin that had great importance as a religious and commercial center. It suffered the same vicissitudes as the rest of the cities in the area: the Persian conquest, Ionian revolt, liberation of Alexander the Great and absorption by Rome. He shared destiny with Miletus by standing on the other shore of it and crowded inlet. Today we can visit the temple of Athena, the acropolis with its walls, the theater, the bouleuterion and agora

Sardis: The capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia was an important city in Anatolia, especially during the period of Persian rule. During the Ionian revolt it was burned by the Athenian army, although it was subsequently rebuilt. He surrendered to Alexander the Great without the need for force. In the Roman period it suffered an earthquake from which it recovered with the help of the Emperor Tiberius. Its slow decline during the Byzantine period led to its abandonment in the 13th century AD. The deposit is divided into two parts separated by a road. On the one hand we can visit a gym, a synagogue, a theater and a stadium. In the other, various temples, one of them dedicated to Artemis and remains of the Byzantine period.

Pergamum/Pergamon: The ancient and rich city has its roots in the 5th century B.C. Although It had a brief period of Persian occupation, it lived its moment of splendor during the Hellenistic period, in which it became an independent kingdom and enjoyed recognition as an important cultural and economic center. This great site deserves to be visited with tranquility and bit longer time. In it we will enjoy its beautiful theater perched on the rocky slope where the acropolis is located, the temple of Dynosos and that of Athena, the trajaneum, the royal palaces, the heroon, the agora and the Roman baths. Of the famous library of Pergamos, second in importance in the ancient world after that of Alexandria, little remains, like the famous altar on display in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin