We leave Pamukkale and the mountain peaks soon shrink to huge mole hills. The tourist souvenir stalls become fewer and farther between. The salt lakes are bone dry but the salt banks are full to over flowing. After an hour of travelling on the D585 a fierce gusty wind springs up from nowhere, gathering the dust into swirling clouds. A storm looms and heavy rain clouds plunge this dazzling landscape into anonymous greyness.

Progress in the rain is slow and we take shelter along the highway. Thankfully, it is not long before we are back on the road and arriving at our destination, Geyre. We pull in to the museum car park but a barrier blocks road and a hand made sign points to a car park on the opposite side of the road. We tuck in, have a bite to eat and then prepare ourselves for a jaunt around the archeological site. An old chap with his tractor offers to take us to the site entrance some 0.5km away. We thank him but, explain the walk will do the dogs good.

Our Bumble parking spot at Geyre GPS position N037.714112, E028.731664

As we pay our 20TL (£2.50) we cant help but notice the car park facilities are fine. The staff seem happy to park up and no obvious issues. We can’t help but wonder if the barrier is deliberate, so people will park on the restaurant car park and put a little extra cash their way? We step inside to another archaeological wow.

Located near a marble quarry, Aphrodisias became a centre for sculpture production in the Hellenic Greek and Roman Empires.  As the name suggest, there was a massive temple to Aphrodite which was subsequently converted to a basilica by the Byzantines.  However, Afrodisias’s acropolis began around 5000 BC as a prehistoric mound. The city grew to hold a population of 150,000 before it declined and then finally abandoned in the 14th century.  The site remained untouched until the late 1950’s when photographs of the ruins made their way to Professor Kenan Erim of New York University.  He subsequently spent almost 30 years excavating Aphrodisias and, as a tribute, is buried there (click to enlarge photo’s).

Gates

Considering the crowds at Pamukkale and the proximity to the beaches of Western Turkey, there was hardly anyone at Aphrodisias.  We only saw a Turkish family, an English couple, two American chaps and a small bus of Turkish school kids.  The kids arrived as we were leaving, so for the most part, we were alone.

The site stretches out over a large area, it’s been extremely well preserved or restored. It is easy to lose yourself in the moment because it doesn’t have the large tourist crowds it probably deserves. Imagining life in the Aphrodisias of old is not difficult.

Once it was a thriving city but most of the houses of the average people haven’t been uncovered. It’s the main landmarks which take centre stage, all revolving around the temple to Aphrodite. Some of the larger houses nearby, often taking up a whole city block, have been unearthed and reveal a wealthy and prosperous community.

Temple of Aphrodite

A robust civic society with an emphasis on social interaction and public spaces is how I imagine it would once have been. A long open stretch of pool with fountains at each end form the boundary of one side. The traditional style baths take a prominent place in the city’s layout and would have been the epicentre of the gossip trade. A beautiful amphitheater must have been the setting for great performances of culture and arts and then there’s THE stadium.

Take a pew

It truly is a sight to behold. The description on the site’s information plaque describes it as “the largest ancient stadium in the world and one of the best preserved”. That may be true but the superlatives don’t do it justice. Standing at one end, the other seems so far away. It is 270 metres long and every one of those metres seems to stretch out longer than in should under the midday sun with the empty seats staring down. There would have been times when thirty thousand people would have filled those spots, shouting and cheering at the sports taking place below. The crowd would have come from not just the city, but from the whole region, for these contests.

We left the best until last, the hall of fame and the museum. The collections held in the museum are some of the best we have seen in a long while. Not just for the volume but the quality, it just leaves you speechless. As for the hall of fame, it was brilliant. A complete wall of decorative ribbons with carved faces of people who had performed at the theatre. The detail and size was one big wow.

Portico of Tiberius

Mac n Tosh have thoroughly enjoyed the walk and sniffing all the ruins and stones. But after several miles of trudging their little legs are weary. They plod back to Vin, drink tons of water, dribble all over the floor, flop in a heap and fall fast asleep. Apart from a little whimper at feeding time we don’t hear a peep from them for the rest of the night.

Over our evening meal we start to realise time is ticking along and we only have another two weeks on our visa. Its been an excellent trip and two words immediately spring to mind. ‘Çok güzel!’ clinking our glasses and knocking back the smoothly fierce brew of Turkish tea.