Visit ancient cities in Turkey by night

As of this year, 2025, major archaeological sites remain accessible until late in the evening, often after sunset. The idea is for tourists to avoid excessive daytime temperatures. These late opening hours, which will also apply to several museums, will apply until 1 October 2025. 

I can’t help wondering how safe such nighttime visits will be. Museums should not be a problem, but ancient sites are another issue. I can imagine admiring the temples, theaters, and statuary lit by floodlights, although with some cautiousness, but walking over uneven pavement may be quite hazardous. 

An excellent example is, for instance, Mount Nemrud, which will open already at 4 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Watching the sunrise or sunset from up there is a unique and unforgettable experience. But climbing the high-stepped stairs to the monument is a challenge by daytime, so much more so by dawn or dwindling light! 

Anyway, for the brave ones or daredevils, I am sharing the sites and museums that offer extended variable visiting hours. 

Closing times for archaeological sites and museums in 2025:

Istanbul
Galata Tower – 11 p.m.
Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum – 10 p.m.
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum – 10 p.m.
Archaeology Museums (excluding closed sections) – 10 p.m.

Adiyaman
Nemrud – 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Ankara
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations – 9 p.m.
Ethnography Museum – 9 p.m.

Antalya
Antalya Museum – 10 p.m.
Alanya Museum – 10 p.m.
Aspendos – 10 p.m.
Patara – 10 p.m.
Side – 10 p.m.
Nekropol Museum – 10 p.m. 

Aydin

Didyma – 9 p.m.

Denizli
Hierapolis – 11 p.m.

Erzurum

Erzurum Museum – 9 p.m.

Gaziantep
Zeugma Mosaic Museum – 9 p.m.

Izmir
Ephesos – 11 p.m. (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)
Museum Izmir Culture and Arts Factory – 9 p.m.

Mugla
Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology – 10 p.m.

Nevsehir - Cappadocia
Zelve-Pasa Baglari – 9 p.m.
Derinkuyu Underground City – 9 p.m.
Kaymakli Underground City – 9 p.m.
Ozkonak Underground City – 9 p.m.

Samsun
Samsun Museum – 10 p.m.

Sanliurfa
SanliUrfa Museum – 9 p.m.
Haleplibahce Mosaic Museum – 9 p.m.

Another isolated Hellenistic Mausoleum

Years ago, upon leaving the site of Ptolemais in Libya, I was pleasantly surprised by the remains of a Hellenistic Mausoleum (see: Ptolemais, heritage of the Ptolemies in the Cyrenaica). It looked abandoned and neglected; nobody could tell me anything about it. 

Presently, another similar Mausoleum has been spotted in Darende, near Malatya in eastern Turkey. In antiquity, the city’s name was Melitene, a vital crossing point over the Tigris River not unlike the role played by Zeugma (see: Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) and Dura Europos (see: Dura Europos, last stop on the Euphrates). It was also the end of the highway coming from Caesarea, modern Kayseri. The Romans fortified Melitene in the 2nd century AD to control access to the upper Tigris and southern Armenia and to defend themselves against the invading Parthians. Procopius of Caesarea, living in the 6th century AD, described Melitene’s theaters, agoras, and temples, of which nothing has been discovered until now. 

[Picture from Malatya GoTurkiye Destinations]

Scholars have established that this Mausoleum has the shape of a Greek temple built in Hellenistic style, not unlike the well-known Nereid’s Monument in Xanthos (see: Xanthos, the greatest city of Lycia), now at the British Museum in London. Based on its appearance and decorative features, the Mausoleum of Darende has been dated to the 2nd century AD. 

This building is meant to honor the deceased, although no inscription of any kind has been found to reveal his name. The monument shows four Ionian columns attached to the brick wall on each side. Between the columns and approximately four meters above ground are closed window niches, except for one on the west and one on the east side, which are open. All niches are framed between two small columns and crowned with an arch. Underneath each niche are thick wrought garlands like those often carved on Roman sarcophagi. 

The Mausoleum is about 6.5 meters high and is built in a perfect square of 6.65x6.65 meters outside. The entrance door was on the west side. The inside shape is rectangular, measuring 3.48x4.5 meters. This difference is because the interior chamber has a barrel vault supported by a thicker north and south wall. 

Presently, a restoration project has been started to support the damaged parts of the Mausoleum to preserve it in the best way possible for the future. The dirt covering the original stone floor will be removed, and the roof will also be cleared. 

Today, the Mausoleum lies hidden among the vast apricot orchards for which Malatya is famous, as the region provides 80% of Turkey’s production.

The stunning mosaic museum of Zeugma

It appears that I have missed the construction of the new museum for the mosaics saved from Zeugma. Since 2011, the Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology has housed the rich collection from the earlier Zeugma Mosaic Museum, and in 2017, the revamped museum finally reopened to the public. With its 1700 square meters of mosaics, it claims to display the biggest collection in the world. 

Zeugma reached headlines in 1990 when the Dam of Ataturk on the Euphrates River reached completion as part of the vast GAP project covering both the Euphrates and the Tigris. This is the fourth-largest dam in the world. As the remains of old Zeugma were to be flooded forever, thousands of people had been expelled from their homes and lands. Archaeologists from everywhere scrambled to save what they could before the river and sediments obliterated the ruins forever. For me, such an act of destruction is unforgivable, and I wrote several blogs on the disasters of building dams (see: My heart is bleeding for Allianoi, Damned dams! and Damned dams, once again) 

Looking at the events from the positive side, I have to admit that parts of Zeugma have been saved and preserved. They include the Hellenistic Agora, the Roman Agora, two sanctuaries, a theater, a Stadium, two bathhouses, and several necropolises. The Romans left their marks with a Legion’s Military Base, the city walls, and a good number of residential quarters. Archaeologists recognize the historical significance of this once prosperous city that has preserved testimonies from the ancient Semitic culture, Hellenistic and Roman occupation, and beyond. 

Since its foundation as Seleucia by Seleucos I, the city was a vital hub on the trade routes and flourished, especially during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. It was the Romans who, after their conquest of 64 BC, gave the town the name of Zeugma, which means “bridge” or “crossing” in ancient Greek. In 253 AD, the Persian Sassanids expelled the Romans, and their reign initiated the decline of Zeugma (see:  Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) 

As can be expected, most of the mosaics exhibited at The Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology date from the 2^nd century BC and are very much Hellenistic in style and imagery. However, there are exceptions where the scenes are purely Roman or display Greek and Roman gods side by side. Less often mentioned are the rare mural frescos that survived the earthquakes and mudslides that led to the abandonment of Zeugma. 

Several exceptional mosaics have been recovered in extremis from one of the residential villas, of which there must be many more. Imagine how much of old Seleucia is being lost because of a dam that will no longer exist, and justify its construction in the next century. How can we condemn IS for blowing up Palmyra and accept the willful destruction of our heritage here in Zeugma? 

About the preservation of mosaics

Mosaics from whatever time period or location always have a lot to tell about customs, religion, and simple daily life, and as such are very valuable testimonies of our past. 

Yet, as soon as the precious tesserae are exposed, the question arises about what to do with the mosaic and about the best way to preserve it. 

The problem was first confronted during the 18^th century when sites like Pompeii and Herculaneum were excavated. In those days, archaeology was not established as a proper science and most of the finds were carried away to be displayed in the mansions of the rich and famous. As a result, the mosaics were taken apart and the most pleasing pictures were framed in simple or elaborate frames. 

As the number of excavations steadily grew in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, archaeology matured equally and it became clear that not all mosaics – and certainly not the larger ones – could be moved for conservation inside a museum. 

Another option was to rebury the mosaics. To this purpose and probably by trial and error, different materials such as soil, gravel, or sand were used to cover the mosaics. The most obvious material was the soil, which was readily available at the excavation site. Besides, it made sense to rebury the mosaics using the same material that had contributed to their survival for many centuries. Nowadays, sand and gravel with or without plastic netting are often implemented all over antique sites. 

I often regret that I cannot actually have a look at those hidden treasures although I totally understand the logic behind this decision. However, standing at the entrance of the Royal Palace in Aegae and not being able to see the large round mosaic of the Tholos or Sanctuary is rather frustrating. In other places, like in Dion, Greece, (see: Dion, the Macedonian Sanctuary), strolling among the remains of Roman houses is not as rewarding as it could be if the many floors were exposed. 

At times, in order to help the visitor visualize the wealth of the mosaics in situ, shelters have been built to protect the precious stones under all circumstances. There are many such cases, such as Pella, Greece, or Nea Paphos in Cyprus. 

In the end, it all depends on the circumstances and the locations where the mosaics are discovered. In Zeugma, Turkey, (see: Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) even larger floors were removed from the site because the old city was to be flooded after the construction of a dam on the Euphrates. The only way to save what could be saved was to remove the mosaics and shelter them in a newly constructed museum in Gaziantep. 

Mosaic floors that belong to extensive villas are nowadays generally kept intact. A good example is the huge Villa of Piazza Armerina in Sicily (best known for the pictures of the bikini-girls) which has been largely roofed. On other occasions, the entire basement of the villa is cleared and made accessible underground as is the case in Ravenna, Italy. This site, called Tapeti di Pietra (carpets of stone) had been discovered during the construction of a parking lot underneath a modern building. Another similar situation occurred in Antakya, Turkey (see: Antakya’s rich collection of mosaics) where the heavily undulating mosaic floor will be incorporated into the hotel that is under construction. 

It appears that there are many options to safeguard a mosaic floor, all depending on the location and the circumstances in which they are found. Overall, the best and safest conservation choice is the reburial technique. However, this has to be done very carefully and the site must be kept under surveillance. It is sad to find mosaics disintegrating because the layer of sand and gravel is not thick enough and curious or malicious visitors scratch the protection away to expose the mosaics underneath. Many archaeological sites in the Middle East and North Africa are being damaged beyond repair like in Ptolemais, Libya (see: Ptolemais, heritage of the Ptolemies in the Cyrenaica).

Damned dams, once again

On several occasions, I brought up the matter of the disastrous consequences of flooding our history through the construction of dams on major rivers. I have developed the pros and cons in earlier blogs (see: Zeugma, border town along the Euphrates River; My heart is bleeding for Allianoi; and Damned Dams). This is, however, only the very tip of the iceberg and it is very sad that so little is done to bring this matter of utmost importance for the preservation of our cultural heritage to the attention of the general public.

Perchance I found an incredibly interesting presentation on YouTube that clearly illustrates the catastrophic consequences of these dam-building projects using Turkey’s three main dams on the Euphrates River. The problem, however, is not limited to Turkey alone but known all over the Near East.

Although we often believe that much of the city of Zeugma has been rescued and moved to the Museum in Gaziantep, the truth is that only an infinite part of this ancient city has been excavated - most of it is drowned forever. More dramatic is the city of Samsat on the Euphrates founded in the 7th millennium BC and flooded without merci in 1989 when the Ataturk Dam was completed.

This documentary, unfortunately, has not been seen by the number of visitors one would and should expect for such a sensitive and important subject. It is quite amazing – and certainly an eye opener – to see all the dots on the maps where archaeological sites have simply disappeared forever. The crimes of IS received far more attention and indignation around the world than the flooding of our ancestral roots on such a large scale.

The documentary was created by the UNIBO team led by Nicolò Marchetti in the frame of the 2015-2018 EU-funded JPI project "Heritage and Threat".

Please, do visit this site and show your appreciation by clicking on the Thumbs Up!

Puzzling Zeugma’s mosaics together

It is the flooding of Zeugma by the rising waters of the Euphrates River that drew the world’s attention to this once so proud city. Zeugma first reached headlines in 1990 when the Dam of Ataturk on this river, part of the huge GAP-project, was completed (see: Zeugma, Border-Town along the Euphrates River).

This time, the news comes from another side, the Bowling Green State University in Ohio, U.S.A., who possessed twelve mosaics from ancient Zeugma. The pieces are said to be looted from the site nearly fifty years ago during illegal excavations. It turns out that these sections belong to the well-known mosaic of the so-called Gipsy Girl.

[Gipsy-Girl Picture from Hurriyet Daily News]

With the customary flattering words and adequate apologies and reverence, the return agreement has been signed and the mosaics have been handed over to Turkey. They will, no doubt, join the magnificent collection at the Museum of Gaziantep.

It always is very satisfactory to witness how widespread bits and pieces of archaeological finds are being reunited, especially when they return to their place of origin.

[Picture of the panels from Ohio are from Archaeology News Network]

An update on Germenicia

Back in 2012, I posted my first blog about the city of Germenicia located some one hundred kilometers north of Gaziantep in eastern Turkey (see: Ever heard of Germenicia?).

Illegal digs carried out in 2007 revealed the presence of the Roman city of Germenicia or Germenicia Caesarea named after Emperor Caligula (in full Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) which covered an area of 140 hectares. The terrain has been divided into 50 parcels and after almost ten years the land of 30 of them has been expropriated. Works have been ongoing since in order to register, excavate and preserve the many large Roman villas and their exquisite floor mosaics.

[Mosaic from Germanicia, at the Kahramanmaraş Museum. 

Regional Directorate of Culture and Tourism Kahramanmaraş]

It appeared that these villas belonged to the local elite and military leaders and it is estimated that there are approximately one hundred such residences built on the foothill of the mountain. The mostly intact mosaics that have been unearthed so far are of the highest quality and generally date from the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th century AD. They feature sophisticated designs using a mix of colored glass, marble, and limestone tesserae, deploying even three-dimensional effects. The quality of these mosaics is unusual because of their realism and their details ranging from architectural representations to scenes of daily life.

The Romans were not the first to occupy the region. Earlier settlers were the Urartians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and Seleucids because the city was built on the crossroads of several ancient trade routes, like the Silk Road. But the wear and tear of repeated wars, landslides, and fire buried the city into oblivion for almost 1,500 years.

Kahramanmaraş, the modern version of Germenicia  has a worthwhile museum of its own. It displays more than 30,000 artifacts from local excavations dating from prehistoric times, Hittite occupation, and Roman and Byzantine eras. Most spectacular are, of course, the mosaics recovered from the Roman villas of Germenicia  but also from other nearby sites. An adjacent room is exhibiting a number of steles, sarcophagi, and marble heads of the Roman elite; another room illustrates daily life through a rich collection of tools, jewelry, armory, pottery, bronze, and glass artifacts as well as coins from Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman eras.

As elsewhere, Turkey hopes to draw tourists to Germenicia, who may already be visiting the treasures of Sanliurfa (founded by Seleucos in 304 BC as Edessa) and Gaziantep (where the mosaics from Zeugma are being exhibited).

Damned dams!

After Allianoi (see: My Heart in bleeding for Allianoi), after Zeugma (see: Zeugma, border town along the Euphrates), and after many uncharted dams destroying our historical heritage, it is the turn to the town of Hasankeyf on the Tigris to be flooded and blasted to pieces because of the construction of yet another dam.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

The location of the dam on the Tigris River is a very unhappy one, for Hasankeyf is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world. From Neolithic caves to the Roman fortress and later Ottoman landmarks, all are soon to disappear forever as crews have already started blasting the surrounding cliffs in preparation for the construction of this dam.

As before in Allianoi and in Zeugma, the Turkish government does not listen to the pleas formulated by local and international communities to preserve the site. Internationally, it does not ring loud bells like when the giant Buddhas were blown to pieces in Bamyan, Afghanistan, or the more recent dynamiting of the Temple of Bell in Palmyra, Syria, but this heritage is nonetheless very important from the historical point of view.

Of course, officials have their own arguments, and as usual, they underscore the fact that this dam will enable the irrigation of the surrounding land and generate a substantial amount of energy. They even expect tourists to come for scuba diving in the new reservoir in search of the submerged monuments (as if the average tourist walks around with his diving gear in his backpack!). The price tag for this operation is, however, that nearly 200 settlements will be submerged and some 15,000 people will be resettled in the newly built city of New Hasankeyf on higher grounds.

It is comforting to hear that Ridvan Ayhan, who is a member of the Save Hansakeyf Initiative, confirms my earlier worries about the lifespan of a dam, which is only 80 years on average. Nobody is asking the obvious question: and then, what? As I explained earlier when talking about Allianoi, water is of vital importance to our life, but dams are not the one and only solution, and they are not eternal as governments all over the world want us to believe. What will happen in 80 or 100 years from now when this barrage and so many others give way? No water then, no crops, no dams, nobody to take responsibility for, and sadly no historical city to be revived from underneath the sediments. How can we explain this to our children and our children’s children?

In December 2016, the HuffPost published a cry for help with large-sized photos of the area, but as usual, officials turned a blind eye to this kind of plea.

Good and bad news from Perge

The Hurriyet Daily News recently came with the news that many mosaics have been uncovered in the necropolis of Perge, glorifying them to be as magnificent as those that made the reputation of Zeugma. Yet the photograph in their article shows the side of a sarcophagus and none whatsoever of the mosaics that are apparently making the headlines.

However, this article raises many questions besides the matter of pictures. They write that “In front of the mausoleums were intact mosaics depicting the goddess of the sea Oceanus, which is said to be the first in Turkey,..”. Well, first of all, Oceanus is a god and not a goddess and secondly, Oceanus has been depicted in many other mosaics in Turkey for instance at the Archaeological Museum of Antakya.

and, more to the point, at the Archaeological Museum of Gaziantep that exhibits the finds from Zeugma!

Sadly, this makes me doubt the eulogized information about this discovery. It is clear that Turkey is struggling to find enough tourists to visit their rich archaeological sites and Perge is no exception. In their article “Ancient Perge surviving, but locals are not” also published in May 2017 they confirm that the number of visitors has dropped drastically from 190,000 in 2014 to just 60,000 in 2016.

Perge certainly is one of those sites worth visiting and I warmly welcome everyone to spend prime time among those lovely ruins but it is not by advertising twisted information that this goal can be reached.

Sagalassos in Alexander’s campaign

Amazingly, the story of Sagalassos so far has remained untold on my weblog, despite the details shared in the great exhibition held in Tongeren, Belgium, not so long ago (Sagalassos, City of Dreams). So, it is high time to tell more about this magnificent city since Alexander the Great conquered it in 333 BC. 

Nowadays, a narrow road leads from the village of Ağlasun to the top of the hill where Sagalassos lies hidden from view. This immense city in the otherwise broken landscape amidst snow-capped mountains is revealed only after passing the watchman's gate. An actual eagle's nest!

Since 1990, archaeologists have constantly been working at Sagalassos, year after year, season after season, exposing new buildings each time. It is easy for a layman to see the city rise from its ashes, so to speak. The wonderful thing about Sagalassos is that so many edifices can easily be re-erected, as, in most cases, at least 90% of the original elements are scattered around! This means that the visitor will always find a surprise each time anew. It is estimated that Sagalassos covers some 1,200 square kilometers and could be compared to Pompeii in Italy, which was frozen in time after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Over here, we find a city that was constantly occupied until the 13th century AD.

Overlooking the area from this strategic location, my admiration for Alexander the Great is growing again – as if that were still possible.

Just before the onset of winter in 334 BC, Alexander split his army into three groups. Under the command of his general Parmenion, part of his troops proceeded to Gordion. The newlyweds were allowed to return home to Macedonia to spend the winter with their families. The entire army was meant to regroup the following spring in Gordion. This meant that Alexander moved through Lycia with a smaller detachment of soldiers, approximately 14,000 men, fighting east through Pamphylia, where important cities like Side, Perge, Aspendos, and Termessos had to be taken to safeguard his rear. When he started his march north in the early days of spring, Sagalassos was evidently on his path, and I find it hard to picture his army moving uphill from around where today's Ağlasun was settled by the Seljuks. I have no mental picture of how big an army of  14,000 may look like – not to mention the number of horses –but this must have been impressive enough. I suppose the baggage train, servants, slaves, craftsmen, and merchants would have stayed in the valley below...

In the 14th century BC, the Hittites knew of Sagalassos, which they called Salawassa. Like all other cities around here, Sagalassos was dominated in turn by the Phrygians and the Lydians until the Persians took hold of it to include it in the province of Pisidia. The Sagalassians were bellicose people with no reason to welcome Alexander with open arms. Any rule change is understandably met with resentment, and their opinion about Alexander will be similar to what they thought about previous conquerors. Anyway, the city was taken, although occupying the high ground in front of the town, they also fought fiercely due to Sagalassos' reinforcements from Termessos. In advance of his right wing led by Alexander himself, the archers were the first to get the beating when they reached the steepest part of the climb to the city, but the Agrianes on the left held their ground. The Pisidians, who, according to Arrian, have no defensive armor, were no match for the fully-equipped infantry attackers (horses were useless in this terrain). About 500 citizens were killed, the surviving defenders fled, and Alexander stormed Sagalassos. After Alexander's death, the region was disputed by Antigonus Monophtalmus, Lysimachos, the Seleucids, and finally, the Attalids of Pergamon. Sagalassos shared the fate of its neighbors when it became part of the Roman Provincia Asia after the death of Attalus III in 133 BC. By then, the city was Hellenistic, and the vehicular language was Greek. 

Named the Metropolis of Pisidia, Sagalassos was a reliable supplier of grain and olives. The local clay ensured the prosperous commerce of pottery like amphorae, jars, and cups for export to the entire Mediterranean region. For six hundred years, the production of ceramics was carried out on an industrial scale. Under Emperor Hadrian, the city underwent significant building activities, many of which we still see today. It is estimated that in its heyday, Sagalassos counted some 50,000 inhabitants! The decline started after repeated earthquakes like that of 518 AD, but mainly those of 644 and 661, while the plague and the Arabian invasion gave the "coup de grace." In the 11th century, it fell into the hands of the Turkmen as it was situated on the caravan route between Antalya and Konya. The Seljuks in the 13th century built the nearby town of Ağlasun with a caravansary and a hammam of its own, and Sagalassos slid into oblivion. We had to wait till 1706 when a traveling Frenchman rediscovered the city, but it was not until 1985 that a Belgo-British team put Sagalassos on the map again, and excavations started for good.

My first visit in 2005 was unsuccessful, for I was with a group led by an uncooperative guide. I returned in 2007 under the far more professional guidance of Peter Sommer in the frame of his superb trip "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great." And because of the ongoing excavations, I returned in 2009, far too long ago, when I saw the most recent pictures. My latest update of 2009 may tell of monuments now in improved condition, although they are, as a matter of course, still in the exact location anyway. 

The first building I encountered on my last visit (and I presume that is still the case today) is the vast complex of the Roman Baths built between 168 and 180 AD, which, together with those of Ephesos, belongs to the largest in Turkey. These baths were repaired and adjusted after the earthquake of 518, i.e., in the middle of the Christian period. From what I understood in Tongeren, archaeologists have traced the many additions and transformations, and the Baths may open to the public very soon.

The Lower Agora, meanwhile, has been restored in all its grandeur, with monolithic marble columns of different colors enhancing the façade of the Nymphaeum, where statues once filled the many niches. Some statues can be seen at the Museum of Burdur, but this must have been quite a sight! This was the first monumental Nymphaeum built under the reign of Trajan in the second century AD and was the first of its kind to meet the traveler entering Sagalassos from the south over the Colonnaded Street. About a century later, its façade was partly dismantled to be re-erected some 40 cm forward, creating a narrow service room behind the basin. The entire width of this fountain is 19 meters with a depth of approximately 3 meters, delimited by a meter-high limestone parapet. Among the statues that filled the nine niches, Hera and Tyche have been identified, and also two small statues of Nike.

The slabs of the marble Agora floor are still in place, as well as the staircase leading to the square below, which connected to the Colonnaded Street that linked up with the Via Sebasté down in the valley. What a panorama from here! It is at least as impressive as my first meeting with Delphi in Greece – one of those places that only the gods can choose.

Behind this Agora, half of the Odeon has been exposed. It doesn't look as if it survived the centuries too well, for it has been stripped of its marble coat, and all I see is the rough brick support. The shape and the method of construction are clearly visible, however.

Via a narrow street and a left turn, I reach the Bouleuterion, a square meeting room counting 250 seats. Three bronze statues representing the people, the city, and the senate at the entrance must have welcomed the attendees.

Next to it lies the Heroon from the early days of the first century AD, delicately restored with its magnificent friezes of dancing and music-playing girls. Although these friezes are mere copies (the originals were also moved to the Museum of Burdur), they give an excellent idea of how they once looked. The hero in whose honor this Heroon was erected remains unknown, although some pretend it might be Alexander the Great. This may be wishful thinking, for although the hero's head, now on display at the Burdur Museum, closely resembles Alexander, I am a little skeptical.

At the foot of this Heroon lies the Upper Agora, dating from the Hellenistic period and enlarged in the first century. The great attraction is the ostentatious fountain, the Antonine Nymphaeum from 160-180 AD, that looks like a theater front with six niches that held statues from the late fourth or early fifth century AD representing Asklepios, Koronis, Nemesis, Apollo, possibly Hygeia, and an unidentified male. Each corner hosted a beautiful, larger-than-life Dionysus with Satyr, now also in Burdur (with the other statues). In-depth research has revealed that the fountain was repaired in the 4th century and that the statues came from the Temple of Apollo Klarios in the lower part of the city. Each corner of the Upper Agora is enhanced with a 13-meter-high honorific column for the city's most prominent families, whose children later would become the first Roman citizens of Sagalassos. After the earthquake of 650 AD, the entire Nymphaeum collapsed and was never restored. I hear that today the monumental fountain has been so meticulously repaired that the water is again pouring into the broad water basin. That is a "must-see" for my next visit.

Public buildings surround the Upper Agora, where I find Greek and Latin inscriptions. In the middle of the Agora are the remains of a kiosk, initially a small temple dedicated to Tyche with a pyramidal roof and built in the days of Emperor Augustus. It was later reused by Empress Constantia (4th century AD), followed by Emperors Gratianus and Valentianus, and again by Empress Flavia Eudoxia (5th century AD).

Below and southeast of this Agora lies the food market or Macellum from the end of the 2nd century AD. It is a mere square of 21x21 meters with, in its center, a Tholos with a small fountain or water basin to keep the fish fresh. Shops surrounded the Macellum only on three sides, the fourth side being delimited by a colonnade offering a magnificent view over the lower city. Things were spoiled around the beginning of the sixth century when the shops were entirely rebuilt with rubble and lots of spolia from other monuments.

What a pleasure to walk around, especially since I am about the only visitor – so gratifying!

After a look at the necropolis, which is largely fenced off, I turn to the eastern side of Sagalassos. Here lies the exciting and now roofed Library of Flavius Soverianus Neon from 120 AD with its well-preserved mosaic floor. It was inspired by the Library of Celsus in Ephesos, although I personally fail to see how. For a start, this construction is much smaller, measuring only 11,80 x 9.90 meters, and the impressive façade of Ephesos is entirely absent here.

Right beneath the Library is another fountain, a Nymphaeum with Doric columns supporting the preserved roof above the water basin – a rare example of Hellenistic art from the first century BC. This Nymphaeum was the first to be excavated, and to everybody's surprise, as soon as it was exposed, the water started flowing again! Isn't that amazing? The flow is less than it used to be in antiquity simply because the water comes from one source, whereas there were several in antiquity. The fountain's edge is deeply eroded by the many jars pulled out of the freshwater, and the presence of those women drawing water is almost palpable.

The inevitable Roman Theater, completed between 180 and 210 AD, is cozily nestled in a curve higher up the hill. However, it was built in Hellenistic tradition on a Greek foundation with seating in three-quarters of a circle. No excavations have been carried out yet, and the stage seems ready to collapse any day for the past two thousand years. The fault line of the devastating earthquake of 661 AD actually ran right in front of the podium, clearly separating it from the 9,000 seats. Strangely enough, the stage of this theater was only one story high. The reason seems to be that the Sagalassians wanted to see the flat-topped conical hill in the background, where Alexander defeated them in 333 BC – a later honor to the great conqueror!

On the high plateau behind it, the city's unique potters' quarters have left thousands and thousands of shards, ranging from plain earthenware to exquisitely decorated pieces. This place is so unique because of the five known potters' centers spread around the Mediterranean Sea. Only two have been localized: this one and another one in Pergamon, which is entirely flooded after the construction of a barrage. Unforgivable to flood antiquities like that, but it seems to be Turkey's policy, as we have seen at Zeugma and Allianoi …

At the heart of the exhibition in Tongeren, Belgium, a scale model of Sagalassos was presented. It is incredible to discover how many temples, baths, nymphaeums, and private houses have been mapped out over the past decades.

The latest excavations focused on several Roman villas, which I have yet to see but look very promising. There is this vast mansion just beyond the Roman Baths, which, when it was completed in the fourth century, counted no less than 66 rooms spread over several terraces on the slope. The oldest part dates from the 1st century BC and over the years, the villa has been extended and restored many times. By the 6th century, it was split into at least four smaller apartments in which the luxurious quarters were transformed into storage rooms and even stables! So far, we know that the construction collapsed during the heavy earthquakes of the 7th century and was no longer occupied. There are many more mansions like this one in the area, i.e., east of the Colonnaded Street, but also on the opposite side, which is much more terraced. Yes, high time to pay Sagalassos another visit.

The cherry on the cake is a visit to the nearby Museum of Burdur to treat yourself to the original dancing girls from the Heroon and the grand statues of extreme beauty from the Upper and Lower Agora fountains.