Aphrodisias

Aphrodisias sat on marble. Quarries a short walk away fed a school of sculptors whose work travelled the Roman empire, and the city spent its wealth on itself: a stadium for thirty thousand that survives almost intact, the tall gateway of the Tetrapylon re-erected from its own fallen blocks, a temple of Aphrodite converted into a Christian basilica, and the Sebasteion, a two-storey corridor of relief panels showing gods, emperors and personified peoples. The site museum holds the statues found here, many still crisp. It stands among poplars and cotton fields at the edge of the village of Geyre, an hour from the nearest tourist route, which is why it stays quiet. UNESCO inscribed it in 2017.

History

The Suda says the city had three earlier Greek names before it became Aphrodisias, after the goddess whose unique cult image stood here, around the 3rd century BC; it became the capital of the Roman province of Caria, and its marble quarries fed a school of sculptors famous across the Roman world. Excavations led by R. R. R. Smith and Katharine Welch have shown that the lavish building of its civic centre was largely paid for by Gaius Julius Zoilos, a former slave of Julius Caesar freed by Octavian, who steered the city to Octavian's side against Mark Antony and won it lasting favour. It remained a centre of paganism until the end of the 5th century, was renamed Stauropolis, city of the cross, before 640, never recovered from an earthquake in the 7th century, was sacked in 1188 and 1197 and passed under Turkish control late in the 13th century; Kenan Erim began the modern excavations in 1962, and in 2017 it became a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Aphrodisias).

What to look for

• The stadium - thirty thousand seats in an oval, almost complete.
• The Tetrapylon - the re-erected ceremonial gateway with spiral columns.
• The Sebasteion - the relief panels, with casts in place and originals in the museum.
• The site museum - marble portraits and statues from the local workshops.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the sensible windows; the plateau bakes in July and August and the walk between monuments is long and open. Mornings are coolest and emptiest. Winter brings mud and short hours. Allow four hours including the museum, which most people rush and then regret.

Before you go

Getting here eats half a day unless you have a car, and there is no useful public transport. The circuit is around two kilometres on rough ground with little shade. Parts are fenced off during excavation seasons, and the Sebasteion panels on site are casts, which some visitors find deflating.

Nearby

The Karacasu pottery workshops and the road on to Pamukkale.

Key facts