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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.