Hadrian's Gate

The gate was put up in 130 CE to mark Hadrian's visit to Attaleia, and it is the best-preserved Roman structure in the city: three identical arches of white marble with Corinthian columns, coffered ceilings carved with rosettes above each passage, and a tower at either end - the southern one Roman, the northern rebuilt in the Seljuk period, which is why they do not match. For most of the Ottoman centuries the gate was walled up and buried within the fortifications, which is precisely why the marble survived so well; it was cleared and reopened in the twentieth century. Look down as you pass through: the original Roman paving is exposed below the modern level, deeply rutted by cart wheels, and the drop shows how much the ground has risen since. A walkway crosses over the top. It is a five-minute look and it is free, and it is the natural way to enter Kaleiçi on foot.

What you actually see

• The three arches - white marble with Corinthian columns.
• The coffered ceilings - carved rosettes above each passage.
• The rutted paving - Roman road below the modern level.
• The mismatched towers - Roman on one side, Seljuk the other.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Early morning or evening for photographs without crowds; it is a busy pedestrian route all day.

Honest expectations

It is a gate on a busy street - twenty minutes at most, and there is nothing to enter. Crowds and street vendors are constant. It works as part of a Kaleiçi walk, not a destination.

Nearby

Kaleiçi and the Roman harbour are through the gate; Karaalioğlu Park and the Hıdırlık Tower are south.