Sagalassos

Sagalassos sits on a mountainside at between fourteen and seventeen hundred metres, backed by cliffs, and it is the most impressive high-altitude ancient city in Turkey - abandoned after earthquakes and plague in the seventh century, never rebuilt over, and excavated since 1990 by a long-running Belgian project that has combined digging with careful anastylosis. The centrepiece is the Antonine Nymphaeum on the upper agora, a monumental fountain of the second century reassembled from its own fallen blocks and reconnected to the ancient spring line, so it runs water again - standing in front of it with the mountains behind is the reason people make the climb. Around it are the theatre, still largely intact and dramatically sited, a second fountain, the bouleuterion, baths, a library with mosaic, and colossal statue fragments of Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius found here and shown in the Burdur museum. The air at this height is thin and cold, and cloud rolls in fast.

Highlights

• The Antonine fountain - reassembled and running water again.
• The theatre - largely intact on the mountainside.
• The upper agora - the civic centre and its monuments.
• The mountain setting - cliffs above and the valley far below.

When to go

May to June and September to October. Mornings before cloud builds; the site closes in snow, and even in summer it is cold and windy at this altitude.

What to expect

It is high, steep and involves substantial walking on uneven ground. Weather changes fast - bring a layer even in July. The road up from Ağlasun is steep and a car is needed.

Nearby

Burdur and its museum, holding the site's sculpture, are 40 km away; Antiocheia and Lake Eğirdir are north-east.

Key facts