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Tour Duration :
4 - 4,5 hrs
Min.# of guests :
20 guests
Max.# of guests :
N/A
Meals :
No
Refreshments :
No
Walking Level :
Difficult
Dress Code :
Comfortable
walking shoes are
reccommended.
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Depart from Dikili Port to Pegamum, passing through the plains on the banks of Selinus River, a site settled by one civilization after another since ancient times. Bergama (Pargauma/Pergamos:People of High City) refers to a city and its surrounding district in Izmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Republic of Turkey. The city of Pergamon was the ancient Greek and Roman cultural center; its wealth of ancient ruins continues to attract considerable tourist interest today.
In the Acropolis, the remains that you see on the left hand side while going in, are the monumental tombs or heroons built for the kings of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period. Shops are situated at their side. When you enter the Acropolis, the remains seen at your left side, are the foundations of Propylon (monumental gates) which were constructed by Eumenes II. When you pass to the square surrounded with three stoas of the Doric order you’ll notice the ruins of the temple of Athena, built during the time of Eumenes II in the 3rd century B.C. It’s just above the theater. The famous Library of Pergamon which contained 200,000 books, was situated north of the square. Antonius gave all the books of the library to Cleopatra as a wedding gift. The remains near the library, are some houses from the Hellenistic period. If you go up the stairs, you’ll see the remains of the palaces of Eumenes II and Attalos II. Inside the Acropolis there are houses, military barracks and military warehouses called “Arsenals”. The building that has been restored at present, is the Temple of Trajan. Trajan started it but after his death Emperor Hadrian (117-138) finished the temple in Corinthian order and it was placed upon a terrace with dimensions of 68 x 58 m. Attempts have been continuing by the German archaeologists since 1976 to erect this temple which has 6 x 9 columns and a peripteros plan (one row of columns around the temple). It is completely marble.
Your next stop will be the Asclepion, named after the god of health, which is reached via a sacred road lined with still more monuments and architectural fragments from antiquity. In this place, in Pergamum, the unhealthy could bath in the water of the sacred spring, and in their dreams Asclepius would appear to tell them how to cure their illness. Archeologists have found lots of gifts that people would make afterwards, such as small terracotta body parts, presumably representing what had been healed.
At the end of the program, return to the pier to re-embark the ship. |
