Tour Duration :
6,5 - 7 hrs
Min.# of guests :
20 guests
Max.# of guests :
100 guests
Meals :
Yes
Refreshments :
No
Walking Level :
Difficult
Dress Code :
Comfortable
walking shoes with
rubber sole and a hat
with
sunshade are reccommended. |
|
Depart from Izmir Port to Pegamum, passing through the fertile plains watered by the Selinus River, a site settled by one civilization after another since ancient times. The city of Pergamum was ruled by Lydians and by Persians before falling to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. When Alexander died, control of the city passed to one of his generals, Lysimahchus, who controlled a great part of the Aegean region. After Lysimachus’ death a cascade of kings and emperors ruled the city and the kingdom of which it was the center, from Philatairos to Attalus to Eumenes, to Atallus II, whose will finally declared that Pergamum would become a part of the Roman Empire after his death.
500 years later, around 300 AD, this already great city’s golden age began with the invention of parchment in the city. You will tour the remains of the city’s most famous landmark, a library that contained 200,000 volumes and put Pergamum on a par with Alexandria as a cultural center of the Roman Empire.
As you walk around the acropolis, located atop a steep hill with a spectacular view, you will get the impression that the city was built to be an inaccessible fortress. And it was. Continue on, admiring the celebrated library, a steep and impressively dignified theatre, temples of Trajan and Dionysus, the monumental altar of Zeus, the sanctuary of Demeter, a gymnasium on three terraces, and the Agora.
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. The Asclepion added to the city’s reputation as a center of learning and science, and contained a rehabilitation center, an Ionic portico, sacred spring, latrines, and a “psychotherapy tunnel”.
Have lunch at a local restaurant in the area. Following lunch, free time will be provided in modern town of Bergama before returning for the evening to Izmir Port. |
