Ancient City of Aspendus – Turkey’s Most Treasured Tourist Attraction

In order to gather information about Turkey’s historical past, you must visit the Ancient city of Aspendus. This place is located in the ancient area of Pamphylia and it is believed that the people who first settled in this city were Hittites. This amazingly beautiful

ancient Greco-Roman city is also known as Aspendos. In the early 13th century BC, various Roman settlers started to arrive in this city.

In the Roman period this place was a significant port city. During the reign of Persian rulers, Aspendus was captured by Alexander the Great. The whole city was located on the hilltop and this place is till date the largest and one of the best preserved Roman Theater. The heater was constructed around 2nd century AD and various tourists come here all around the year to experience this mesmerizing wonder.

Roman Ruins
The Ancient city of Aspendus is best known for its Roman Ruins. During the early 5th century BC, the city was a part of the Delian League and its wealth was greatly influenced by a wide range of coinage. During the Hellenistic Age, the city was ruled by Seleucids or the Ptolemies kings and after this period the city eventually passed on to the Roman rulers. In the ancient city you would basically find an agora (which was a huge marketplace), a basilica and numerous rocks cut tombs which were influenced by the Phrygian design.

Aspendus Theater
Aspendus Theater is one of the finest ancient theaters in the world and it was basically carved out of the northeastern part of the hill. The theater was constructed in the honor of king Marcus Aurelius who reigned from 161 Ad to 180 AD. It was designed by Zeno who was a Roman architect. In order to repair the theater on periodic basis, the services of Seljuks were used. In the 13th century the stage of the Aspendus Theater was converted by the Seljuqs of Rum into an attractive palace.

The theater was used for various festivals, concerts and events that were organized on a regular basis.

Coinage
The city of Aspendus started minting coins in the early 500 B.C and it was one of the earliest cities which started this procedure. The coins which were issued by the royalties became a huge source of the city’s wealth.

Well these are the special structures of the Ancient city of Aspendus and visiting it would surely be a mesmerizing experience for you.