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Aspendos 150 pictures 8 minutes HQ video Aspendos, the present-day Belkiz, was once situated on the banks of the River Eurymedon, now known as the Kopru Cay. In ancient times it was navigable; in fact, according to Strabo, the Persians anchored their ships there in 468 BC, before the epic battle against the Delian Confederation. It is commonly believed that Aspendos was founded by colonists from Argos. One thing is certain: right from the beginning of the 5^th century B.C., Aspendos and Side were the only two towns to mint coins. An important river trading port, it was occupied by Alexander the Great in 333 B.C., because it refused to pay tribute to the Macedonian king. It became an ally of Rome after the Battle of Sipylum in 190 B.C. and entered the Roman Empire. The town is built against two hills: on the "Great Hill", or Buyuk Tepe, stood the acropolis, with the agora, basilica, nymphaeum and bouleuterion or "council chamber". Of all these buildings, which were the very hub of the town, only ruins remain. About one kilometer north of the town, one can still see the remains of the Roman aqueduct that supplied Aspendos with water, transporting it from a distance of over twenty kilometers, and which still maintains its original height. Theater Aspendos' theater is the best preserved Roman theater anywhere in Turkey. It was designed during the 2^nd century A.D. by the architect Zeno, son of Thedore, originally from Aspendos. Its two benefactors - the brothers Curtius Crispinus and Curtius Auspicatus - dedicated it to the Imperial family as can be seen from certain engravings on the stones. Discovered in 1871 by Count Landskonski during one of his trips to the region, the theater is in excellent condition, thanks to the top quality of the calcareous stone and to the fact that the Seljuks turned it into a palace, reinforcing the entire north wing with bricks. Its thirty-nine flights of steps - 96 meters long - could seat about twenty thousand spectators. At the top, the elegant gallery and covered arcade sheltered spectators. One is immediately struck by the integrity and architectural distinction of the stage building, consisting of a frons scaenae which opens with five doors onto the proscenium and scanned by two orders of windows which also project onto the outside wall. There is an amusing anecdote about the construction of this theater - in which numerous plays are still held, given its formidable acoustics - and the aqueduct just outside the town: in ancient times, the King of Aspendos had a daughter of rare beauty named Semiramis, contended by two architects; the king decided to marry her off to the one who built an important public work in the shortest space of time. The two suitors thus got down to work and completed two public works at the same time: the theater and the aqueduct. As the sovereign liked both buildings, he thought it right and just to divide his daughter in half. Whereas the designer of the aqueduct accepted the Solomonic division, the other preferred to grant the princess wholly to her rival. In this way, the sovereign understood that the designer of the theater had not only built a magnificent theater - which was the pride of the town - but would also be an excellent husband to his daughter; consequently he granted him her hand in marriage. Nymphaeum The construction that is 32.5 meters long and 15 meters tall is the most majestic of all the agora constructions that have remained standing. It is made of well-cut rectangular blocks of conglomerate. The outer facade, however, displays a two-storey architectural feature. The water for this monumental fountain was supplied from the aqueduct by two channels in the back. Eastern Gate Agora The agora of Aspendos occupies the widest space among all the ruins found on the acropolis. At the top of the street that starts at the South Gate and leads to the agora, there is the exedra which served as the orators's platform. The ruins at the North-West of the agora belong to the city's council hall or the bouleuterion. To the West of the agora there is the market building. The shops extend 70 meters on a podium that rises a few steps above the level of the agora. Basilica The basilica located to the east of the agora, used to serve as the city trading center. Doric Temple The temple stands on a large temenos area covering a flat topped hill and the wall blocks of temenos with carefully cut conglomerate blocks seem to be in good condition in the northern side. Back to Turkey Index