Perge Ancient City: Where the Past Comes Alive through Its Theaters and Fountains

Antalya, which is not only about sea, sand and vacation, draws attention with its ancient cities and cultural values. Perge, located in Aksu district of Antalya, is an important ancient city not only in Antalya but also in the Mediterranean Region. Perge, which was called the most beautiful city at that time; Let's look at other details about this ancient city with temples, ancient theater and many historical buildings.Located 18 km from the city center, the ancient city is actually not a city but a place that was the capital of the region called Pamphylia. It is known as the most organized and beautiful city established in Anatolia during the Hellenistic period. The inscription on a bronze plate unearthed during excavations in Hattusa in 1986 shows that Perge had an important place for the Hittites. This city, where many civilizations lived from the Hittite Empire until the Eastern Rome left this city, is a remarkable place with its historical buildings left behind. The ancient city, which is on the UNESCO temporary list, is among the best ancient cities from the past to the present. If you want to learn more about Perge, be sure to visit the Perge Theater Hall in the Antalya Archeology Museum.Historical Buildings Remaining from PergeThe theater, which consists of three main sections, was originally built to watch gladiator and wild animal fights. With a capacity of 13.000 people, it has 2 seating rows. The theater, which has an interesting stage structure, opens to the backstage with 5 doors. Above the stage building there is a relief depicting the life of Dionysus, the god of wine. In fact, those reliefs are so beautiful that they are still eye-catching. Although the stage has been damaged over the years, you can see the reliefs depicting Dionysus when you go.Address: Macun, 07112 Aksu/AntalyaOpening-Closing Time: 08:00- 20:00It is one of the best stadiums from the past to the present. The stadium has a rectangular plan with 11 seating rows. Measuring 234 x 34 meters, the stadium has a capacity of 12,000 people and is said to have been built in the middle of the 1st century AD. At the back of the stadium, the shops under the tribune and the owner of the shop and what was sold are written on the columns.Address: Barbaros, 07112 Aksu/AntalyaOpening-Closing Time: 08:00- 20:00The Perge Gate, also called the Hellenistic Gate, has three gates on the east, west and south. This gate in the south belongs to the courtyard gate type. The Hellenistic Gate, known to have been built in the 2nd century BC, has an oval courtyard plan protected by two four-storey round towers for defense purposes. In 121 AD, it was transformed into a courtyard of honor. Meanwhile, the Hellenistic walls were covered with colored marble and there are statues of gods and the legendary founders of the city in the niches opened to the columned facade walls.Address: Barbaros, 07112 Aksu/AntalyaOpening-Closing Time: 08:00- 20:00The Agora, which was both the political and commercial center of Perge, has shops all around the courtyard. It is seen that the floors of some of the shops are covered with mosaics and one of these shops opens to the agora and the other shop opens to the streets surrounding the agora. The shops on the south wing, built according to the slope of the land, have two floors. During the Eastern Roman Empire, the main entrances, except the west entrance, were walled off, and the north entrance was probably used as a chapel. The Agora, which has a diameter of 13.40 m in the center of the square and has a round structure, measures 75.92 x 75.90 m.Address: Barbaros, 07112 Aksu/AntalyaOpening-Closing Time: 08:00- 20:00It is one of the best-preserved buildings of the Perge ancient city that has survived to this day. Compared to other buildings in the Pamphylia Region, it draws attention with its size and monumental features. The dressing place, cold bath, warm bath, hot bath and places reserved for exercise are lined up side by side so that the person coming to the bath can benefit from the entire bath complex by passing from one place to another. The heating system built into the floor of some places can still be seen today.Address: Barbaros, 07112 Aksu/AntalyaOpening-Closing Time: 08:00- 23:00The Columned Street of the ancient city of Perge is the street that goes from one end of the city to the other, with all the important places and buildings along the way. A 2 meter wide water channel divides the street between the fountain (nympheum) and the settlement at the foot of the acropolis.The Kestros fountain, which was built in 128 AD, is a 21-meter-wide, two-storey building built on the southern foot of the Acropolis, north of the columned main street. The water flowed into a large pool under the statue of the river god symbolizing the river Kestros (Aksu River) in the center of the fountain. There were statues of Zeus, Artemis and Apollo, as well as two statues of Hadrian, one dressed and the other nude. In August 2022, a statement on the Perge excavations said that water was flowing from the fountain after about 1,800 years thanks to the experiment.Address: Barbaros, Perge Road, 07112 Aksu/AntalyaOpening-Closing Time: 08:00- 20:00If you are going to Perge Ancient City by bus, you need to go to Aksu from Antalya. You can take buses AC03, AF04, AU37, AF04A to go to Aksu from Antalya. After reaching Aksu, you can reach the ancient city of Perge by following the Perge signs. If you are coming with your private car, if you follow the road passing in front of the gendarmerie by following the Perge sign after reaching Aksu district to the ancient city, which is 18 km away from Antalya center, you will reach the ancient city at the end of 2 km.