aphrodisias

tour day 11

Some days the planets align. The weather is perfect; you have a place all to yourself; and you know you're in a remarkable site with a great story.

Our morning in Aphrodisias was one of those days.

We were in southernmost Turkey where it was supposed to be hot, but remarkable crisp fall weather suddenly moved in. Today looked like rain for certain, but the sun came out and turned the skies brilliant blue.

Maybe all the other tours went to Ephasus today, but almost nobody came to Aphrodisias. It was all ours!

aphrodisias

Aphrodisias was an ancient Greek city named for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Marble quarries cover this region, and the sculptors from the school in Aphrodisias were famous in the Roman world.

The site is also in an earthquake zone, and it never quite recovered from the big one in the 7th century. It fell into disrepair for hundreds of years, until a modern peasant village built over the ruins.

In 1962, a Turkish archeologist teaching at NYU discovered this village of farmers who had repurposed Greek columns to hold up their front porches and watered their cows from ancient sarcophagi. He convinced the Turkish government to resettle the villagers elsewhere, and started a program to excavate the ruins.

Kenan Erim, that archeology professor, devoted his life to excavating Aphrodisias, and he's buried on the lawn near Tetrapylon, the gateway where pilgrims approached the Temple of Aphrodite.

tetrapylon, gateway to the Temple of Aphrodite

The Stadium seated 30,000, and you can still see the opening of the tunnel where the gladiators entered the arena.

stadium

theatre

Many more pieces to fit together in this puzzle! Now it's done with computers.

haunting faces in the ruins

There was also a photography exhibit of images from the early NYU excavations and a wonderful modern sculpture museum showcasing work from the Aphrodisias school. Only pieces excavated in Aphrodisias are shown.