Perge Ancient City

📍 General Information

• 🌍 Location: Aksu district, about 18 km east of Antalya city center.

• 🏗️ Founded: Around 1200 BC in the region of Pamphylia.

• 🏺 Founders: Believed to have been established by the Achaeans after the Trojan War.

• 🌟 Significance: One of the most prosperous and well-planned ancient cities of Pamphylia, especially during the Roman period.

🕰️ Historical Background

• 🏺 Hittite Period: Known as Parha in Hittite inscriptions, indicating its ancient origins.

• 🏛️ Hellenistic Period: Famous for its symmetrical city layout, monumental gates, and defensive walls.

• 👑 Roman Period: The city’s golden age; the stadium, theatre, baths, agora, and colonnaded streets were built during this era.

• ✝️ Byzantine Period: Became an important Christian bishopric center.

• ⚔️ Medieval Period: Declined after trade routes shifted.

🏗️ Architectural Highlights

• 🏟️ Stadium: One of the best-preserved Roman stadiums in Anatolia, with a capacity of around 12,000 spectators.

• 🎭 Theatre: Seats approximately 15,000 people, adorned with mythological reliefs and marble sculptures.

• 🛁 Bath Complex: Features hot and cold rooms, representing the Roman social and bathing culture.

• 🏛️ Agora: The commercial and social hub of the ancient city.

• 🏗️ Colonnaded Streets: Broad streets lined with marble columns and water channels running through their centers.

• ⛪ Basilica & Monumental Gates: Traces of Byzantine religious architecture still visible today.

📸 Touristic Significance

• 🏛️ Among Antalya’s most visited archaeological sites.

• 🧱 Excavations continue, revealing sculptures, mosaics, and city structures.

• 📷 Popular among photographers and history lovers for its impressive Roman ruins.

• 🏆 Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

🕒 Visitor Information (2025)

🌟 Cultural Importance

Perge stands as one of the best-preserved examples of urban planning in ancient Anatolia.
It reflects the art, architecture, and civic sophistication of the Roman Empire, offering visitors an unforgettable journey through time.
For history and archaeology enthusiasts, Perge is truly an open-air museum of antiquity.