Aspendos

Dating back to the 5th century BCE, the city developed through trade and agriculture thanks to its fertile lands and river access to the Mediterranean. Aspendos was particularly well known in the ancient world for its horses and minted coins. Bearing the traces of different civilisations, from the Persians and Alexander the Great to the Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks, the city experienced its most prosperous period under the Roman Empire.

The first structure that comes to mind when Aspendos is mentioned is its ancient theatre, which has survived largely intact to the present day. Built by the architect Zenon between 161 and 180 CE, during the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the theatre reflects the engineering and architectural achievements of its time, with a capacity of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 spectators. One of its most remarkable features is its exceptional acoustics. The theatre was designed so that the voice of a person speaking at the centre of the stage could be heard even from the highest rows. Its stage building, seating tiers and arched galleries reveal the refinement and skill of Roman architecture. Repairs carried out during the Seljuk period and the building’s subsequent use for a time as a palace or caravanserai helped preserve it to the present day. Events held in the theatre today demonstrate that this ancient structure continues to play a role in cultural and artistic life centuries later.

Aspendos’s wealth extends far beyond its theatre. The upper part of the city contains the remains of an agora, basilica, council building, monumental fountain and temples. One of the city’s most remarkable engineering works is its aqueduct system, which stretches for approximately one kilometre. Designed to bring water from the mountains to the settlement, this system demonstrates the advanced water engineering of the Roman period. With its theatre, aqueducts and other remains, Aspendos is an important cultural heritage site that helps us understand how a city in antiquity was planned, inhabited and developed.