Perge, one of Pamphylia’s foremost cities, was founded on a wide plain between two hills 4 km. west of the Kestros (Aksu) river. Skylax, who lived in the fourth century B.C. and was the earliest of the ancient writers to mention Perge, states that the city was in Pamphylia. In the New Testament book, Acts of the Apostles, the sentence “…when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perge in Pamphylia” suggests that Perge could be reached from the sea in ancient times. Just as the Kestros provides convenient communication today, the diver also played an important role in antiquity, making the land productive, and securing for Perge the possibility of sea trade. Despite its being some 12 km. inland from the sea, Perge by means of the Kestros, was able to benefit from the advantages of the sea as if it were a coastal city. Moreover, it was removed from the attacks of pirates invading by sea. In later copies of a third or fourth century map of the world, Perge is shown beside the principal road starting at Pergamum and ending at Side.
Archive for the Category "Alanya"
Phaselis
When you are driving on the new road parallel to the coast that offers you all the beauties of the Mediterranean, if you turn to Phaselis 35 kilometers before Antalya, this road in the woods will take you to Phaselis in the village of Tekirova. Although the nearly Beldibi Cave was labeled a prehistoric site, the establishment of the city of Phaselis doesn’t go earlier than the seventh century B.C. Phaselis was founded in 690 B.C. as a colony of Rhodes. It had three ports and was close to rich forests. In the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., the sea was the only source of income for Phaselis. At that time the Persians took control of Anatolia, and later Alexander defeated the Persians and conquered Phaselis. The people of Phaselis opened their doors to Alexander and made him their guest. Alexander received several ambassadors of from Pamphlia cities here in this city. He also conquered all the cities on the coast one-by-one and went on the way to Gordion. After the death of Alexander, from 309 to 197 B.C , the city was ruled by the Ptolemies of Egypt. It was later given to the Kingdom of Rhodes like other Lycian cities in the peace of Apamia. Phaselis stayed under the rule of Rhodes from 190 to 160. After 160 B.C., the city joined the Lycian Union under Roman sovereignty. Phaselis was attacked by pirates in first century B.C.. The city was ruled by a pirate named Zenekites for some time before the Romans defeated him. In 42 B.C. Brutus and the Romans took possession of the city. During the Byzantine era, Phaselis became the center of the episcopate. Because of its good ports, the city was attacked again by the third century B.C., and after that it lost its importance. It became even poorer with Arab raids. By the 11th century B.C., Phaselis could no longer survive. It was forgotten totally when the Seljuks came to value the ports of Alanya and Antalya more. In its early years, the city met its water needs with wells and cisterns. In Roman times, it brought water to the city via aqueducts from faraway places. They transported water from a spring to the north to a hill behind the Hadrian Agora and from here they distributed it to the city through channels. The main ruins of the city are found on two sides of the main avenue that connects the military port with the south port. There are three steps on the sidewalks on two sides of the avenue which is 125 meters long and 20-25 meters wide. The avenue forms a square in the middle and leads to the south port. The avenue is paved with regular stones and has sewage and drainage systems underneath it.
Selge
Selge was an important Pisidian city. It lies on the southern slopes of the Taurus in a naturally fortified spot difficult of access. It is reached by a forest road that climbs past cliffs, rivers, and small waterfalls, then passes over a Roman bridge. Thanks to its natural and historical treasures, it has been included in the Koprulu kalyon (Bridged Canyon) National Park. According to Strabo, Selge’s founder was Calchas, and it was later resettled by the Lacedaemonies (Spartans). The first settlement occurred during the Doric migrations which took place at the end of the second millennium B.C. and were connected with the Trojan War. The second settlement took place at the beginning of the seventh century B.C. together with the colonization of Rhodes. No inscription confirming this has come to light in the city, however and the idea that colonists would choose a place hard to spot from the coast and hidden in the mountains seems difficult to accept.
SIDE
Side, ancient Pamphylia’s largest port, is situated on a small peninsula extending north-south into the sea. Strabo and Arrianos both record that Side was settled from Kyme, city in Aeolia, a region of western Anatolia. Most probably, this colonization occurred in the seventh century B.C.. According to Arrianos, when settlers from Kyme came to Side, they could not understand the dialect. After a short while, the influence of this indigenous tongue was so great that the newcomers forgot their native Greek and started using the language of Side. Excavations have revealed several inscriptions written in this language. The inscriptions, dating from the third and second centuries B.C., remain undeciphered, but testify that the local language was still use several centuries after colonization. Another object found in Side excavations, a basalt column base from the seventh century B.C. and attributable to the Neo Hittites, provides other evidence of the site’s early history. The word “side” is Anatolian in origin and means pomegranate.
