Category
Ancient Cities
Thyatira
HISTORY OF THYATIRA Thyatira (Akhisar) was founded as a Lydian town ("Teira" is Lydian for "fortress" or "town") near the shrine of the Lydian sun god Tyrimnus. Situated on a broad, fertile plain along the Lycus River (Gorduk cay), the city served as the central road junction in northern Lydia. It was midway on the [...] READ MORE
Philadelphia
HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia (Alasehir) is located about 30 mi/48 km southeast of Sardis. Its acropolis rests on a spur of the Tmolos range (Boz Daglari), with the basin of the Cogamus River (Alasehir Cayi) stretching below. The newest of the cities of the Seven Churches, Philadelphia was found-ed by the Pergamene king Attalos II [...] READ MORE
Smyrna
HISTORY OF SMYRNA Smyrna occupied a beautiful position below Mount Pagos at the head of a deep gulf. Although it was a significant example of an early polls in the archaic era, and a fine city in the Hellenistic period, virtually nothing survives from either phase of Smyrna's history. The evidence has disappeared under the [...] READ MORE
Sardis
HISTORY OF SARDIS Sardis lies about 90 km. inland from the Aegean, in the upper Hermos valley. Its early history is hard to establish. Homer mentions the site in the Iliad as the territory of Maeonians. Herodotus states that Greek warriors, "sons of Heracles" established a kingdom there. As the Hittite Empire declined, Lydians, a [...] READ MORE
Laodicea
HISTORY OF LAODICEA Laodicea occupies a broad plateau overlooking the fertile valley of the River Lycus (Greek: Lykos) tributary of the Maeander. Lying far inland from the major archaeological sites on the Aegean coast, it has emerged only in the last decade as the second largest Roman city in Anatolia, exceeded only by Ephesus. Dormant [...] READ MORE
Pergamum
HISTORY OF PERGAMUM Pergamum, rising dramatically on a hilltop four hundred meters high above the valley of the River Kaikos, is among the most exciting places in Aegean Turkey to visit. Since it lies inland from the sea it did not attract Greek colonists during the Dark Age; a small indigenous population occupied the site. [...] READ MORETurkey Tours and Travel