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Excavations at ancient city of Perge in Turkey celebrate 65 years
Archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Perge in southern Turkey have reached their 65th year, the Hürriyet Daily News reports. This makes them the longest-running excavations in a country with a wealth of ancient sites.
Perge (aka Perga) is in Turkey's Antalya province and was founded 3,500 years ago by the Hittites. It became a prosperous Greek colony like Ephesus and Pergamon and was for a time under Persian rule. Many of the surviving remains are from the Roman period. In the early days of Christianity, St. Paul preached there (Acts 14:25). Several interesting monuments can still be seen such as a theatre, a stadium, two city gates, and a temple to Artemis.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site is so massive that more than a half century of digging has only uncovered a quarter of it. The current project is to restore many of the columns that once lined the streets.
Perga is at one end of a challenging 300+ mile trek called the St. Paul Trail that cuts diagonally across the country.
For more information and photos, check out this Anatolian travel page.
[Photo courtesy archer10 (Dennis) via flickr]
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, Asia, Europe, Turkey, Middle East
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sarah Sep 13th 2011 11:11AM
Is this city mentioned in the New Testament? If it is on the St. Paul trail then I would assume it is. I visited Turkey pretty extensively back in 2003 but we neglected to visit this site...was my guide negligent? On another note - is hiking the trail considered 'safe' these days? I know Turkey has some reported terrorist activity, (we actually were in Istanbul when the synagogue bombs went off - still felt safe) anything directed towards tourists?
Sean McLachlan Sep 13th 2011 11:16AM
Perge is mentioned briefly in the Book of Acts (14:25). I haven't heard of any trouble on the trail. You should always be careful when hiking, though, especially as a woman. I would not recommend that a woman hike alone in any country. Sad to say, that's just the way the world is.
I don't think the threat of terrorism is very high in Turkey or, indeed, most of the Middle East and Asia outside of high-risk countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. Terrorism has become diffuse, with unpredictable targets. As the security analysts at Stratfor pointed out last year, terrorism has become like any other violent crime. There's no reliable way to avoid it or know if and when it will strike you.
So I say go to Turkey and enjoy this wonderful country. Keep your wits about you, though.
Sarah Sep 13th 2011 7:00PM
Thanks for the advice. I do love Turkey ~ Cappadocia is my favorite region. We are hoping to get back there in the next 5 years or so. One last question ~ do you know of any good guide books written specifically for the trail? Or a good website?
Thanks again for your insightful article and response. :-)
Sean McLachlan Sep 15th 2011 7:23AM
Cappadocia is an enchanting place. I spent Christmas there once, surrounded by snow-topped faerie chimneys.
Unfortunately I don't know a good guide. Have fun on your hike!