Sagalassos - 2004
Sagalassos Overview
Sagalassos is easily visited from Eğirdir
by first taking the regular bus to Isparta. Get off at Isparta's Çarşı
terminal where dolmuşes run every 45 minutes to
Ağlasun. At Ağlasun,
just ask around and bargain for taxi or private car to drive you up to the
site and back. Ask for at least 1 hour waiting time.
The most prominent of the restored
buildings is the Doric or Hellenistic Fountain House. It was built during
the 1st century BC as a U-shaped portico with a courtyard open towards the
south. Near the beginning of the 3rd century
AD the fountain house was incorporated into an esplanade surrounding it on
three sides. After the earthquake of 518 AD the courtyard was partly
filled and the water distributed by terracotta pipes over the city.
North of the Hellenistic Fountain house
are the remains of the Neon-Library. If asked, the guardian will open the
building. The roman library was founded by T. Flavius Severianus Neon
shortly after 120 AD and is probably related to the Celsus library in
Ephesos. The library and Hellenistic Fountain House were restored by the R. Lemaire Center for Restoration of
the K.U. Leuven in 1997.
Another prominent landmark is the Northwest Heroon,
a 14 m tall structure composed of a
Corinthian naiskos on top of a plain socle. The Heroon was dedicated to a deified
human being and was erected during the second half of the reign of Emperor
Augustus (25 BC - 14 AD). Inside the monument stood a more than 3 m high marble statue perhaps
representing a youthful Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333
BC. Shortly after 400 AD the monument, together with the Doric Temple next
to it, was incorporated into a late Roman city wall.
The Antonine Nymphaeum (160-180 AD) is
an impressive monumental fountain erected between
160-180 AD in the shape of a theatre facade with six aediculae.
The building was repaired in the 4th century AD and decorated with reused
statues. All statues are on display in the Burdur Museum. The building
collapsed around 650 AD. Restoration is ongoing.
Click on the thumbnails to get a greater picture
