Termessos
Termessos Archeological Site Scenery
High in the mountains, at 34 km
northeast of Antalya lies the ancient Pisidian city of Termessos, one of
Turkey's prime attractions. The inhabitants of Termessos were Pisidians,
the same warlike tribe of Anatolian origin that also settled
Sagalassos in the Lake District during the first millenium BC. They
orginally named themselves Solymians after Sollymus, the nearby mountain
(today's Güllük Dağ).
The Solymians are mentioned in the ancient myth of Bellerophon and
Pegasus, when Bellerophon is sent to fight them after having defeated the
Chimaera. They made their entrance in actual history when Alexander the
Great attacked the city in 333 BC and was repelled. Even the Romans
accepted Termessos as an independent city and in 70 BC they signed a
treaty of friendship with Termessos. The city was probably abandoned due
to earthquake damage in 243 AD. It has only been surveyed, never excavated.
Termessos is spectacularly located
in the Güllük Mountains National Park (Güllük Dağı Milli Parkı). From the car park it is a, sometimes
steep, climb of about 9 km and takes at least 2 hours but the scenery makes
it all worthwile. Orientation can be a problem, as signs are sometimes
misleading and the remains are scattered around. I myself missed the famous
theatre.
More info and pictures about Termessos
are available at the comprehensive
Termessos
on the Web by Tim Spalding ,which is entirely dedicated to this
major archeological site.
Click on the thumbnails to get a greater picture
