Description Of Aspendos: The Most Historical Monumnts Of Turkish Tourism

Introduction

Antalya city which is name comes from Ancient Greek is fifth-most populous city in Turkey. It is the capital of tourism in Turkey. This city is one of fantastic city because people who visited this city give these title (The paradise on the earth and the pearl of Mediterranean) for this city. Antalya is very old city and it has historical monuments. One of historical monument is Asendos antique city. Aspendos or Aspendus was an ancient Gree-Roman city in Antalya.

In this research I want to explain Aspendos city.

History

Aspendos was first founded by Greek colonists who came to Pamphylia region after the Trojan War. Archaeologists theorize that it is possible to the city could be founded by the Hittites. Together with their neighbor Perge, Aspendos was also left under the Persian rule between 6th and 5th centuries BC, at that time, Aspendos became a member of the Attic-Delos Maritime confederation afterwards it was become rescue from Persian by the Athenians. But it didn’t take a long time in the 5th century BC Persians captured the city again and stayed there until the arrival of Alexander the Great in 333 BC. After that Alexander died, the city was controlled by the Seleucids, and after Seleucids, this city was controlled by Kingdom of Pergamum until 133 BC. After this period the Romans could take over Pergamon.

This process was continued until in the 13th century, Aspendos was settled by Seljuk. Today, Aspendos is also known as; Belkis or Belkiz.

Aspendos

Aspendos ancient city are situated in Pamphylia, approximately 40 km east of Antalya, on the Eurymedon river. The significant reason for most of the tourists who want to visit Aspendos is its Roman theatre which has the best structure in the world. And also, Aspendos has historical monuments like a theatre, stadium, a basilica and an agora.

Theatre

The most famous structure in Aspendos is the theatre of Aspendos which was composed by the famous emperor Marcus Aurelius .The theater was built of calcareous stone and brick .There are 39 rows of seats. As a result, this place can accommodate 20,000 spectators in it. The semicircular hall of this complex is divided into two part, a corridor that has been built for passengers. Twenty rows of chairs are arranged in steps. Because of the theater’s structure which is the best structure in the world, people can hear everything clearly. So, there are still some plays and performances which put on during the year for guest who visit this place. Addition to, the annual Aspendos opera, Ballet dance and other festivals are also held during June and August months.

However, in 1994, the formation of a committee laid a new foundation in Aspendos. Ballet and Opera Festival, which is now held every year in late spring and early summer.it is a popular event with tickets running out a few months before the start.

Structure

There is a corridor between the stone rows, which practically divides the rows into two separate upper and lower parts. Above the second row of chairs is a long corridor with arched columns, all of which are roman material. A place which is top of all belongs to a high-ranking person or a royal family to protect themselves from the sun. The angle of the Sangab rows is such that everyone can easily see the scene. the Greek architect used to construct the building in such a way that sound could be received the last floors as the same quality as the first rows.

There is a corridor between the stone rows, which practically divides the rows into two separate upper and lower parts. Above the second row of chairs is a long corridor with arched columns, all of which are roman material. A place which is top of all belongs to a high-ranking person or a royal family to protect themselves from the sun. The angle of the Sangab rows is such that everyone can easily see the scene. the Greek architect used to construct the building in such a way that sound could be received the last floors as the same quality as the first rows.

The stage building with its exterior is completely attractive every viewer. There are 17 windows on one side of the building and two rows on the outside. Attractive sculptures add to the beauty of the other side of the building. There are five doors which is located from behind the scenes. The large door is located in the middle of the building and is called Porta Regia, and the four smaller doors are located on the other sides and are called Porta Hospital. Above the entrance are two inscriptions in Roman and Latin languages, where they are mentioned the names of two brothers named Curtius Crispinus and Cortius Aspiratus, who have dedicated this theater to the holy gods of this land and the royal family. these two towers are located on both sides of the stage or skeletal structure and it can help the building to connected to the stage by several steps. The roof of building was also covered with a wooden plate. Unfortunately, there is no trace remains today.

In the middle of the twentieth century, Kemal Mustafa, who is famous Atatürk, the famous Turkish president, visited the ancient Aspendos theater while visiting the Siri region. A healthy and attractive structure that could have been very effective for the development of Turkey in those days. Ataturk ordered extensive renovations and repairs to revive the Aspendos Amphitheater.

Many years later, archaeologists admire his work because he could protect a historical monument which can greatly contribute to the development of the country's tourism and economic industry.

Conclusion

Aspendos is the best historical place in the world. Due to the structure of its properties, it has been used a lot in the past. The city has several monuments that I just described theater. This small town near Antalya.in the ancient roman period, Aspendos was built by experienced architects. If you look at the text, there are special architectural structures in the building, such as the five door, shapes of the cinema, which can accommodate nearly 200,000 people or because of its structure people can hear everything very clearly.

As I said before, it is a fantastic monument which is attractive many visitors to this place. Every year in June and august there are many festival Ballet dance which are held in this place.

The building was built a long time ago, it was reconstructed by Atatürk. many cracked structures were repaired, but unfortunately some of them were destroyed at that time, so reconstruction was not possible

Refrernce

• Barbara Burrell, Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors (Brill,(https:turkisharchaeonews.netsiteaspendoshttps:en.wikipedia.orgwikiAspendoshttp:www.turkishculture.orgarchaeologyaspendos https;www.jstor.org