The bus to Bergama, which is the town where Pergamum is located, was described as “About an hour”… which in real time means an hour and forty-five minutes. After everything that had happened that morning with moving the boat, engine problems, and then an epic search for an ATM we were just happy to be on the bus. We made it to Bergama and were told to find a cab driver that would cut us a deal and “tour” us around the sites. They basically built the city of Bergama in the middle of the ancient site of Pergamum. So everything is spread out and requires a car to be reached.
We met a couple from New Zeland on the bus and decided to share a cab ride in order to split the cost. This is our driver Ali Osmon Sener who, for only 60TL, took us to the top three sites in the area and dropped us off at the bus station all in time to catch the last bus out of town. He was a very nice man with a very clean cab that had metallic red floor mats.
The first stop on our tour was the acropolis. This is a view of the acropolis from the bottom of the hill. It’s the best view of the theater built at the top of the hill and you can almost see the reconstruction of the Temple of Trajan. I like how there is an entire town built at the base of the mountain over a road that apparently led from the top to another part of the ancient town.
This is a shot from the top of the acropolis. A nice couple from Atlanta was up there and asked us why there more travel warnings were issued to Americans, we informed them that Bin Laden had been found and assassinated the night before.
Mow made a new friend. There were turtles like this guy all over hiding in the wildflowers. Pergamum was one of the ancient world’s major powers for a brief moment in time. Lysimachus decided it would be a great place to store everything he had been plundering from Asia Minor and was killed, losing his fortune to Philetaerus the commander of Pergamum, who later left it all to the Roman province.
This is the Temple of Trajan. It’s located at the summit of the acropolis and is partially restored. Dad was going through a muscle man phase on top of the mountain.
One of the claims to fame that Pergamum has is they developed parchment. The city was a major architectural and artistic center and had a famous library that held 200,000 books. The Egyptians got jealous and banned the sale of papyrus to Pergamum so the city responded by creating charta pergamena which was more expensive to make, but could be used on both sides.
This is under the Temple of Trajan. This was the most complete building in the entire site. Apparently there is a Berlin Pergamum Museum where the majority of artifacts discovered and walls for the Altar of Zeus are housed now.
This was the edge of spring. The weather was beginning to cool off a little because we were going further north, but as you can see a t-shirt and jeans was perfect. The wildflowers were in full bloom which added to the ambiance of the acropolis.
Next we were taken to the Kizil Avlu which translates to Red Courtyard. This was the last pagan temple constructed and in the 4th century was converted to a basilica dedicated to St. John. The walls of the church are built with red bricks, hence the name. We decided not to go inside, but to sit outside and watch Bergama go by.
This is a common site on Turkish roads. The price of gas here is about $10 a gallon and the motor bikes are much more economical. It was market day in town so the entire family climbed aboard in order to go shopping. The most I have seen was a family of 5 on a scooter in Kemer.
Another popular mode of transportation is the tractor. I got a kick out of seeing them pull into the gas stations alongside the mini buses.
This is my new Turkish boyfriend. We were sitting in the Red Courtyard area and this man was walking by with his cane. I smiled and said “Merhaba” and that was all it took. He stopped and smiled, moving his dentures around in his mouth and I think he wanted to talk more, but could tell I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Dad asked to take his photo and he nodded in approval. This is the common look for the older Turkish men. The same hats, sweater vests and coats. I love it.
I almost bought this rooster for 8TL. There was a whole area dedicated to the sale of birds. Roosters like this one, chickens, ducks, babies, eggs, the whole kitten caboodle. I’m not sure what we would do with a rooster on board, but we may be able to train it to keep the cats away.
This is believed to be the world’s first full-service health clinic, the Asklepion. In the heyday of the Pergamene Asklepion in the 2nd century AD patients were prescribed such treatments as fasting, colonic irrigation, and running barefoot in cold water. This is the Holy Road which was once the main street that connected the Asklepion to Pergamum’s acropolis (seen in the background).
This was the main area of the health center. There was a small theater built for music to be performed as part of the therapy process. There were baths which I’m sure were filled with all sorts of fun things to soak in and “heal” various ailments. Something that was cool, was on the way in and out we passed a military base, with tanks parked outside and military personnel walking around with sub machine guns guarding the gate to make sure tourists didn’t take any photos.
Our trip into town was great. The bus got very full on the way home, but we made it without a hitch. We dropped everything off at the boat and went in search of a restaurant meal. It was getting late and we were walking around the waterfront of Ayvalik looking for a place to eat that didn’t only serve fish and Dad poked his head into a florists shop that was still open and asked the lady where there was a place to eat. She didn’t really speak English but with basic sign language she nodded, put her finger up and made a phone call. Five minutes later a guy on a scooter came driving up and walked us to a great restaurant that was on the water, but about 3 blocks off of the main road. There were tables to Turkish people sitting and enjoying the cuisine and Dad and I knew we had found dinner. I got the chicken kebap and Dad got the mixed grill. Out meals were delicious and we got a plate of fruit for dessert. The evening and trip to Bergama were wonderful and turned a sour day into a great one.
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