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Aphrodisias – the city of love and beauty

Tolun's private Turkey tours Posted on January 16, 2023 by MarielleJanuary 16, 2023

I have visited Aphrodisias – the city of love and beauty – a few times. Each time I wished I had more time to spend in this fabulous ancient city, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, for it is really quite large and full of many beautiful objects. Much has been unearthed in Aphrodisias, but who knows, how many more treasures it is still hiding from us. This time we paid this Greco-Roman city a visit right before Christmas. It was an early morning, the air was crisp and sunny and the ground was covered in frost. What a difference from my earlier visits in the height of summer in scorching Anatolian heat! Aphrodisias, the ancient Carian city, is located about 200 km south of Izmir and a hundred kilometres inland from the Aegean coast. Nowadays it is a quiet place, which thankfully has allowed it to be preserved in such an excellent condition.

Goddess Aphrodisias
Goddess. Hadrian Baths, Aphrodisias 2nd century AD.

Right at the entrance we were greeted by a display of sarcophagi, carved out with intricate details of fruit, and foliage, Eros’ faces and figures. They were found scattered all over the site, but mostly by the main roads. Does it mean people were buried in sarcophagi in public places so that the living would be always reminded of their dearly departed?

Another special feature of Aphrodisias is a frieze of carved masks of both mythological creatures as well as humans who really existed. They were found mostly around the public squares called Agoras. The level of detail is quite astonishing. Each face is unique and comes alive with its own expression. The sculptors of Aphrodisias were sought after all over Roman Empire. Their works have been found in Rome, Constantinople and Anatolian Greco-Roman cities. Many sculptures were found in the public squares and buildings of the city and they are now displayed in the museum right by the entrance of the site. The city sourced its white and grey marble from the local quarries just a few kilometres away and the easy availability of such a fine material undoubtedly contributed to the sculpture becoming the top art form in Aphrodisias.

The city had a grid-lined street plan and the main construction works began in the first or second century BC. There is a large theatre seating 7000 spectators with inscriptions on its walls that Citizen Zoilos has been the patron of the building. He also paid for other constructions such as a part of the Northern Agora and the Temple of Aphrodite. Zoilos was a freed slave who is thought to have been enslaved by pirates and then sold to the first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus. The emperor later freed Zoilos who returned to his hometown of Aphrodisias, rich and with many important connections with Rome which helped his city prosper.

Between the Northern Agora and the Theatre, the urban park was later constructed. It was called The Place of Palms. Indeed, around its 170 m long pool with pipes for fountains were two rows of Cretan date palms. There were columns and sculptures and friezes. It must have been a lovely place to stroll in the heat of the summer days, the palm trees offering shade and the cooling sound of the fountains from the pool pleasing the senses. No wonder the city was also well-known for its philosophers, for the environment of such beauty must have appealed to the great thinkers, too.

There was an entrance to the Basilicas from the park. The Basilicas, completed around 100 AD were the public halls used for administration, business and justice. Emperor Diocletian issued a famous Edict of Maximum Prices in 301 AD and it was inscribed on the Basilicas’ marble-panelled facade. The list includes around 1400 goods and services from all over the Roman Empire, stating their maximum permitted prices. The items ranged from grain, wool and wine to slaves, chariot horses and wild animals for the games.

The one building which doesn’t fit into the gridline pattern is the Temple of Aphrodite. There was a strong cult following of the goddess of love and beauty. People made pilgrimages to the temple from faraway places. They asked Aphrodite to help them in matters of love and relationships. Love and relationships are some of the most fundamental aspects of human life, one can imagine, how many people have stepped through the magnificent gates called Tetrapylon leading to the temple with their prayers and offerings to the goddess…

Theatre Aphrodisias
Theatre, Aphrodisias.

One can wander around the ruins of the great ancient streets of Aphrodisias for days, the Agoras, the Baths, the Bouleterion (The Council House), the sculptors’ workshops, to name a few buildings. Right at the edge of the city, there is the best-preserved ancient stadium in the world. The city itself had around 10,000 to 15,000 citizens, but the stadium seated 30,000. Such was its popularity for hosting sports games like foot races, boxing and wrestling and gladiator fights that people came here for shows from neighbouring cities as well.

Aphrodisias was destroyed by the 4th and especially 7th-century earthquakes. After the 7th-century earthquake, it never really recovered. The last major construction works have been made in 350 AD when the city wall was built and in 500 AD when the temple of Aphrodite was rebuilt into a Christian cathedral. After that, the city fell into a quiet slumber, with less and less human activity. The sleeping beauty has been rediscovered and her magnificence can now be seen by all who pay her a visit. It is a deep experience to walk around the ancient treasures accompanied by birds singing, the roses blossoming, the lizards playing hide and seek among the ruins, the sun glistening on the frosty grass blades in winter… The love and beauty Aphrodisias represents are imbued in everything and its special ambience can be felt by everyone visiting this marvellous city.

Stadium Aphrodisias
The Stadium, Aphrodisias.
Masks Aphrodisias
The Frieze of Masks, Aphrodisias.
Tetrapylon Aphrodisias
Tetrapylon – The Gate to the Temple of Aphrodite, Aphrodisias.
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Cozy Beylerbeyi Palace

Tolun's private Turkey tours Posted on September 17, 2022 by MarielleSeptember 18, 2022

Many people who come to Turkey, start exploring this country from Istanbul. This huge and exciting metropolis has a lot to offer and there a are plenty of beautiful places for sightseeing. Beylerbeyi Palace, while not the most well known, is one of many Ottoman palaces on the shores of Bosphorus. A couple of days ago we decided to go and pay this palace a visit.. It is situated in the Asian side of Istanbul, in Üsküdar district. One can take a sea bus from the European side across Bosphorus to Üsküdar and from there a bus ride for another 15 minutes and there you are.

beylerbeyi palace
Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul

Beylerbeyi has been a residential area since Byzantine times. The first Ottoman palace was built here by the orders of Sultan Mahmud II (1808 – 1839). It was a wooden construction and after it burned down, Sultan Abdulaziz had a new palace built in 1863. The palace was built within two years, there are 24 rooms and 6 halls on three levels. We entered the beautiful gardens with ponds, then walked along the Bosphorus promenade and came to the grand entrance of the palace. The days are still quite hot and a nice breeze from the seaside was very pleasant as the palace sits only a few meters from the shore. We walked up the steps and came to the entrance hall. Big baccarat crystal chandeliers were in every room we saw – beautiful transparent cut crystal with some moss green and blood red pieces. Thick patterned carpets from Turkish town of Hereke, and Egyptian woven reed matting were covering parquet floors. Landscape paintings on the walls, sumptuous soft furnishings everywhere. The rooms were well proportioned and colourful. All this gave otherwise a large palace a somewhat cozy feeling. The reception rooms and halls gave a luxurious impression. Large beautiful painted vases from China, Japan, France, Germany and Turkey were decorating halls. There were big clocks from England, France and Turkey. One of the grand halls had a large marble pool with a fountain in the middle. All the rooms we saw had tall windows and were filled with light, many with great views over Bosphorus. High ceilings were painted with nautical scenes and intricate geometric patterns. The palace gave a nod to both Orient and Occident.

The sultan, his wife and his mother had their own bedrooms. Sultan’s mother also had her own reception rooms. There were bathrooms with shower and a bath, and there was a hamam as well. Again, I couldn’t help but feel that even if the sultan was home ‘alone’, it wouldn’t feel a lonely, cold place, but instead the palace had a cozy, homely vibe, even though it was large and luxurious. Maybe it was the combination of good architecture and the fully carpeted floors and also the bright, cheerful colours and comfortable furnishings… And of course the light, the magnificent light streaming in through the windows, bouncing off the crystals of the chandeliers and dancing around the walls of the palace… It was all really gorgeous.

This beauty was shared with many foreign dignitaries of its time. The guests who stayed here included Eugenie, Empress of France, Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Nikola, King of Montenegro, Duke and Duchess of Windsor among others. The palace was used as a summer residence and a State Guest House. One of the last sultans of Ottoman Empire, Abdulhamid II, spent the final six years of his life in Beylerbeyi Palace after he was dethroned, and he died here in 1918.

The gardens of the palace are also spectacular. There are lots of rose bushes lining the garden paths, pools and terraces, three kiosks. There is an abundance of shady mature trees such as magnolia and chestnut, linden and judas trees, planted in the period of Abdulhamid II.

So if you have already seen the main tourist attractions at the Golden Horn, why not pay a visit to the magnificent, yet cozy Beylerbeyi Palace. You’ll enjoy it!

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