ASPENDOS

About 45km from Antalya lies one of the most remarkable Roman

theaters in the world (open 8am-7pm in summer; 8:30am-5pm in

winter; entrance fee). Built from heavy grey stone and biscuit-colored

limestone during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161 to 180 AD), the

theater is almost perfect.

The grand arena has 15,000 seats topped by a row of columned arches

that curve around to touch the stage building. It is unusual for a theater

to be totally enclosed in this way. The stage building was highly

decorative with statues in the niches. Five doors allowed the orchestra

and actors to enter. During gladiatorial combat, the smaller doors

would have been used to let in the wild animals.

The city’s inhabitants enjoyed the plays for free,

which were paid for by high-ranking officials to

win popularity. Theater tickets were usually

made of bone or metal and would sometimes

be in the shape of a bird or a fish.

Romans preferred bawdry entertainment with coarse language and

satire aimed at their Greek predecessors. They used Greek masks to

mock them. Gladiator and wild beast contests were the most popular

forms of entertainment. In addition to the amphitheater, there are the

ruins of an agora, acropolis, nymphaeum and a wonderfully preserved

Roman aqueduct

LARA BEACH

Pass through the elegant arches of Hadrian’s Gate on to Atatürk

Caddesi and turn right for the Atatürk Museum (open 8:30am-5pm,

closed Monday; free). The house, which Atatürk visited between

1930 and 1935, has a collection of evocative photographs and some of

his personal belongings ranging from a gramophone to his pajamas.

Farther along the same road, past rows of shops, restaurants and bars,

is a strip of mass-market hotels. Many overhang the cliffs above Lara

Beach (10 km/six miles to the east of the city center). Just before you

get to the beach are the Lower Düden Falls, which crash down the

rocks into the sea. They are best seen from a boat.

OLYMPOS

Push back thick vines and centuries-old pine trees to uncover shattered

temples, columns and bathhouses strewn along either side of

Ulupinar Stream, which trickles into

the sea. The pathway opens up for a

few meters to reveal tombs and the

remains of a monumental gateway

before the ruins are lost again. A

crumbling bridge lies on the northern

side. Opposite is a church whose

frescoes are now invisible. It is difficult

to get close to some of the ruins

because much of the woodland area

off the scratchy stone passageway is

a swamp.

Olympos dates from the Hellenistic age and became a major force in

the Lycian League. During this time, the bay of Antalya was under

pressure from pirates, who posed a threat to the interests of the Roman

Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean. As most of the pirates lived

in Olympos, the city aroused interest in Rome. Roman commander

Servilius Iscauricus Vulso captured the pirate chief, Zeniketes, in 78

BC, freeing the area of pirates. By this time, the Romans had lost patience

with Olympos for sheltering the pirates and threw it out of the

League.

The peak of development in Olympos came at the beginning of the

third century. The latter part of that century saw a resurgence of pirate

activity with such extensive looting that the city shrank into a village.

Attempts by the knights of Venice, Genoa and Rhodes to revive

it were short-lived. Control of the Mediterranean Sea had already

passed to the Ottomans and Olympos was abandoned in the mid-15th

century.