Termessos Ancient City
Welcome to Antalya! Amongst all the incredible activities available for tourists, tucked away in the Taurus Mountains lies the ancient city of Termessos. It has been a dream of mine to visit this scenic and historic city in Turkey. The two sweets I crave when exploring new cities are beautiful views and historical sites and Termessos sufficiently satisfies both. The reward of the steep, 1050 meter hike is the overlook of the Taurus Mountains, and even some of our group who trekked the Himalayas were left speechless. Our group spent just under three hours in this remarkable place and could have spent at least two more uncovering the history that unravelled over 2000 years ago.
When we got to Termessos, we had a limited amount of time as we arrived after 2:00 and needed to be out at closing by 5:00. Most travellers recommend setting aside 4-5 hours to explore the whole city but with time running out, our group worked to expedite our time. Our plan of action was to hike all the way to the back of the park, towards the theater, without stopping for pictures to make sure we got to see everything we could. Taking notes along the way, we were able to catch a snapshot of most of the park in three hours and made it out at 5:05.
The theater is by far the highlight of the whole hike. Our group made it to the top at a reasonable pace in about 20 minutes but don’t be mistaken, this is no small feat. I woke up the next morning with stiff calves and tight quads. But the view, oh the view.
The magnitude of the theater snuck up on us as we climbed to the top, but the second we saw it our jaws dropped. Stepping into history, we saw for miles, rolling hills and gawking mountains that swallowed us whole. It didn’t take long for our group to scatter and begin uncovering the ancient stories hidden beneath the crumbled blocks of Termessos.
We were surprised to find very few signs posted about the city’s history. With the lack of signage, we had to resort to the internet to discover what happened in this abandoned ancient city.
Termessos is most commonly known as “The Eagles Nest” because of its location in between the two Güllük Mountain peaks. In 334 Alexander the Great attempted to conquer the city but failed. Because of its fortified walls and high location, this city went through a time of great wealth but then eventually was abandoned by its people when an earthquake depleted their water source.
After spending the majority of our time crawling in tunnels and climbing to the top of crumbling archways, we grazed through the other highlighted spaces on the hike back down. The tombs etched into the side of the mountain begged my curious mind to ask questions. Who was buried here? What kind of funeral rituals took place? After some more digging, it appears that these particular tombs would have held kings or high ranking officials of the city. They were buried in a place of honor and would have likely had fresco paintings overlooking them in their sleep.
The last great attraction in Termessos was the bath and gymnasium complex. In Roman cultures, to prevent the spread of disease the bath houses would typically be at the entrance of the city so that incoming travelers would bathe before entering the city. This forward thinking explains how these ancient cities were preserved and sustained for so long under harsh circumstances.
Termessos is without a doubt in my top five favorite places to visit in all of Turkey. With only three hours to visit this ancient city, our group craved more time. The theater (tiyatro) left me breathless while the tombs piqued my curiosity. The other crumbled city walls and homes sparked my imagination and the bath and gymnasium complex increased my respect for their ancient ingenuity. Termessos will leave you hungry for more and your calves sore.
TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE WEST, KEEP LOOKING EAST!
Joy Henley
Hi, my name’s Joy. I live in Huntsville, Alabama with my Bernedoodle, Huck. We enjoy hikes, snuggles and treats of all kinds. Our roots are planted in the deep south, but our branches stretch into adventure across the globe. Having trekked the Himalayas, explored Asia, South America and Europe, we are the best kind of paradox of homebodies and travel bugs.