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The ancient city is situated in Manisa Salihli, in the territory of ancient Lydia, at the foot of
Tmolus Mountains, 72km away from Izmir and 162km away from Kusadasi on Izmir-Ankara
highway where evidence has been found of human activity as early as Paleolithic period.
It was the ancient capital of Lydia which was ruled by the King Croesus who had the fame
to use coin exchange for goods. However because of the earthquakes most of ruins are
now under the ground and the ones on earth are dating back to the Roman Times only. |
The important remains of Sardis are the Temple of Artemis and the restored gymnasium
apart from the Synagogue from the 3rd century with its mosaics and carved colored-stone
panels. The ruins are now as if they were spread on either sides of the Ankara-Izmir
highway. The complex of bath and gymnasium, synagogue and the shops are located in
the north of the highway. Today there are only four main areas that may be visited which
are the Sardian acropolis, the valley of the Paktalos River (now called Sart Cay), the ancient city
located around and along the highway and the tombs at Bintepe. |
The baths were built in 161 AD where one can enter through the doors opening into the
courtyard. They were built during the time of the king Lucius Verus. Along the southern
sides of the synagogue and gymnasium there lies the main street of the city with marble
blocks on the sides. Opposite of the gymnasium there is Bronze House of the Infidels which
was built around 550 AD and it might have been used as the bishop's palace. One can see
the ruins in Sardis which date back to the times of the Romans and the Byzantines which are
churches, stadium and Roman theater which could hold twenty thousand people that was
destroyed in an earthquake in 17 AD. The other ruins lie on the road along the river Paktalos
which leads to the Temple of Artemis. The temple had three stages while being built. the first
and the original temple was built in the 4th century BC, facing wet and was in the Ionic order
which consisted of an outer portico, an enclosure and a back chamber. Because this temple
was destroyed somehow the second one began to be built between 175-150 BC. However the
construction stopped and if it had continued there would have been twenty columns on the
long side and eight on the short side of the temple. The construction did not start until 150 AD.
When it was finished it had the measures of 45 by 97.94 meters. |
The city is divided into two by the highway.The monumental road is in the north and behind
it there is a gymnasium and synagogue is a Roman bath,down the road there are the
Hellenistic theater and the stadium. South of the hig,as you follow the side road,you reach
the3 rd century B.C. Artemis Temple, one the most becautiful temples with its Ionian style.
Next to it are located the marble tower from the Antiochos III period (3 rd century B.C.),
large blocks of the temple and some other Byzantine ruins. For the visitors who have extra
time the Gölmarmara,at the west end of the Salihli plain close to the Sardis Necropolis
and nexs to it ,the tumulus that belong to the Lydain kings are worth seeing! | |
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