ANTALYA PERGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

THE ANCIENT CITY OF PERGE

Perge, which is within the borders of the Aksu District of Antalya Province, is 17 km east of the city center. The research carried out in the city revealed that the prehistoric accumulation of this city, which is famous for its buildings, goes back to the Early Bronze Age in the light of the ceramic samples found in the acropolis. The excavation history of the city, which is referred to as "Parha" in Hittite written texts, begins with the work of Professor-in-ordinary carried out by Professor Doctor Jale İNAN presidency of the Antalya Museum Directorate since 2012, Arif Müfid MANSEL in 1946. In the process, in the 1970s, Professor Doctor Haluk ABBASOĞLU took over the excavations carried out by Professor Doctor Jale İNAN presidency of the Antalya Museum Directorate 2012, in the 1990s. However, while the Perge excavations have been carried out under the presidency of the Antalya Museum Directorate since 2012, it has started to be carried out by Sedef Çokay KEPÇE in 2020.

Perge, which has undergone three main periods in itself, experienced its first bright period in the Hellenistic Period. The Hellenistic Period Towers, which have been designed as planned in the 3rd. century BC, the city represents the mentioned period of the city, which still stands intact even today.

However, Perge experienced its golden age under the rule of the Roman Empire. As it is understood, Perge benefited as much as possible from the blessings brought by the period of peace and wealth known as "Pax Romana (Roman Peace)" in the II-III centuries A.C and achieved a prosperous life standard by combining these benefits with its geopolitical location. During the aforementioned period, the city was the subject of reconstruction activities, important public buildings such as the Theater, Stadium, City Gate, Agora & Macellum, and Palaestra, which are the focus of visitors today, as well as aesthetic arrangements related to water such as Baths, Water Channels, and Monumental Fountains were built in the Roman Period.

Having lived its last bright period in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire Period in the chronological process, Perge became a frequent destination for the prominent saints of this religion, with the influence of Christianity, which left its mark on the period. Perge, frequented by St. Paulus, formed the starting point of the St. Paulus road to Pisidia Antiocheia. In the V. and V. centuries A.D, magnificent basilicas were built in the city and Perge; it gained the identity of “Metropolitan City”.

Excavations of such structures as the Theater, the Southern Bath, the Agora & Decellum, the Kestros Fountain and the Main Colonnaded Street were carried out between 1946 and 2012, and the excavations headed by the Museum Directorate focused on the Colonnaded West Street, which is the second artery of the city. And the water channel running parallel to this street. The excavation of the Caracalla Fountain (including the main façade of the Palaestra structure and the nympahion pool) has been completed, and the route up to the Western Necropolis has been fully opened to visitors. On the other hand, the eastern and western porticos of Main Street were rehabilitated, and the rehabilitation

753+70 of the large area stretching from the Roman Gate to the City Square was handled holistically, including the Hellenistic Towers and the Agora. In addition, the Perge Theater was also visited in 2017.