Pergamon (Pergamum) Ancient City – Bergama, İzmir
The ancient city of Pergamon (Pergamum) is located above the modern town of Bergama in western Türkiye, on a high andesite mesa rising about 335 m above sea level on the north edge of the Bakırçay (Caicus) Plain. In antiquity, Pergamon lay about 26 km inland from the Aegean coast; its harbor was the coastal town of Elaia, which connected the city to maritime trade routes across the eastern Mediterranean.
(Source: UNESCO – Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape
Wikipedia – Pergamon)
Pergamon is first archaeologically attested from the 7th–6th centuries BC, and it became a major center in the Hellenistic period when it served as the capital of the Attalid kingdom (281–133 BC). Under the Attalids, Pergamon was transformed into one of the leading political and cultural hubs of the Greek world, famous for its monumental architecture, library, and artistic schools. After the death of the last Attalid king Attalus III in 133 BC, the kingdom was bequeathed to Rome, and Pergamon became the administrative center of the Roman province of Asia, later developing a new Roman “lower city” at the foot of the acropolis.
(Source: UNESCO – Decision 38 COM 8B.38
Encyclopaedia Britannica – Attalid dynasty
Britannica Kids – Pergamum)
The upper acropolis preserves the remains of the Temple of Athena, the terraces and foundations of the celebrated Great Altar of Pergamon (whose sculptured Gigantomachy frieze is now in Berlin), the royal palaces, a vast gymnasium complex, agoras, and the Hellenistic theatre, which seated about 10,000 spectators and is considered one of the steepest ancient theatres in the world. The city’s water-supply system, with long aqueducts and rock-cut cisterns, illustrates sophisticated urban engineering adapted to the steep terrain.
(Source: Wikipedia – Pergamon – Main sights
Visit Izmir – Pergamon Ancient City)
In the Roman Imperial period, Pergamon remained a prominent religious and administrative center. The monumental Red Basilica (Serapeum) in the lower city was originally a Roman sanctuary, probably dedicated to Egyptian deities, later converted into one of the earliest Christian basilicas and eventually integrated into the Islamic fabric as a mosque. To the southwest, the Asclepieion of Pergamon developed into one of the most renowned healing sanctuaries of the Roman world, associated with the physician Galen, who was born in Pergamon and trained there. The site’s later history continued through Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods, creating a uniquely layered urban landscape.
(Source: Turkish Archaeological News – Asclepieion of Pergamon
Turkish Museums Blog – The City of Cliffs: Pergamon
Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Pergamon)
Today, Pergamon and its surroundings are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (since 2014) as “Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape”, highlighting the coexistence of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman heritage within a single, continuously inhabited valley. Visitors can explore the acropolis, theatre, palaces, Red Basilica, Asclepieion, and the collections of the Bergama Archaeology Museum, gaining a vivid impression of how a major ancient capital evolved across more than two millennia.
(Source: UNESCO – Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape
Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Pergamon
Where to Visit – Bergama Archaeology Museum)