Turkish Antiquities - Pergamon

Izmir is surrounded by sights of historical significance.  We hired a local tour guide to drive us to Pergamon to see the ancient ruins.  We were intrigued to see the ruins in their natural habitat.  We'd previously seen a good portion of the temple in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.  Sinan picked us up at our hotel and drove us out to the ruins for a private tour.

We walked among the ruins of the ancient Greek city.

We spotted decapitated statues that hinted at past glory.

We looked out over the landscape from high above.

We spotted pieces of the ruins that had not yet been fitted into place.

We passed through an arched passageway.

We emerged into an incredibly steep theatre.  Worshippers of Dionysus doubled as actors in performances of the time.

We spotted trees marking the spot of the Temple of Zeus, now housed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

I captured a variety of beautiful photographs during our visit.

We watched as many tourists and tour groups descended from Pergamon via the sky tram.

We bumped down the road in our small van.  Our next stop was the Asklepion or healing place.  We walked down the ruined path that many in Greek times used to seek a cure to illness.

We passed a small theatre.

We descended below ground and looked out at the ruins.

On our way out, we spotted the saffron honey guy selling his wares.  The pinenut honey was tasty but the words of wisdom offered were even more valuable.

Walk More, Live More.  These are words I live by every day!

I'll conclude this post with a slideshow of photos from the Asklepion.