Perge & Aspendos & Side & Kursunlu Wtaerfall

Our excursion will begins at 8 am from your hotel with a bus drive to Perge, an ancient city located in the south-west of Anatolia. Here we will we explore the city and learn more about its history. After enjoying Perge,our excursion will continue with delicious lunch on Euromedon River near Aspendos. You will have free time for shopping after lunch. After visiting Aquaducts and Aspendos Ancient Aspendos Theatre, Our guide will lead us to Side and Apollo Temple. We will also visit Kursunlu Waterfall where you will be amazed with its magnificent view on the way back.

Excursion ends at 5:30pm with transfer back to your hotel.

Excursion includes transport, English speaking guide, lunch and entrance fees

"In the twelfth century BC, there was a large wave of Greek migration from northern Anatolia (in modern day Turkey) to the Mediterranean coast. Many settled in the area immediately east of the area of modern-day Antalya, which came to be known as Pamphylia, meaning "land of the tribes". Four great cities eventually rose to promincence in Pamphylia: Perga, Sillyon, Aspendos and Side. Perga itself was founded in around 1000 BC and is nearly 20km inland. It was sited inland as a defensive measure in order to avoid the pirate bands that terrorized this stretch of the Mediterranean. In 546 BC, the Achaemenid Persians defeated the local powers and gained control of the region. Two hundred years later, in 333 BC, the armies of Alexander the Great arrived in Perga during his war of conquest against the Persians. The citizens of Perga sent out guides to lead his army into the city. Alexander's was followed by the diadoch empire of the Seleucids, under whom Perga's most celebrated ancient inhabitant, the mathematician Apollonius (c.262 BC - c.190 BC), lived and worked. Apollonius was a  pupil of Archimedes and wrote a series of eight books describing a family of curves known as conic sections, comprising the circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola. Roman rule began in 188 BC, and most of the surviving ruins today date from this period. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Perga remained inhabited until Selcuk times, before being gradually abandoned."

Aspendos
 "Aspendos is known for having the best-preserved theater of antiquity. With a diameter of 96 meters (315 ft), the theater provided seating for 7,000. The theater was built in 155 by the Greek architect Zenon, a native of the city, during the rule of Marcus Aurelius. In the 13th century, the stage building was converted into a palace by Seljuqs of Rum. In order to keep with Hellenistic traditions, a small part of the theater was built so that it leaned against the hill where the Citadel (Acropolis) stood, while the remainder was built on vaulted arches. The high stage served to seemingly isolate the audience from the rest of the world. The scaenae frons or backdrop, has remained intact. The 8.1 meter (27 ft) sloping reflective wooden ceiling over the stage has been lost over time.

Post holes for 58 masts are found in the upper level of the theater. These masts supported a velarium or awning that could be pulled over the audience to provide shade. Still used today for concerts, festivals and events, the theater's galleries, stage decorations and acoustics all testify to the architect's success.

Side
"Alexander the Great occupied Side without a struggle in 333 BC. Alexander left only a single garrison behind to occupy the city. This occupation, in turn, introduced the people of Side to Hellenistic culture of the Greek Civilization, which flourished from the fourth century to the first century BC. After Alexander's death, Side fell under the control of one of Alexander's generals, Ptolemy I Soter, who declared himself king of Egypt in 305 BC. The Ptolemaic dynasty controlled Side until it was captured by the Seleucid Empire in the second century BC. Yet, despite these occupations, in the following years of the second century BC, Side managed to preserve some autonomy, grew prosperous, and became an important cultural center. In 190 BC a fleet from the Greek island city-state of Rhodes, supported by Rome and Pergamum, defeated the Seleucid King Antiochus the Great's fleet, which was under the command of the fugitive Carthaginian general, Hannibal. The defeat of Hannibal and Antiochus the Great meant that Side freed itself from the overlordship of the Seleucid Empire. The embarrassing Treaty of Apamea (188 BC) forced Antiochus the Great to abandon all European territories and to cede all of Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains to Pergamum. However, the dominion of Pergamum only reached de facto as far as Perga, leaving Eastern Pamphylia semi-free. This led Attalus II Philadelphus to construct a new harbour in the city Attalia (the present Antalya), even though Side already had an important harbour. Between 188 and 36 BC Side minted their own money, tetradrachms showing Nike and a laurel wreath (the sign of victory). Side's second peak period started around 2C BC when it established and maintained a good working relationship with the Roman Empire. Emperor Augustus reformed the state administration and placed Pamphylia and Side in the Roman province of Galatia in 25 BC, after the short reign by the king Amyntas of Galatia between 36 and 25 BC. Side began another prosperous period as a commercial center in Asia Minor through its trade in olive oil.

Perge was an old and ancient Greek city founded in the south-west of Anatolia. During the Hellenistic period Perga was the capital and one of four great cities: (Perga, Aspendos, Side and Sillion) which rose to prominence in Pamphlya, meaning the land of tribes. This great city was one of the richest and most beautiful cities in the ancient world. It is famous for its temple for the beautiful goddess of wilderness, Aretmis, and also for being the home of the renowned ancient Greek mathematician Apollonius of Perga. It is also told that Perge is the birthplace of beer.
After being under the patronage of the Greek for about 450 year, Perge was conquered by the Persians. Two hundred years later the armies of Alexander the great entered Perga, ending the Persians rein. From that time, until the fall of the Roman Empire, Perga was under the patronage of the Romans. With its long history and its combination of three different cultures Perga has one of the most surviving ruins today.

Aspendos: once upon a time, there was a great king, the king of Aspendos. He had the most beautiful daughter, a daughter that every one in the town wanted to marry. So one day, the king decided to make competition, who ever presented the greatest services to the city would have her daughter’s hand. Hearing this, the artisans of the city began to work at high speed. When the time came to decide, the king examined all their efforts one by one, eventually two brothers caught his eyes, one succeeding to set up a system to bring water from far away lands, the other (Zenon) building a theatre. Just as the king was at a point to deciding in favor of the first brother, the second stepped in to wish the king have one last look at his theatre. As the king was wondering in the upper galleries of the theatre the king herd a voice. He looked around him to see where it was coming from, remembering he was alone, wondering in astonishment where the voice could have come from. The voice was repeatedly whispering in his ear ‘the kings daughter must be mine.’ He eventually sees the architect in the centre of the theatre mumbling in a proud manner to himself. The acoustics of the theatre made even the small sound of a fallen coins clatter hear able from the very back of the theatre. The king astonished by this miracle was so filled with excitement that he got his big sward and cut his daughter right down the middle, then gave each half to the brothers.

With Aspendos being one of the great cities of Pamphiliya and on an important trade rout, In BC333 after Perga, Aspendos was Alexander the Great’s next target. Since that time Aspendos was under the Romans patronage.

The Aspendos theatre (built between 161-180 AD during the rein of Marcus Aurelıus) has been known for having the worlds most well preserved theatre for nearly two thousand years, therefore is one of the greatest tourist attractions.

Side: was an ancient Greek city who’s natural geography made it one of the most important places in Pamphylia and in having one of the most important trade centers, (olive oil and slaves) in the region therefore was a target for many, after the Greek, the Persians took Side under its wing until eventually in BC333 giving in to the forces of Alexander the Great’s armies.
Side began to decline by the 4th century. With non stop successful invasions and continues natural disasters by the 10th century side was completely abandoned, leaving behind what was left of the irreplaceable ruins and a long history.