Archeology & History of Turkey

31/08/2023

We have visited Tarsus the birth place of Paul and now driving to Antioch, (about 3 hrs drive).
l haven't been to Antioch after the earthquake which occurred in February. The Cave church is closed for safety reasons, yet my guests want to visit the city anyhow

21/03/2023

29/12/2022

Sümela Monastery Trabzon

04/10/2022

1800-year-old marble inscription found in Turkey’s Aigai excavations deciphered.

The 1800-year-old inscription, consisting of 3 pieces of marble, found in the excavations in the ancient city of Aigai in...

29/08/2022

Ara Güler and the Lost City of Aphrodisias:

ln 1958, Hayat magazine sent Turkish photojournalist Ara Güler to document the opening of the Kemer Dam in Aydin, Turkey. On the way back, his taxi driver got lost, resulting in the discovery of the ancient city of Aphrodisias, a cult center devoted to the goddess Aphrodite.

Because they could not find their way, Güler and his driver decided to spend the night in Geyre, a remote mountain village. While inquiring in the local coffeehouse about a place to stay, Güler noticed men playing card games on top of an ancient Roman column capital. Realizing that the town was built atop ruins, Güler awoke early the next morning and was led by children around the site, photographing the temple of Aphrodite, a hippodrome, and many sarcophagi. When he returned to Istanbul, he sent the images to the Architectural Review, and soon received a telegram from Horizon magazine requesting color photos and an article to go alongside the photo essay. Güler suggested Professor Kenan T. Erim as the author for this article. The New York University professor accepted the job and went on to devote his life to excavating Aphrodisias.

11/08/2022

A colossal two-tonne 3,000 year-old sculpture of Hittite King Suppiluliuma is one of the latest cultural treasures to be unearthed by an international team in Tell Tayinat, an ancient site in Hatay, southeastern Turkey.

14/07/2022

Hitit Monument BC 1300

28/04/2022

Detail from Sardes Gymnasium.

08/04/2022

I have been watching Bettany Hughes' history documentaries for years, and today I had the honour to meet her in Ephesus

20/11/2021

Our group from Colombia has recently finished their 10 days Turkey tour. This short video is about their tour experience and impressions about Turkey.
https://youtu.be/FJy5gNhsxDE

Acabamos de terminar un tour de 10 días con el grupo del pastor Nardo de Colombia. Hemos visitado Estambul, las Siete Iglesias del Apocalipsis y Capadocia. ...

20/11/2021

The tomb of Arsinoe IV, the youngest sister of Cleopatra, who was murdered in Ephesus.
Arsinoe was killed by her own sister Cleopatra,
In 41 BC. Jealous of her younger sister Arsinoe, Cleopatra instigated Mark Antony to kill her, and Arsinoe died on the temple steps when she was 21 years old.

12/11/2021

Our group from Colombia is visiting Pergamon today.

23/10/2021

Tomb of the Gladiators in Hierapolis (Pamukkale) 2nd-3rd AD
The tomb takes its name from the travertine slab above the entrance bearing images link to gladiatorial compat: from the left; an anfora for the oil offered as a price to the victor, a trident for a combat, the circular shield.

30/09/2021

The Grand Theatre of Ephesus, with its capacity of 25.000 seats is the biggest ancient theatre in Asia Minor.
You can watch my short video about Ephesus.
https://youtu.be/4TvVQE2SldE

29/09/2021

The ancient city of Pergamon.

17/09/2021

Travellers returning to England from Turkey will not have to quarantine as the government is set to remove dozens of countries from the so-called COVID red list for travel, The Times newspaper said on Thursday.

16/09/2021

The Hagia Irene located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace is the oldest church of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine). It was built in 4th century AD. During the reign of Emperor Justinianus, the Nika Revolt in 532 led to the devastation of both Hagia Sophia and the Hagia Irene, and two of them were rebuilt together.

25/08/2021

Trabzon Karester Plateau.

24/08/2021

Trabzon Sümela monestery was closed for renovations on 22nd of September 2015 and opened in July this year. Today l've had chance to visit it. The monastery was built during the reign of Theodosius, in the 4th century.

07/08/2021

Jesus mosaic, in south gallery of Hagia Sophia, is accepted as a pioneer of the renaissance art. Here you can see "the Mona Lisa effect" example that is much older than the famous Da Vinci's painting - the eyes of Jesus seem to follow the viewers, always looking directly at us.

05/08/2021

''Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered)

The Zile castle in Tokat was the scene of a bloody war between Caesar and Pharnaces in 47 BC.
A museum is under construction on the castle of Zile, known for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar’s famous phrase “veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) to the Roman senate. A stone building on the right side of the historic castle in the northern province of Tokat is set to open as a museum when the refurbishments are complete.
When the Roman Emperor Caesar won a victory against Pharnaces II of Pontus in this area, he wrote this phrase. Both sides suffered losses during the war, and Caesar wrote this phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate. This is why the castle is known as the Caesar’s Castle.
He also built a stone tablet and inscribed this phrase in it.

05/08/2021

Synagogue Offering Inscription

Location: Andriake (Demre, Antalya)
Language: Hellenic-Hebrew
Date: M.S. 5th century
Material: Marble
Photograph of the Excavation Finds

Εὐχὴ Μακεδονίου Ῥωμα[νο]ῦ καὶ τῆς α[ὐτ]οῦ γαμετῆς
Πρόκλης καὶ Ῥωμανοῦ [καὶ] Θεοδότης τῶν αὐτῶν
γονῶν. Εὐλογία καὶ ἰρή[νη] π̣αντὶ τῷ Ἰσραήλ ἀμήν. ש

The offerings of Macedonios, son of Romanos and his (Macedonios') wife Prokle and their parents Romanos and Theodote. Peace and mercy be upon all Israel (People!) Amen! Shalom!”

From approximately 2,000 Hebrew inscriptions known from antiquity to the present day, 68% are Hellenic, 18% Semitic (Hebrew or one of the Aramaic dialects), 12% Latin, and 2% bilingual. This shows that Hellenic was widely used among Jews in the Roman Imperial Age. The Jewish community living in Anatolia not only used Hellenic as the alphabet, as seen in this votive inscription; they were also giving Hellenic names to their children. In this inscription, the only the Semitic letter is “ש”-

29/07/2021

Temple of Athena in Assos; also known as Behramkale or for short Behram, is a small historically rich town in the Ayvacık district of the Çanakkale Province, Turkey. ..

08/07/2021

Aphrodisias Walk of Fame; celebrities names were chiseled on the columns in Aphrodisias.

28/06/2021

Visiting the ancient city of Laodicea with guests from the USA.

28/06/2021

The grave of Flavious Zeuxis in Hierapolis ( Pamukkale) above the door an inscription in marble refers to the activity of Flavious Zeuxis an olive oil merchant who passed Cape Malea in the Peloponese 72 times on his way to Italy. Structure of olive processing was built near his grave.

27/06/2021

We visited Pergamon today, ancient city mentioned in Revelation.

10/06/2021

Dara ruins are located close to Mardin, in southeast of Turkey, on the territory of what used to be Mesopotamia. Dara was founded as a settlement in 530 BC by the order of the Iranian ruler Darxis, and throughout its history it was a part of the Persian and Babylonian Kingdoms. In the 12th century, it was first under the rule of the Umayyads and Abbasids, and in its final years it was under the Ottoman rule. The first dam of Mesopotamia was built in this region and Dara was on the Silk road, so it all made the city very important.

During the excavations, over 3,000 human bones were found in one single tomb. They were probably collected there to be ready for the day of resurrection, just like in the story about the miracle of Ezekiel in the Torah.

02/06/2021

Updated information for tourists traveling to Turkey:
When entering Turkey from countries not included in the following list (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Iran, Egypt and Singapore), passengers will not be required to submit a negative PCR test result if they submit a document issued by the relevant country's official authorities stating that they have been vaccinated at least 14 days before entrance to Turkey and/or have had the disease and cured within the last 6 months. Quarantine measures will not be applied for these passengers. If passengers departing from these countries cannot submit a vaccine certificate or the documents proving that they have had the disease according to the stated rules, submission of a PCR negative test result made maximum 72 hours before the entrance to Turkey or negative rapid antigen test result made maximum 48 hours before the entrance to Turkey will be deemed sufficient.

26/05/2021

Although it is still not so popular among the visitors, Sagalassos is definitely one of the best preserved ancient cities in Turkey. It is located in southwest Turkey, north of the coastal city of Antalya in the Mediterranean region. It was the most important city of ancient Pisidia, located in the Ta**us Mountain chain. The city is located 1450 meters above the sea level.
Read more about Sagalassos:
https://ertungaecir.com/blog/the-ancient-city-of-sagalassos/