Discover Bergama

Bergama combines a rich history with impressive ancient buildings. The Acropolis, Asklepion, Bergama Museum and Kızıl Avlu offer different ways to explore the city’s past. If you’re looking for a holiday rental in Bergama, your personal interests can shape your trip: architecture and urban history are options, as are the history of healing and religious buildings.

Acropolis: Terraces, temples and the Kingdom of Pergamon

The history of the Acropolis of Bergama dates back to the 7th to 6th centuries BC. From 284 to 133 BC, Bergama was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon for 150 years. The site extends across terraces on Kale Tepesi and includes temples, streets, and social and commercial squares. The Acropolis cannot be reduced to a single monument: its various building areas tell the story of a city where religious, social and economic spaces came together.

The buildings mentioned include a Temple of Athena, built in the 4th century BC in the Doric style, and the Temple of Trajan. Colossal statues of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian are also part of the Acropolis. The Library of Pergamon contained around 200,000 volumes. For culture-loving travellers, the focus here is on both architecture and the history of political power and knowledge.

Asklepion and Kızıl Avlu

The Asklepion was dedicated to the healing god Asclepius in the 4th century BC and remained an important treatment centre until the 4th century AD. Historical treatments included diets, hot and cold baths, physical exercise, medicines and medicinal plants. Music, the sound of water, suggestion and dream interpretation, as well as mud and sun baths, are also associated with treatment at the Asklepion. The complex also included a theatre with 3,500 seats. The Via Tecta was a Sacred Way to the Asklepion, approximately one kilometre long.

Kızıl Avlu was built in Pergamon in the first half of the 2nd century AD for Egyptian gods and is considered Anatolia’s largest brick building. In the early Byzantine period, its main building was converted into a three-aisled basilica by adding two rows of columns and dedicated to Saint John. The Red Basilica’s religious history brings together ancient polytheism and use by three monotheistic religions. Visitors interested in religious history will therefore find another distinct perspective on the area’s past in Bergama.

Museum, trade and historic buildings

Opened in 1936, the Bergama Museum presents an archaeological chronology from the Bronze Age to the end of the Ottoman period. Its exhibits also include carpets, kilims and saddlebags from the Yuntdağı, Kozak and Yağcıbedir regions. The museum visit complements the monuments with a broad historical perspective and regional textiles and everyday objects.

The city’s history is also reflected in other types of buildings. The Bergama Arasta brought together guilds of boot- and shoemakers, cloth merchants, saddlers and grain merchants. The historic Bergama bridges over the Selinos were mostly built in Roman times and remain in use after several repairs during the Ottoman period. The oldest surviving examples of Bergama houses date from the 18th century; the houses are registered as monuments and protected. The Yığma Tepe Tumulus is the largest monumental tomb in Bergama and one of seven tumulus tombs in the city’s World Heritage area.

When planning your trip, you can consider whether you would like to focus on the Acropolis, the Asklepion, religious architectural history or the museum’s collection spanning a broad period. These different themes make Bergama especially interesting for travellers who want to explore historic architecture and culture in greater depth.

If you’d like to include other destinations in your search, you can also find Yakaköy, Aliağa, İstiklal, Ilica, Mordoğan, Çakmaklı, Sarnıçköy Köyü and Bademli here.

For the broader travel overview: Izmir.