To be such a late inscription Pergamon is an impressive, diverse and large site. And hordes of tourists haven’t yet discovered it which makes it enjoyable site to visit. Compared to Pamukkale and Ephesus, which are surrounded by tourist villages, Pergamon is an authentic city that lives its own life. There were some tourist groups in the Acropolis but otherwise the sites were quite empty. I visited Pergamon on my exploring of four classical sites of Western Turkey on October 2019.

Getting from Izmir to the city of Bergama is quite easy. The only reasonable public transport option is bus. Mini buses depart every hour from the second floor of the main bus station. Note that only the mini buses go to the center of Bergama. The terminus of mini buses at Bergama is so called Soma Garage. Long distance buses stop only at the main bus station of Bergama which is located seven kilometers from the city center.

The World Heritage Site of Pergamon has ’Multi-Layered’ on its name. The different layers belong to the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantium and Ottoman Periods. Although this site is diverse, the monumental Kale Hill with the Acropolis is a clear centrepiece. Kale Hill dominates the landscape of Bergama and it can be seen from kilometers away. Kale Hill is composed of two parts: the Acropolis on the summit, and the Lower City on the southern slope.

The setting of the Acropolis on a steep hill 200 meters above the city center is simply stunning and dramatic. It almost seems inaccessible. From the bus terminus is one kilometers walk uphill to the cable car station. It is also possible to take a taxi to the Acropolis but there are nice views from the cable car so I prefer that. You can roam around the Acropolis easily for two or three hours. There are two structures which get the majority of attention: Theatre and Trajaneum. I have seen numerous Greek and Roman theatres but the Theatre of Pergamon is special. It has a distinctive shape and it is the steepest theatre of ancient world. And its location with the city landscape of Bergama on the background makes it such a great sight. The Temple of Trajanus or Trajaneum is nowadays the best preserved building of the Acropolis. The white marble columns on the summit are only a small part of this complex. There is a huge vaulted supporting structure under the temple.

Some people know Pergamon only from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin where the Great Altar is the main attraction. Certainly the Great Altar in its original location near the theatre would make the Acropolis more impressive and complete, but it is nowadays a part of another WHS far away from its original location.

The Serapeion or ’Red Basilica’ is located comfortably just beside the bus terminus so it is easy to visit. So called Red Basilica (Kızıl Avlu in Turkish) is a part of former huge Serapis Temple complex or Serapeion. Archaeological findings prove that the temple was used to worship Egyptian gods, especially Serapis and Isis. Also the St. John Church, one of the ’Seven Churches’ of Early Christianity is believed to be in Red Basilica. On both sides of the main temple are rotundas or round towers, the other of which is nowadays a mosque. Red Basilica used to be encircled by 10 meters high Egyptian statues, the caryatids. Today there is a reconstructed caryatid on the south side of the main temple and it looks striking. Even though partly in ruins the walls of the Red Basilica are in good condition and I find it a very beautiful and impressive building.

After visiting the Red Basilica I walked three kilometers along the the Selinos River to the Asclepion. I recommend this route for having a better understanding of the Ottoman city and its winding streets. The Ottoman neighbourhood on the riverside is surprisingly nice at some places with colourful small houses on the hillside. Also noticeable are three beautiful Ottoman bridges. Still, the most famous bridge is the Pergamon Bridge which is one of the largest Roman bridges ever built. It is 200 meters wide. Basically all you can see are two arched openings on both ends, but it is a much bigger and more important structure than one would think. The whole Serapeion temple complex and the central blocks of Bergama are built on a huge platform which lies on top of Pergamon Bridge.

On my route I stopped at Roman period Amphitheatre and City Theatre that are located on the edge of the city. Only a small part of the curve of the Amphitheatre can be seen. The City Theatre is unexcavated pit in the middle of residential area. Beside the City Theatre is an access arch (Viran Kapı in Turkish) to the former one kilometer long covered road that connected the city of Pergamon to the Asclepion.

Asclepius Sanctuary or Asclepion is an ancient healing center which is devoted to the cult of Asclepius, the god of medicine. The stand out feature of Asclepion is the circular treatment building and the underground corridor, the cryptoporticus, that leads to the building. Also the theatre is in a very good condition with some nice details at the ends of the rows. I find Asclepion an interesting and complete little archaeological site. But after visiting the Acropolis it seem not that impressive. I had Asclepion almost for myself because I was maybe one of three visitors.

Just as the previous reviewer told I also had a problem with time. Half day was not enough to cover all the components. There is so much to see. I didn’t have time for Tumuli, Aqueduct and Kybele Sanctuary. As its name indicates, Pergamon is a large WHS with many cultural layers. There are clear highlights like the Acropolis, Red Basilica and Asclepion. In some other country or circumstances these could even be a WHS of their own. But some the nuances of this WHS are ’hidden’ and it needs a bit of searching to reveal all of its gems.