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Settled during the
early Bronze Age, it later became the home of a grand temple of Aphrodite,
the goddess of love. Its white marble ruins stand amidst fertile fields in
a green river valley.
Aphrodisias enjoys both an unbelievable historical richness and a beautiful natural scenery where all green tones from poplar to olive trees are present. The city was famous not only as a
philosophy and medicine center but above all as a school of sculpture: the masterpieces realized there have been spread all over the Roman
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| Empire and found back in the most popular temples such as in Didyma.
Aphrodisias was a Carian town named after the goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite, whose origins date back from the Hittite and Phrygian cultures.
Lots of Aphrodite's characteristics are similar to those of the
Ephesus Artemis but cannot be compared with the Greek Aphrodite. Aphrodisias knew her golden years during the Roman period as it was located
alongside a main trade road. Even after the upcoming of
Christians, Aphrodisias |
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remained an important pagan center. Under the Byzantines, who renamed it
"Stavropolis"
(Town of the Cross), Aphrodisias became the residence of the bishop of Caria.
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When Aphrodisias had been conquered by the Turks, it received its current name "Geyre", most probably a deformation of "Caria".
Today Aphrodisias is not only visited for its beautiful site but also for its opulent sculpture museum. During the 35 years continuous excavations, the temple of Aphrodite, the amphitheater, the thermal baths with
their inlaid marble floors, the agora and the stadium, one of the best preserved and biggest in the world, have been brought to daylight. |
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Pamukkale
& Aphrodisias Tour
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Ephesus