Bergama between the Acropolis and the Asclepion

Bergama offers several distinct ways to explore its cultural history: the terraced Acropolis, the Asclepion as a historic treatment center, the Red Basilica and the Bergama Museum. Bridges, historic houses and the Arasta add to these themes. For your trip planning, you can organize the highlights by period and subject. If you are looking for a hotel in Bergama, its cultural history offers a concrete starting point for your plans.

The Acropolis and the history of the capital

The Acropolis dates back to the 7th to 6th century BC. From 284 to 133 BC, Bergama was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon for 150 years. The Acropolis was laid out on terraces on Kale Tepesi and includes temples, streets, and social and commercial squares. It can therefore be explored both through its long chronology and the layout of its site.

The Acropolis includes a Temple of Athena, built in the 4th century BC in the Doric style. There is also the Temple of Trajan and colossal statues of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. The Library of Pergamon on the Acropolis held around 200,000 volumes. These examples add specific insights into temple construction, architecture and the intellectual life of the ancient site to Bergama’s political history.

The Asclepion and historic treatments

The Asclepion was dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing, in the 4th century BC and remained an important treatment center until the 4th century AD. Historic treatments included diets, hot and cold baths, physical exercise, medicines and medicinal plants, as well as music, the sound of water, suggestion, dream interpretation, and mud and sun baths. These practices are part of the history of the Asclepion, not a present-day wellness offering.

The complex also included a theater with 3,500 seats. Historically, the approximately one-kilometer-long sacred road, the Via Tecta, led to the Asclepion. Together with the Acropolis, the Asclepion illustrates another aspect of Bergama’s history: here, the focus is on religious dedication and treatment practices, while the Acropolis represents a terraced urban site and its political role.

The Red Basilica: construction and transformation

The Red Basilica is considered the largest brick building in Anatolia. It was built in Pergamon in the first half of the 2nd century AD for Egyptian gods. In the early Byzantine period, two rows of columns were added to the main building, converting it into a three-aisled basilica dedicated to Saint John. The complex also included an infrastructure system and tunnels that covered the Selinos. Its construction history therefore links its original dedication with later changes in its architecture and religious use.

The museum and historic buildings

The Bergama Museum opened in 1936. Its archaeological exhibition covers a period from the Bronze Age to the end of the Ottoman era. The museum’s regional textiles include carpets, kilims and saddle bags from the Yuntdağı, Kozak and Yağcıbedir regions. The museum thus combines a long archaeological timespan with specific examples of regional textile art.

Bergama’s historic buildings also reflect different periods and uses. The oldest surviving examples of Bergama houses date from the 18th century; the houses are registered and protected as monuments. In the Bergama Arasta, guilds of boot and shoemakers, cloth merchants, saddlers and grain merchants came together. The historic Bergama bridges over the Selinos were built mainly in Roman times and continued to be used after several repairs during the Ottoman period.

The Yığma-Tepe Tumulus is the largest monumental tomb in Bergama and one of seven tumulus tombs in the Bergama World Heritage Site. It adds another perspective on the region’s historic heritage to the ancient urban sites. For your trip planning, you can weigh the different highlights against one another: the Acropolis and the Asclepion represent different chapters of antiquity, while the museum, houses, Arasta and bridges offer further historical themes.

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