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Photos from Turkey

Necropolis at Hierapolis photos

The ancient city was strung out on either side of a long colonnaded street called the Plateia. Measuring 13 meters in width, this street ran north and south from the southern gateway to the Arch of Domitian in the north. It is paved with huge blocks of limestone. The first structure one encounters on reaching the plateau is the city baths, which are in a very good state of preservation. The baths are Roman and from the 2nd century A.D. In the eastern part of the baths is a palaestra measuring 36.13 by 52.25 meters. Immediately to the north and south of the palaestra are two big rooms that were reserved for the emperor and ceremonial use. A large hall stretches the length of the western side of the palaestra and this was the gymnasium used by athletes. This salon led into the frigidarium from which one proceeded to the barrel-vaulted rooms of the caldarium. A small room adjacent to the large hall now serves as a museum in which works discovered in the Hierapolis excavations are on display. Since Hierapolis was principally a luxury resort town it was richly adorned with magnificent sculptures showing the influence of the Aphrodisias (q.v.) school and is well worth a visit.