Aphrodisias - Ruins

The sprawling ruins of Aphrodisias lie at the foot of the 2,308m/7,575ft Baba Dag (formerly Salbakos) to the south of the small modern village of Geyre (Geira, Gere; the old village was situated actually among the ruins). Finds from recent excavations are housed in a little museum built with American assistance. Modern research has transformed Aphrodisias from a place which few visited into one of the most important historic sites in Turkey. A partially excavated processional way equipped with a drainage system leads to the ruins.

The Roman agora, 120m/131yds wide and 205m/224yds long, with Doric portico along the north side and Ionic portico along the south, was renovated under Tiberius (14-37). Some of the columns still have their architraves in place. Twelve columns also survive from the colonnaded Portico of Tiberius.

To the south, on the far side of a large square, stand the ruins of the domed Byzantine Martyrs' Church (sixth century).