First published: 09/12/21.

Clyde 1

Archaeological Site Of Laodikeia

Archaeological site of Laodikeia (On tentative list)

Archaeological site of Laodikeia by Clyde

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 as a side trip on my way back from Aphrodisias WHS. It lies very close to Akhan Caravanserai and the Pamukkale-Hierapolis mixed WHS.

The archaeological site of Laodikeia is practically the remains of a whole ancient city built on the river Lycus (Çürüksu). It was located in the Hellenistic regions of Caria and Lydia, which later became the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana. Apart from the usual colonnaded street, the western theatre, agoras, etc., the highlight for me were the restored fragments (actually a whole jigsaw puzzle of them!) of painted hallways at the far end of the colonnaded street with pigments and motifs very similar to those of the Villa Oplontis in Campania, Italy. Moreover, there are also the remains of one of the seven churches (early Christianity) of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Visiting in the late afternoon (ideal to avoid the scorching heat on a sunny day even in Spring!), I had the ancient city to myself and several little owlets that were attentively following me from one column to the next. There seems to be a lot left to be excavated before this site aims for inscription but I wouldn't be surprised if it were to make it on the WH list just like other classical WHS in Turkey. When I visited it was possible to buy a combined ticket to visit Laodikeia and Hierapolis-Pamukkale.

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