Pergamon is spread across multiple areas of the modern city of Bergama. The official locations given by the inscription are a bit misleading as the main components are grouped into the "city", while minor parts, e.g., the many tumuli each get their own.

In the city locations of note are:

• Situated atop of the hill overlooking the town is the ancient Acropolis. As fortresses from antiquity go, this is stellar. Admittedly, signposting and trails were lacklustre, especially, if you descend from the hilltop.
• On the foot of the hill is the Red Hall. The state of preservation or presentation is rather poor, but the dimensions of the temple from antiquity are stunning.
• Personally, the best component I visited was the Asklepion. It's a bit off the central city, but had wonderful views of the acropolis and radiates a wonderful tranquillity.

The modern city itself is a sprawl. There are Ottoman roads and houses, but always mixed with modern concrete buildings. I am not sure; I would consider this part of the OUV as I have seen better Ottoman towns.

As pointed out by previous reviewers, a major component of the original site is now housed in another WHS. The Pergamon Altar is shown on the Museumsinsel in Berlin in the aptly named Pergamon Museum. They have been renovating the whole Museumsinsel for decades, but I think the museum is open for visitors. In Bergama, you will find a stele informing you that this is where the Pergamon Altar was excavated and should be located.

My personal view is that the Turkish consider themselves as successor state to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans agreed to have the altar excavated and transported to Germany, at least there is no big (legal) dispute or claim mentioned on wikipedia.

Last but not least, this is one of the infamous deferrals turned into an inscription. I don't think there can be any doubt that Pergamon belongs on the list. This is one of the great Greco-Roman sites. The main issue with the inscription as I see it is the sorry state of preservation and presentation as well as general boundary questions.

Getting There

The main otogari of Bergama is on the coastal highway, not in Bergama proper. From there, you would have to catch a connection to Bergama town (12km). Coming from Ayvalik (North) or Izmir (South) it's easier to catch a local bus (dolmus) that takes you to the city proper. In Izmir, these depart on the upper level of the otogari (outskirts of Izmir). In Ayvalik, they depart from the otogari on the coastal highway.

In Bergama, it's a bit tricky to figure out where the dolmus depart. Each company has their own parking lot. For Izmir, head to Metro Tourizm. But there may be more providers. They will drop you off at the Izmir otogari. And from there you have to figure out how to get to town proper.

Last but not least, I do not recommend hiking up to the Akropolis. There is no dedicated foot trail, you just walk along the road and the distances are great as you essentially walk around the whole site once. To catch the cable car, you have to turn right instead of following the car road (teleferik). It's a bit hidden and I missed it.

While You Are There

Both Izmir and Ayvalik are tentative sites. Izmir didn't impress me much. Turkey has better Greco Roman and Ottoman sites on its tentative list. In Ayvalik, I couldn't quite grasp the OUV, but didn't dive deep. It felt like the area would be worth exploring further.

The next WHS are Troy to the North and Ephesus to the South.