GEMS of AEGEAN 02  /  APHRODISIAS ANCIENT CITY AND MUSEUM & PAMUKKALE  (Two days ) / THE SPLENDOR  OF BEAUTY ,ART AND HEALTH

Today ,you’ll start to visit the ancient city of Aphrodisias on the way to Pamukkale

Aphrodisias was primarily known as a center for the arts, specifically sculpture. The Aphrodisias School of Sculpture had a distinctive style and was very well circulated throughout the Greek and Roman world.

The ruins are numerous and well preserved. A two mile long Byzantine wall still surrounds the city. The Temple of Aphrodite, eventually converted to a Christian basilica, is excellently preserved. The Tetrapylon, the gate which was leading people to their great temple, was re-erected by Kenan Erim, where he's buried in front of it with a special permission of the Government after his death. The Baths of Hadrian are still partially standing. The theatre and the stadium are one of the best preserved in all eastern Mediterranean. The nearby museum contains many beautiful statues and portrait sculpture.

In 2017 Aphrodisias archaeological site has entered into the List of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

You’ll visit the museum of Aphrodisias.Aphrodisias Museum is one of the rare museums where the artifacts unearthed during the excavations of Aphrodisias Ancient City are exhibited and where the Museum and the ruins are intertwined.

Prehistoric artifacts from the Chalcolitic Period,bronze Age early,middle and late periods,Lydian ceramics excavated from these mounds and around the Temple of Aphrodite,archaic,Classical ,Hellenistic period artifacts and ruins Roman,Byzantine and Early Islamic period artifacts found in excavations on site are exhibited.

The Aphrodisias Museum is very rich in terms of the sculptural Works it displays.In this respect,it is an important archeology museum.A different aspect of Aphrodisias sculpture is exhibited in each hall with these Works made by sculptors of Aphrodisias,made of White,blue-gray marbles extracted from the slopes of Baba Mountain .These halls ; the Imperial Hall ,teh Melpomene Hall,the Odeon Hall,the Showcase Exhibition Gallery with the Glazed Window,the Penthesilia Hall and the Goddes Aphrodite Hall,which gave the city its name,as well as the sarcophagi found in the city in the inner garden and courtyard are exhibited.

You’ll have lunch at the local restaurant depending arrival time to the ancient city of Aphrodisias.

Then you’ll drive to Pamukkale to the thermal hotel

After breakfast you ’ll visit Hierapolis Ancient City and Pamukkale

The surreal, brilliant white travertine terraces and warm, limpid pools of Pamukkale hang, like the petrified cascade of a mighty waterfall, from the rim of a steep valley side inTurkey’s picturesque southwest. Truly spectacular in its own right, the geological phenomenon that is Pamukkale, literally "Cotton Castle" in Turkish, is also the site of the remarkably well-preserved ruins of the Greek-Roman city of Hierapolis. With such a unique combination of natural and man-made wonders it’s little wonder that Pamukkale-Hierapolis has been made a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. With over two million visitors annually, it is also Turkey’s single most visited attraction.

The ancient city of Hierapolis, which is not only our country but also the most important ancient city areas of the world, is located in the UNESCO World Heritage List just like the travertines. The unique antique legacy left by the Kingdom of Bergama was famous for its thermal springs and medicinal properties even in 197 BC, when it was founded.

Hierapolis, which takes its name from the presence of a thermal springs and a cave out of the gas (carbon dioxide) that causes the living creatures approaching to it to die, is "the Holy City". The earthquakes that lived in 133 BC and 60 AD destroyed the city, which was recognized by the temples of the world, but later rebuilt by the Romans.

Hierapolis ancient city ;Known as Hell Gate, Pluto's Gate or Ploutonion, the cave is located near Hierapolis. Animals slaughtered with carbon dioxide gas leaked from the cavern, which was considered the entrance gate of the underground world ruled by God Plouton and his wife Persophone, were sacrificed by the priests.

After visiting of Hierapolis ancient city and Travertines ,you have lunch at the local restaurant nearby Pamukkale

End of day you’ll drive back to İzmir

THE GUIDE MAY CHANGE THE ROUTE FOR THE VENUES

THE CAPACITY OF THE TOUR MAXIMUM 12 PAX