Write: Melih Uslu, Photo: Barış Hasan Bedir

Panoramic Aegean: Pergamon

Did you know that Pergamon was the place where parchment paper was discovered? The İzmir district, home to the oldest health complex in history, is the Aegean’s colorful face with its ancient heritage, marvelous natural scenery, and weddings.

Pergamon, approximately one hundred kilometers from İzmir, is full of surprises at every step. As you discover the district, a characteristic Aegean settlement at every step, one feels that Pergamon—known today as Bergama—is not only made of history: one has come to a region with a unique nature, flavor, and color.

A center of health
Pouring into Çandarlı Coast, Bakırçay Creek fed civilizations for thousands of years; all cities in its basin were bolstered artistically, culturally, and civilizationally. Five different cities were founded in Pergamon, which is located in the arms of the Bakırçay. Founded on a 330-meter hill now home to the ruins of the Acropolis, the city was ruled previously by the Persians and then Alexander the Great. Changing hands many times, the region became the scene of a splendid empire by the second century BC, The Kingdom of Pergamon, in its gilded age, was remembered as a center of culture and art. The primary contribution of Pergamon to human society was parchment paper—thanks to the discovery of parchment, a type of paper derived from animal skin, Pergamon came to possess a library rivaling even that of Alexandria. Spreading over the field with the population increase coming with the Romans, the city later entered Turkish rule following the Byzantines. The best place to start a tour of Pergamon, which now looks like a typical Aegean settlement, is the Acropolis. The Altar of Zeus, the Temple of Athena, the Library of Pergamon, and the Temple of Dionysus are in walking distance.

The steepest vertical amphitheater in the world is in Upper Angora. Watching the Plain of Pergamon from the stone steps of the theater is very pleasant. The King’s Way stretching down from the Acropolis to the city goes all the way down to the Agora. Following the ruins, as you go into the city, you cross the famous Crimson Courtyard that is also called the Basilica. Regarded as one of the seven oldest churches in Anatolia, the Basilica is quite worth seeing, featuring a notable design and sizeable dimensions. And Askeplion, to the west of the city, is one of the city’s treasures. In addition to an amphitheater, pool, and clinics, there are three temples here. Askeplion, which is where the curved serpentine figure representing medicine and pharmacy was first seen, was the home of many firsts in the field of medicine.

Play Me, O Pergamon!
One must set aside at least two days to tour Pergamon. The streets of the district, so redolent of colors and sounds, are full of surprises. After every corner there is a running child, a grandpa climbing a hill, or an old house with an even older, highly decorated doorknob. The cobblestone streets heading upward are like a mirror of the recent past of the houses painted in so, so many colors… The square known as the “Great Square” is a place in which time literally has seemed to stop. The old Girls’ Professional School and Küplü Hammam are among the area’s standout buildings. Most of the residents of Atmaca Neighborhood ten minutes away from Asklepion are musicians. Hüsnü Şenlendirici, one of Turkey’s foremost clarinetists, is from Pergamon. Life in Atmaca Neighborhood is always colorful and lively; tourists, too, have discovered this area in recent years. Furthermore, before seeing Kozak Plains, once cannot have known Pergamon... The plainside villages scattered about the pine villages one sees after taking the road Kozak-side from the city center resemble nothing but oil paintings. Stretching all the way to Ayvalık, Kozak Way presents a route indispensable to nature lovers. Throughout the way one sees on the exit of Pergamon, where one first encounters the sight of a historic aqueduct, one’s altitude continually rises with pine forests and picnic areas… After reaching approximately nine hundreds in altitude, the Plains of Kozak stretch out before you like a yellow/green pool…

Of the villages near Kozak, Demircedere stands out for its countryside tourism, and Aşağıcuma and Yukarıbey for their natural treasures... Pine nuts are an important resource of sustenance for the local villagers. The granite blocks extracted from the local quarries are exported to Europe. Donned in separate beauties in all four seasons of the year, the Plains of Kozak presents its visitors with such opportunities as nature hikes, photography, plant-watching, and bird-watching. If you encounter one of the region’s legendary weddings, you undoubtedly will fall even deeper in love with Pergamon… We’re in luck—we encounter a village wedding in the evening. The groom’s house enters fanfare with local musicians. The locals shout, “Play me, O Pergamon!” and we start dancing in accord with the “zeybek” of the Aegean…It is of tradition for ballads to be sung with music, for games to be played, and for gifts to be given… As local songs play, we depart Pergamon, thinking about the unique experience it gave to us.