Hidden in the Taurus Mountain of south-western Turkey are some spectacular Classical cities, inaccessible and forgotten until recent roads, archaeological survey and excavation returned them to public view.
These mountainous cities of the ancient region of Pisidia have a long history, being mentioned in Hittite texts and by Herodotus. The remarkably good living their hardy inhabitants eked out of the seemingly inhospitable terrain saw expression in much monumental building during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Their subsequent decline, as a result of earthquake, plague and changing economies, causes modern visitors to wonder how such civic splendour could thrive so far from anywhere.
Few visitors venture there, and the rewards for those who do are outstanding ruins in breath-taking settings, with the sense of discovery enjoyed by 19th century travellers.
Across the mountains lies the World Heritage site of Hierapolis, splendid spa city established by the Attalids, where the limestone formations made by the hot medicinal springs have been named Pamukkale - ‘cotton castle’ - by the Turks. From here we continue to the Lycian coast, and the ruined cities of Xanthos, Patara and Telmessos.
