World Heritage #1457 – Pergamon

Last modified 30.10.2022 | Published 26.07.1986Middle East and Africa, Türkiye, World Heritage Sites

Est. reading time:

The Greek acropolis of Pergamon in western Turkey commanded a large area, and was central in trading activities more than 2,000 years ago.

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Official facts

  • Full name of site: Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape
  • Country: Turkey
  • Date of Inscription: 2014
  • Category: Cultural site

UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 1457:

Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape (Turkey) rises high above the Bakirçay Plain in Turkey’s Aegean region. The acropolis of Pergamon was the capital of the Hellenistic Attalid Dynasty, a major centre of learning in the ancient world. Monumental temples, theatres, stoa or porticos, gymnasium, altar and library were set into the sloping terrain surrounded by an extensive city wall. The rock-cut Kybele Sanctuary lies to the north-west on another hill visually linked to the acropolis. Later the city became capital of the Roman province of Asia known for its Asclepieion healing centre. The acropolis crowns a landscape containing burial mounds and remains of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires in and around the modern town of Bergama on the lower slopes.

My visit

I arrived in the present-day little town of Bergama, for a hilltop visit to the ancient Pergamon back in 1986. The views from Pergamon were great, the site fascinating to visit and the missing Zeus altar a disappointing aspect of visiting archelogical sites. It is now on display in Berlin after having been removed by Germans over a hundred years ago.

Read more about my visit.

About this series.

Browse to the PREVIOUS or NEXT post.