Nestled between the Caicus Plain and the mountains, this ancient Greco-Roman city is a must-see, especially if you want to escape the overly touristy nearby city of Ephesus. Perched up on a fortified hill, the ancient city of Pergamon is full of rich history and home to many spectacularly unique sites but, unfortunately, gets skipped by most ordinary tourists. I visited both Pergamon and Ephesus to get a fuller understanding and picture of the history in this area, but once there, I realized what many people are missing out on.
The Upper and Lower Acropolis
Most people have likely never heard of Pergamon before, as they would think of traveling to the more famous Ephesus, but in reality, Pergamon is as extraordinary if not better. The ancient city is divided between two main sections, the Upper and Lower Acropolis and Asclepieion. The Upper Acropolis is, you guessed it, the Acropolis on top of the hill where you can see the ruins of the Zeus Altar, Temple of Athena, Trajaneum (Temple of Trajan), the second largest library in the ancient Greek world, and other temples and buildings. On the other hand, the Lower Acropolis, which is lower down is where you can see the gymnasium and several other ruins of houses and residential areas, such as Building Z. Here, you can see how the wealthiest of Romans used to live such as mosaic-covered floors. Along the slope of the hillside lies the world’s steepest amphitheater overlooking gorgeous views of the city and its surrounding mountains.
Asclepieion
If you think ‘Asclepieion’ or ‘Asclepius’ sounds familiar, it might be because of the Rod of Asclepius, the traditional medical symbol of a staff entwined by a snake. This symbol was used first here in Asclepieion, the first-ever hospital in the world, dating over 2000 years ago. However, due to a misconception that has lasted 500 years, the Caduceus of Hermes – a winged staff entwined by two snakes – has been recognized as the symbol of medicine.
On this site, you can see overgrown turtle-infested natural springs that they used to use as healing pools, a small Amphitheater to entertain patients, underground systems of ancient hospital rooms, the Temple of Zeus, and finally, a library. If you’re wondering how this place was founded, it all started when Archias, a local from Pergamon, injured his foot while hunting and was supposedly cured by the medicine god Asclepius. To thank him, Archias built a treatment area to cure injured/sick civilians. Instead of doctors like today, there would be someone called a ‘priest doctor’ who treated patients by ritual and basic healing methods. They didn’t accept dying or pregnant patients, probably to not ruin their reputation.
Underrated Pergamon
I have only scratched the surface of what you can find in Pergamon, and even though Ephesus looks spectacular as well, the place is infested with tourists even in the low season, making it less pleasant to wander around. Conversely, walking around Pergamon felt like I was exploring a hidden gem yet to be discovered, as there were barely any tourists in sight, although it might be a bit more crowded during the high seasons. There were the occasional tour groups who took pictures and whatnot, but they quickly left and weren’t sticking around for long.
Ephesus may look more like a city as you walk along the cobbled streets, but if you want to escape tourists and are looking for a place with the same general history and fewer limitations (to wander around), Pergamon is the place for you! Even over the Pantheon in Greece, an extremely touristy ancient site even more than Ephesus, in terms of tourist numbers and what you can see, I personally think that Pergamon is the best deal and is a place worth visiting. So put on your hiking shoes and go and explore!
Additional Info
Ticket price: The Acropolis (Upper and Lower Acropolis) and Asclepieion tickets are sold separately, the Acropolis being 340 Lira and the Asclepieion being 300 Lira per person as of 2023.
How to get there: To get up to the Acropolis, I recommend getting a taxi up the hill (~70 Lira) and walking down the main trail to Bergama (the modern-day city). Walking up the steep hill can be exhausting, so getting a taxi from the bottom is the best choice. Also, DO NOT go up by the gondola (cable car) since it is way too overpriced.
What to bring: As the day goes by, it will continuously get hotter and hotter, so definitely bring a big bottle of water. As it is hot, I recommend wearing a hat, too. You’ll also have to walk up/down rocky terrain if you do the whole hike, so I recommend wearing proper hiking shoes.
Time it takes: For me, it took around 3 hours to thoroughly see the Acropolis as well as hiking the whole length. The Asclepieion took around an hour to see, although we were in a time crunch.
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