2015
Aspendos Ancient Theater, BC. It is about 9 km from Serik, founded by the Akas in the 10th century. Within the Aspendos Ancient City, which is on the slope of a small hill, the ancient theater is famous throughout the Mediterranean world as one of the most well-preserved structures with its stage.
The giant theater, which is one of the most outstanding works reflecting the architectural style of the Roman Period, was built by Zenon, the son of the famous Roman architect Theodoros, who was an architect like himself. It was built between 138-164 years. One of the most distinctive features of the theater, which is considered a masterpiece in design and craft, is extraordinary acoustics. According to the legend often told about the magnificent acoustics of the theater, the King of Aspendos has a gorgeous daughter named Belkıs, who is famous for her beauty and whom everyone wants to marry. The king, who does not know to whom to give his daughter, who has suitors from all over the world, finds the solution to organize a competition when he can't get out of the business. Whoever produces the most beautiful and most valuable work for the city due to the competition will be entitled to marry Belkıs. At the end of the race, in which architects, poets, philosophers and artists entered into an arduous struggle, two works won. One of them is the aqueducts, a remarkable engineering work, and the other in the theater. The king intends to choose the architect who built the aqueducts that give abundance and fertility to the city. When he comes to visit the theater, he hears whispers in his ears, "The King must give his daughter to me," while walking around the top steps. When he searches his surroundings, he can't see anyone, but when he looks at the scene far from where he is, he considers the architect walking around talking to himself. The king was fascinated by the loud voices he heard as if he were right next to him, and he married his daughter to the theater's architect. The marble portrait of Belkıs torn in two on a stone found in the theater symbolizes another story. Accordingly, the king, who was undecided about choosing the aqueducts and the theater, divided his daughter in half and gave it to both architects.
Dedicated to the gods and emperors of the time, the theater, which welcomes guests in a unique atmosphere where you will feel the golden ages, wealth and splendor of the Roman Era, has a capacity of approximately 12,000 people. Today, many concerts, festivals and theater events are held at the Aspendos Ancient Theater, especially the International Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival, where art lovers flock from all over the world.
Next to the theater, there are 15 km long arched waterways and other essential ruins. There are water pressure towers at the height of 30 meters at both ends of the north-south arched bridge, approximately 1 km long. The city's water is collected in pear-shaped cisterns carved into the bedrock, which can be seen from place to place on the hill. This unique waterway system is one of the rarest examples of ancient waterways preserved today.
