5 August 2011
When there is no plan, each day is full of opportunities. I decided that I would head south towards the Mediterranean coast. On the way there is an Archeological Site called Sagalassos. The ride was hot, dusty dirt roads full of construction traffic, and steep winding downhill. By the time I got into the valley below the ruins I was delirious with heat, but all signs pointed up, up, up.
After a quick lukewarm water break, I oozed myself back onto my bike and started the long uphill grind. The road climbed above the valley floor, climbed up into the surrounding hills, climbed to the top of the ridges, and still no sign of the ruins. By now it was the hottest part of the day without a speck of shade on the climb. I was mashing my pedals down to gain a little bit of up. I was standing, sweating, grunting out loud, and beetles were going up the road faster than I was. I gave in, I pushed my bike, and pushed, and pushed. Hours dribbled by and finally 5,500 feet up, I saw the gate. Two men were sleeping as I limped into the shaded entrance area, huffing and blowing hard as sweat streamed down my face and crusty salt flaked off my skin. They looked at me, and without asking brought me a drink... of scalding hot tea.
The site had 30 minutes before it closed for the night, but the men told me that I could wander around as long as I wanted. The sun was easing off, and there wasn't a single person around other than the two men back at the gate. With the ride over and done with (and heat blisters rising up on my thighs) I took my water bottle and sat overlooking the main marble road within the ruins. A quietness settled me as I took in the view.
Looking around at the thousands of intricately hand carved marble blocks, I was struck by the amazing amount of time and work it took to build this city. People had been living in the area since 8000 BC but to hear some of the big names of Roman History and know that those people had walked these same paths was blowing my mind. Alexander the Great captured the city in 333BC and roman style development continued. The main attraction of the ruins is the fountain in the square. Giant marbled pillars topped with scroll worked arches frame statues of gods and goddesses. Each of the statues stand taller than I am and water pours out of a fountain into a pool that they watch over. It was jaw dropping beautiful.
I walked around the site for hours and I had it all to myself. There was a heaviness to the area that made me feel like an ant in size and a speck in time. I felt so lucky to be there and to see it at my own pace. The roman baths built around 1 AD, during the rule of Marcus Aurelius, are some of the oldest in the Anatolia area. As I walked along the outskirts of the site I stubbed my toe on the corner of a rock and stumbled forward. Looking back, my "rock" was carved heavily on one side with roman lettering and a patterned border. Every stone seemed to have significance here. I felt like I was slipping into a gladiator movie.
The city was devastated by earthquakes multiple times, the last was so severe that the inhabitants were forced to move away from the ruined city and down into the valley. Because of the difficulty in getting to the site, it has mostly been protected from looters. The earthquakes have also served to protect the site. The library once held thousands of scrolls in alcoves surrounding a beautifully mosaic tile floor. The floor, almost fully intact was saved when the roof of the building collapsed suddenly during one of the quakes
I made my way slowly back to the entrance. The two attendants wanted to know if it was worth the ride up the mountain. I told them that I would have made the climb ten times over again to see this place. After one last cup of scalding tea I jumped on my bike with a spring in my step. The downhill back to the valley was crazy fast. Zipping along I hooted and whooped all the way down.
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