The Ancient City of Aphrodisias in Aydın

Aphrodisias lies inland in the province of Aydın, in western Türkiye, where the plain meets the foothills of the mountains. The ancient city takes its name from Aphrodite, the goddess of love, whose sanctuary stood here long before Roman rule arrived. Close to the village of Geyre, the site is one of the country's most rewarding archaeological destinations, with white marble monuments rising among poplars and hills.

Known by other names in later centuries, the ruins spread across a green valley roughly two hours inland from the Aegean coast. Visitors who travel here find a city that was planned, built and decorated with unusual care.

A City Named for Aphrodite

The settlement grew around a sanctuary that drew worshippers and gifts from across Anatolia. In the first century BCE the community was refounded with Roman support and formally took the name Aphrodisias, sealing a bond with the goddess that had existed for generations. Its wealth came from marble quarries in the nearby hills and from the people who knew how to work that stone.

The Temple of Aphrodite stood at the heart of the city, an unusually long Ionic building whose columns can still be counted among the ruins. In late antiquity it was converted into a church, a change that helped preserve parts of the structure. A monumental gateway known as the Tetrapylon frames the approach to the sanctuary, its columns carved from local marble.

The Stadium and Public Buildings

The stadium is among the most completely preserved of its kind in the Mediterranean world. It is a long oval arena for foot races and athletic contests, with banks of seating that once held tens of thousands of spectators. Standing at one end, it is easy to picture the noise and colour of a Roman festival day.

Elsewhere in the city, a theatre, a council house known as the bouleuterion, a bath complex and a colonnaded street suggest the rhythm of daily life. The Sebasteion, a monumental complex decorated with sculpted panels, honoured the Roman emperors and the imperial family alongside scenes from myth.

A Workshop of Marble Sculpture

Aphrodisias was also a centre for sculpture, and its workshops supplied statues, portrait busts and architectural decoration to cities across the Roman world. Marble came from the surrounding hills, so quarrying, transport and carving could happen within a short distance of one another. The relief panels of the Sebasteion are often cited as fine examples of this local skill.

Many finished and unfinished pieces have been found in the city, which offers a rare look at how a workshop of this period operated. Sculptors worked with mythological figures, emperors, athletes and private individuals, and their output influenced tastes far beyond Caria.

From Roman City to Quiet Village

The city prospered through the Roman and early Byzantine periods, then declined as earthquakes, changing trade routes and political upheaval took their toll. Its name changed, its buildings slowly collapsed, and marble was reused in new structures. A small village eventually grew over part of the ruins.

Interest revived in the twentieth century, when systematic excavation began and much of the ancient city was uncovered again. Aphrodisias was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017, recognising both the monuments and the long record of research carried out here.

Walking Through the Ruins Today

The site sits in a valley framed by hills and poplar trees, and exploring it on foot takes several hours. Columns, gateways and seating banks appear at intervals along gravel paths, and the scale of the stadium becomes clear only when you stand beside it.

A museum at the site displays finds from the excavations, including sculptures and portrait heads that give a sense of the people who once lived here. Spring and autumn bring mild weather, wildflowers on the surrounding slopes and soft light that suits the marble. The nearby countryside remains agricultural, with fields and orchards that hint at how the valley has supported settlement for thousands of years.