ruins of pergamum

The site is excellent but very tiring, especially after visiting so many wonderful sites in Turkey. Views from the top are brilliant

Very steep paths so you must be relatively fit. The remains were intresting. The views from the top were spectacular.

The ruins are amazing themselves but there is more to enjoy here. The views are amazing and the history very interesting. Pick up the book on Pergamon on the way in at the bookshop, it's only 15tl. If you have time read it as you go through. You will understand a lot more if you can. You can drive to the top but even better you can pay 12tl return and go on the cable car. A definite high light and a must see

We enjoyed this site, from the cable car ride, to the ruins and to the guys peddling their souvenirs. The ruins are beautiful and the view from the theater is absolutely amazing. Be sure and give yourself plenty of time to explore and the guys in their little shops are very willing to come down on their prices, so don't give them what they ask. Offer about half and go for there.

This is a great site! Riding the cable car to the top was half the fun. Make sure you wear walking shoes. It can get very windy up there, someone from our group lost their hat. Wear sunglasses to avoid dust in your eyes. Its a must see though!

We spent the day at both sites in Pergamum and what outstanding sites they are. A lot of climbing and scrambling at the city site but well worth it. The Asklepeion is tidier and has a very beautiful odeon which is wonderful. Dont miss building Z which has outstanding houses with fabulous mosaics.

As well as well preserved ruins, the views below are great. Cable car up, walkabout to see ruins which are wonderful

The Pergamum site is on a very steep hillside, but you ride up on a cable car that passes over an area that is believed to have un-excavated houses and shops. We saw a goatherd with his flock on the hillside. Be mindful that the shops for souvenirs and water are at the level just as you exit the cable car, so that is the time to buy a guide book if you want one. Then you walk up stone steps to arrive at the very top of the hill.The Pergamum Empire lasted only a few hundred years, but its contribution to art history is timeless. The Great Altar of Zeus, which was taken to Berlin, showed an important transition in sculpture, with the frieze figures being carved so deeply they were almost free-standing. Unfortunately, at this site you only see the beautiful spot where it once stood. There are several temples, an agora, and a theater built on the very steep hillside. I found myself thinking I would want the cheap, upper seats instead of having to walk down to the expensive seats nearer the stage. From the top of the hill, one can see the city of Bergama on one side, a lake and dam on another side, and the Asklepion site in another direction.It must have been an awe-inspiring to see a hillside city with so many public buildings near the top and the residences creeping down the hill. Thank you UNESCO for helping to preserve places like this.

This site is accessed by cable car and has much to teach the visitor. The theatre, ruins, arches and sense of history are all awe-inspiring. How ancient people built this city on a mountain which we access by cable car is worth pondering! A great place in which to amble, learn and take photos. More importantly, the memories remain.

Getting to the site of this ancient city by cable car was just the first of several 'wow' moments. We expected a small mound of stones.....but this place is much more than that. Take a good guide. One of the highlights of our tour.....

Obviously, a huge city in its day, its ruins are nowhere as well preserved as that of Ephesus. However for all of that it is pretty amazing. Having to get to it by cable car tells you that it was not the easiest cities to build, but when you appreciate the spread and scale of it, and visualise what it must have been like in its day - pretty amazing. With views forever no one was going to take this place by surprise and probably explains why it later went on to become the capital of the Roman's Asian province. The theatre is amazing in its own right as it follows the slope of the hill down. If anyone stood up and fell over then would have ended up at the bottom of the hill. They say that it held 10,000 people - it you got sick of the show you could just watch the view.Well worth a visit - the scale and spread of this is magnificent - perhaps pretty bleak living on such a windswept hillside though.

Visiting the Acropolis of Pergamum involves a gondola ride to the very top of a mountain. It was incredibly windy and very cold so we walked the site pretty quickly and didn't really linger at some of the interesting parts of the site. The ruins of the agoras, temples, baths, etc were interesting. There were ruins of a library that originally contained 200,000 volumes. Most impressive is the theatre, built on the side of a hill. It is the steepest of all the theaters we visited and with the wind blowing it was intimidating just to step out to look at it. We also visited the Asclepion which is a sanctuary and healing center at the lower part of the city. Definitely visit this part because it is totally unique among the ruins we visited. It was fascinating to learn from our guide about the healing practices used to treat patients of this early hospital. They largely focused on healing psychological disorders and included a snake pit for shock treatment, immersion baths, sensory deprivation, etc. Don't miss it.

The views at the top are worth the confusion. Do your homework before you get here, otherwise you won't understand what you are seeing (signage is poor). There is a fun ride up the hillside in a cable car, but once you get up the information provided is scant. More fascinating than the temples and grand ruins at the top are the less excavated remains of the lower town; worth the trek down from the theatre.

We visited the Pergamum ruins later in the afternoon, there were very few people there and the views were stunning, the light being perfect for photography. We loved this place .

A busy sight but well worth a visit. The medical centre was interesting as our guide explained the workings of it. Do soak up the atmosphere.