Hello my friends. I visited Termessos, one of the most mysterious ancient cities of Turkey. This city located 30 km away from Antalya. I have been almost everywhere in the province of Antalya where there are ruins of ancient cities. Demre, Olympos, Phaselis, Perge, Aspendos, Side and Hierapolis. Next was Termessos. I guessed I would like it because it is located in an amazing place. This ancient city is situated at an altitude higher than 1000 meters above the sea level. We were going up along the roads as if returning to the past. Pine forests were growing on both sides of the road and bringing freshness to us, while the peaks of the Taurus mountains were visible in the distance. One of these peaks hides in the clouds the ruins of legendary Termessos.
According to a legend believed by the Ancient Greeks, Termessos was founded not by humans, but by legendary warriors born from the union of the Earth and the Stars. They were wild and fond of their freedom. Alexander the Great tried to capture the city and his army saw a dog of fire in the sky, which was a sign that Termessos was inviolable. No invader has dared to attack this city since then.
Life was boiling here more than 2000 years ago. The streets were full of people, applause echoed in the teater and sacrificial fires burned in the temples. But time passed. Empires collapsed, yet Termessos remained untouched. Neither wars could destroy it nor invaders could loot it. It froze in time as if waiting for us.
The Arch of Hadrian, a triumphal arch welcomed us at the entrance . This is one of the most famous and most photographed structures of the ancient city. The arch is located on the main road leading to the city, right after entering the national park. Of course we also took souvenir photos. Reliefs and fragments of Latin inscriptions dedicated to Emperor Hadrian have been preserved on the arch. It was built in the second century ad to honor his visit. This was a symbol of this city's loyalty to the Roman empire. Termessos was of Greek origin but it maintained good relations with Rome and this arch became a symbol of that alliance.
There were almost no tourists here, no noise and bustle. A silence prevailed, broken only by the howling of the wind and the sounds of birds. Time seemed to have stopped here. Then we decided to climb upward, not taking the usual path as customary. The Arch of Hadrian stands out in Termessos as one of the rare Roman structures in a city otherwise defined by its Greek herritage. More than just a gateway, it feels like a threshold between the modern world and the ancient city, quietly underscoring Termessos layered history.
Termessos was the only city that Alexander the Great could not conquer during his Asian campaign. This is not surprising at all. Since it is located in impassable mountains. In 333 bce his army passed through here but did not dare to storm the fortress. Because it was so well fortified, a long term siege would exhaust the army. So the great commander had to retreat.
The first inhabitants of the region where Termessos was founded were the Solyms. They came here in the seconnd century bce. They named it Termessos, deriving it from the words Termy. Meaning mountain belt and Assa, meaning high mountainous region and founded the city. This was not an ordinary settlement, but an impassable fortress in the mountains. The city developed rapidly and established commercial ties with other polices. Termessos reached its golden age with a population exceeding 150000 between thefifth and second centuries bce. But then a severe earthquake turned the city into ruins. Its inhabitants decided not to rebuild Termessos and moved to neighboring cities.
Nature is intertwined with history here. Giant moss covered megaliths are not just building ruins. they are witnesses of Hellenistic luxury, Roman power and Byzantine mystery. Every stone is a piece of a puzzle we are trying to piece together. All around is untouched nature, slowly but surely taking back what is rightfully hers. Right here we felt like time travelers. We had a feeling inside as if we would run into an ancient resident of Termessos if we turned the corner.
Termessos is an archaeological site that allows us to see the glory of its history. Until the naturalist Edward Forbes discovered the ruins in 1842, the existence of this city was almost unknown. He stumbled upon the ruins of this ancient city hidden high in the mountains while studying the flora and fauna in the mountainous region of Lycia. Until that moment almost nothing was known about Termessos in the scientific world.
Strange signs continue to be found on the stones here that resemble neither Greek nor Roman symbols. Scientists debate what they mean but locals say these are messages from those who did not want to leave Termessos even after death.Walking along these paths covered with grenery, you realize that this is not just a trip but a dialogue with the past. Among these stones lived great warriors, wise philosophers and ordinary people with their own joys and worries.
I used to look at the megaliths here and say they were just stones anyway, unlike my friend who is an architect. He showed me how the blocks fitted together perfectly without mortar. How the aqueducts were ingeniously designed and how the theater was built considering acoustics. And in an instant I realized that these are not just ruins. But masterpieces of ancient engineering. At first I was just walking beside him without understanding his excitement, but later when I listened to what he explained, I started noticing the details myself. How the city adjusted to the mountain landscape, how every stone held a story and how nature and architecture merged here into a single whole. The ruins ceased to be boring and turned into living witnesses where history gains a voice.
The city flourished and established trade networks from the second century bce onward. but the lack of direct access to the sea restricted its development. So the residents carved a road about 30 km long through the rocks. Over this road, olive oil and wine were transported to the port city of Phaselis, ensuring the flow of goods. Despite being far from civilization, the people managed to meet their needs. They set up water supply systems, sewage and provided regular food supplies. Thanks to their amunition, high walls and mountain ranges, the city could comfortably withstand long term sieges.
Step by step the landscapes became even more beautiful. The graveyards of Termessos were carved directly into living rocks, which is a typical tradition of ancient Lycians. While the earliest tombs date back to the fifth and fourth centuries bce, the vast majority belong to the Roman period, the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. The city survived until the seventh century AD, but was abandoned due to a series of earthquakes and changing trade routes. Scientists proved that the last major earthquake destroyed the aqueducts and left the city without water. People left, but no one looted the ruins. That is why Termessos stands today as if its people vanished in a single day.
Unlike many ancient cities, Termessos was never restored. Turkish authorities deliberately left it in its natural state to preserve its originality and mystical atmosphere. There are no concrete walkways, signs or souvenir shops here. There is only wildlife and stones that remember the past.
When we are in such places, we realize how short our lives are, where a real trace can only be left by a small number of people immortalized in stones, legends or books. Unlike these ruins that we can gaze upon thousands of years later, only a name will remain of a human being.
Termessos is a huge ancient city spread over a wide area in the mountains. It covers an area of approximately 350 hectares, 3.5 square kilometers and stretches for kilometers along the Taurus mountains. Due to this scale and terrain structure, slopes, canyons, cliffs, many parts of the city remain hidden from view. Sounds, footsteps and echoes spread over long distances, adding a mysterious atmosphere to the environment.
