The remarkable Aspendos aqueducts draw tourists

The one-kilometer-long and 15-meter-high aqueducts, which bring water to Aspendos from the mountains, reveal the talent of the engineers who built them. These rare and ancient artifacts are called the lifelines of the city. 

The aqueducts also garner attention because of their stones, selected and formed by the hands of master builders. An inscription in Aspendos reads that the aqueducts, which draw many visitors and photographer aficionados from Turkey and the world, were built by Tiberius Claudius Italicus for the service of the city. 

Because of their architectural features and construction, the aqueducts are thought to have been built in the middle of the 2nd century. 

For centuries, there have been many legends told about the aqueducts. The most famous story is as follows: 

The King of Aspendos had a beautiful and attractive daughter as his sole child. Numerous young nobles wanted to marry the girl. Because of the high number of suitors, the king, in order to justly solve the problem, declared, “I will marry my daughter to the one who constructs the most magnificent building.”
There were two architects who wanted to marry the princess and they both presented two wonderful buildings. One constructed the theater and the other one constructed the aqueducts. 

The king decided to give his daughter to the architect of the aqueducts, but, while visiting the newly finished theater, he suddenly heard a whisper, “I am going marry the king’s daughter. I am going to marry the king’s daughter.” The king was surprised. As he tried to find the origin of the voice, he noticed the architect was standing on the scene. The king, noticing the excellent acoustics of the theater, shouted at him, “Dear architect, from now on, my daughter belongs to you.” 

And according to the legend, these two young people were married in a perfect wedding ceremony held in the theater, which is just as famous as the aqueducts.