Sagalassos welcomes visitors after outbreak

BURDUR

The ancient city of Sagalassos, which is known as “the city of love and emperors” in Ağlasun district of the southern province of Burdur, and where strict measures were taken with the new normalization process, welcomes its visitors again.

Arrangements were made within the scope of the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19) measures in the ancient city, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Sagalassos is known as one of the most important cities that Alexander the Great had difficulty in conquering. The city is displaying the best examples of Roman architecture.

Strict measures were taken to protect the health of visitors in the ancient city, one of the five largest ceramic production centers of its period.

In the entrance of the city, the visitors’ temperature is taken and they are given disinfectants. People, who don’t wear a mask, are not let visit the ancient city. They should visit the city according to the social distance rule.

The historical city takes its visitors on a historical journey with its centuries-old streets in the middle of nature.

Archaeological excavations that were initiated in Sagalassos in 1989 under the presidency of Belgium’s Leuven Catholic University Professor Marc Waelkens are now headed by his students Professor Jeroen Poblome.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Burdur Archeology Museum Director Murat Kaleağasıoğlu said that with the new normalization process, they took the necessary measures in the ancient city.

Kaleağasıoğlu emphasized that 30 people can be taken in closed museum areas and 100 people can be taken to Sagalassos at a time, and that visitors can easily visit the city by following the rules.

Stating that Sagalassos was the religious capital of the Pisidia region, Kaleağasıoğlu said, “The best preserved Antonins Fountain in the world is here. Last year we hosted over 80,000 visitors. We were expecting more visitors this year, but the pandemic occured. Some tourists who come to Antalya are visiting here, too.”

He reminded that the exhibition titled, “Once Upon a Time in the Taurus: Sagalassos,” is still open to visitors, Kaleağasıoğlu stated that those who visit the exhibition can come to Burdur and see the ancient city on site.

The exhibition, which opened in November last year at Istanbul’s Yapı Kredi Cultural Center introduces visitors to the ancient city, founded on the southern slopes of the Taurus mountain range.

The ancient city is 1,750 meters above sea level and dates back 5,000 years. Because the city was located at a high place, a lot of the ancient structure is exactly how it was in the 13th century when it was abandoned.