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AN EAGLES EYRIE IN THE
TOROS MOUNTAINS
TERMESSOS |
Mount Güllük reises behind
the ancient theatre at Termessos
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Termessos
is an ancient city perched
like an eagle's eyrie high in the Toros Mountains
overlooking the blue waters of the Mediterranean, When it
was originally founded is a mystery, the only clue being
the name Termessos, which is thought to be Luwian, a
language spoken in the second millennium BC.
The city's inhabitants were
an indigenous Anatolian people, warlike and fiercely
independent. The Hellenic Greeks referred to them as
'Solymian barbarians.' Ever wary of the danger from
invaders, the Solymians built their city at the head of a
deep gorge at a height of 1050 metres near the summit of
Mount Güllük, From this impregnable fastness they hunted
wild goats living on the steep slopes of the mountain and
fallow deer and wild boar in the Yenice Valley north of the
city.
.Here they
also cultivated olives and wine grapes, and exacted taxes
from the caravans using the trade road linking Pamphylia and
Pisidia which passed through the valley:
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Lycian tyoe rock
tombs at Termessos are thought to date from the
Hellenistic period |
When
Alexander the Great of Macedonia marched across Asia
Minor conquering every city in his path he passed
through the Yenice Valley and resolved to Termessos. It
was in 333 BC, that the city first made its appearance
on the of the only previous mention of the Solymians
themselves being Homer's reference in the Iliad to the
people with whom the Lycian hero Bellerophontes
battled. Alexander marched the but soon gave up any
hopes of conquest. According to one account, when he
realised the |
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impossibility of breaching its strong natural defences
he withdrew, and his army felled and burnt the olive
trees in the valley; while according to another version
he was repulsed by the heroic Termessians. Whatever the
truth of the matter, Termessos was one of very few
Anatolian cities which Alexander failed to capture.
Throughout the following Hellenistic period the
Solymians constantly waited with their neighbours,
first with the cities of the Lycian Federation and then
with the city of Isinda. However, the Termessians were
evidently on good terms with Attalus II of Pergamum
(b.220 - d.138 BC) who founded Antalya, since
they built a colonnaded street in his name in the centre
of the city. |
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When
the Romans seized contml of Asia Minor they wasted no
time in reaching an amicable agreement with the people
of Termessos, even allowing them to mint their own coins
and pass their own laws. In return the Solymians showed
their gratitude by trapping Anatolian leopards In the
Taurus Mountains and sending them to Rome for use in
gladiator fights. This was a pet-iod of peace and
prosperity for Terrnessos. The fate of the Terrnessians
is as much a mystery as their origin. According to some
historians they disappeared during the Byzantine period
in the 4th century AD. Like the inhabitants of so many
ancient Anatolian cities. they probably fied after their
city had been destroyed by an earthquake and dispersed.
In
1970 Terrnessos and the surrounding forest were declared
a conservation area by the Ministry of Forests and
became Güllük Dağı National Park, also known as
Termessos National Park. The entrance to the pank is
situated 25 kilometres out of Antalya on the road to
Konkuteli and once in the pank the road follows the
ancient King's Road through Yenice Valley,
the
same route taken by the army of |
Termessos National
Park is like a wild botanical garden, and numerous
species of wild orchid, some endemic, can be seen here |
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Alexander the Great nearly two and a half thousand years
ago.
From
time to time the remains of this ancient paved road can
be seen beside the new road which partially overlays it,
as it winds through forest of Eastern Mediterranean
pine. In spring the sides of the road are bright with
yellow broom, and in autumn the sumak, bay and mastic
bushes turn every shade of yellow and red. Nine
kilometres later the road ends at a carpark. Termessos
lies at the head of the Mecine Gorge, 6.5 km in length
and 500-600 metres deep, situated 34 kilometres
northwest of Antalya.
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The park
contains 680 species of plants, 80 of them endemic.
Golden drop, Onosma, growing in front of the Alcetas
Mausoleum |
The
carpark is situated on the city square, beneath
which the ancient drainage system passes. The Roman
period ruins are In a remarkable state of
preservation, even earthquakes having failed to
demolish the entrance to the Temple of Hadrian to
the west side of the carpark. On the left side a
path through clumps of whiteblossomed chinaberry
trees leads to the military necropolis, one of three
in the city. Animal figures carved on the
sarcophagi here illustrate the wide diversity of
wildlife in this mountainous region. The path
continues southwards to the gymnasium, a walk of 20
minutes, following the road which led from Termessos
to Attalia (the modern Antalya). West of the
gymnasium is the ancient Roman period theatre
seating 4200 people. This stl-ucture has also proved
its durability against the ravages of time. Behind
the theatre rises T optepe, one of the 1265 metre
high peaks of Mount Güllük, and behind it stretches
Antalya Plain. Past the agora southwest of the
theatre is the Temple of Zeus and Artemis. Along the
street dedicated to King Attalus II of Pergamum you
come to a Corinthian order temple, |
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and
turning north from here takes you to the mausoleum
of Alcetas, Turning west instead takes you to the
second largest ancient necropolis in Turkey, with a
rich array of carved sarcophagi, Above rises Atbaşı
hill and behind it the mouth to Mecine Gorge. Here
you may see a short-toed eagle, sparrowhawk, buzzard
or falcon hunting for partridges, rabbits or young
wild goats. The other path back to the leads rock
tombs in the hillside.
Güllük Dağı National Park is like a wild botanical
with a huge of plants growing here. Ranging between
250 and 1665 metres in altitude, the park is home to
680 different plant species, of which 80 are
endemic, that is, unique to the region. Some of the
grasses found amongst the city ruins are
species from the last ice age. Juniper and
oak trees, wild carnations and hyacinths bedeck the
wild landscape. Several visits at different times of
year, particularly spring and autumn, are needed to
get an Idea of the wealth of its fiora and fauna. |
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Source: Skylife 08/03 |
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Süleyman Kaçar&Ali İhsan Gökçen |
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