Termessos is an ancient city in the Pamphylia region of Turkey, in the mountains 30 km northwest of Antalya.

Understand

Termessos was a city in Pisidia, a kingdom or region that was semi-independent through the Bronze and Iron Ages. It stands on Mount Solymos (now Güllük Dağı) in the Taurus Mountains at 1150 m elevation, and is first documented in 333 BC, when Alexander the Great failed to conquer it. He was seldom thwarted but it's not clear why he would even try, he had little reason to bother, and he may simply have come to punish banditry before marching on north to destroy Sagalassos. Allying with his successor Ptolemy, Termessos fought wars with neighbouring regions but fell under the control of Rome. At some unknown date an earthquake wrecked not only the town but its aqueduct water supply, and it was abandoned. Being remote, its stone was not removed. Archaeologists have studied its surface but have not excavated.

Mount Güllük-Termessos National Park, created in 1970, covers this area. Most of it is upland forest; the only other major site is Neapolis on the west fringes of Antalya.

Get in

You need your own vehicle, there is no public transport to Termessos. From Antalya head west along D350 towards Korkuteli - this is a good dual carriageway with the turnoff prominently signed after 22 km. Dolmuşes and buses ply this route and can drop you here, but it's then a steep 9 km lane to the site. There's often a taxi waiting at the bottom, but it's expensive. Few visitor cars come this way, so hitching may not be realistic. If you do hike, factor in the return hike, and whether you're likely to get back down before dolmuşes stop running around 18:00.

The site is open daily 08:00-17:00 and in 2023 admission is 70 TL.

Get around

Wear stout shoes, the site is rugged and unsuitable for anyone with limited mobility.

See and do

• Outer ramparts remain as a short stretch by the highway turnoff.
• King Street was the ancient approach to the city, glimpsed here and there from the modern paved lane.
• 1 Hadrian's Temple is the first structure encountered by the parking lot at the head of the lane. North necropolis is also in this area, with sarcophagi (bashed about by treasure hunters) here and there in the woods.
• Agora is the main square and market place just within the city walls. It has raised paving and five large water cisterns, so supplying water and cleaning up after the livestock were led away would be daily business.
• 2 Gymnasium and baths are scattered ruins northwest of the agora beyond the cisterns.
• Founder's House is a Roman mansion west side of the agora: the inscription over the doorway praises the owner as founder of the city. He was clearly no such thing but presumably endowed various structures in his lifetime.
• 3 Theatre is the highlight. It was built 2nd century BC with a seating capacity of 4000-5000 and the stage house was added in the 1st century AD. Performances would need to be good, as the site commands a great panorama. Colonnades were later added on top but have disappeared.
• Odeon 100 m southwest of the theatre was the civic events venue, built 1st century BC and with a capacity of 600-700. Buildings of this nature were usually also the bouleuterion or city council chambers.
• Heroön is a shrine to the city heroes, 50 m west of the Odeon. It's not known which local heroes were venerated here.

Rock tombs along the road into Termessos

• 4 Artemis Temple is the best preserved of the five ruined temples around the Agora.
• 5 West necropolis has the "tomb of Alcetas", with a relief of a horseman. He was one of Alexander the Great's generals, who after their commander's death began murdering and fighting each other: the chief winner was Ptolemy who founded a 275-year dynasty in Egypt. The legend goes that in 320 BC, Alcetas was holed up in Termessos as Ptolemy's forces laid siege: the city fathers decided to hand him over. He committed suicide rather than face this, his corpse was handed over and defiled, but the city built a fine tomb once they were sure his opponents had marched away for good.
• 6 South necropolis has rock tombs and battered sarcophagi.
• 7 Yenice Han is a pair of 17th century inns along the former road to Korkuteli. Both are tumbledown and overgrown.

Buy, eat and drink

There are no shops or cafes at the site so bring everything you need, including snacks and plenty of water.

Yeşil Vadi Restaurant is 300 m from the turnoff, on Şehit Ahmet Ayverdi Cd the opposite lane heading northeast to Dosemealti.

Sleep

There is no accommodation in the park, and camping is not permitted.

Döşemealtı pansiyon is 500 m east of the turnoff, on Şehit Ahmet Ayverdi Cd 200 m beyond the restaurants. It has a cafe and basic rooms.

Stay safe

Sarcophagus at Termessos

Don't leave valuables on display in the car, and apply lots of sun protection. Beware snakes in the woods.

Go next

• Antalya east is a big resort city, the start of a tourist strip extending out through Belek and Side to Alanya.
• Korkuteli west is a large town where you could stop over, but its antiquities are scrappy. Staying on D350 eventually returns you to the coast at Fethiye.
• Branch south at Korkuteli for Elmalı, starting point for hikes into the nearby mountains.

Routes through Termessos

İzmir ← Denizli ←

N  S

→ Antalya → Ends at