Laodicea, near Denizli, was one of the Seven Churches of Asia mentioned in the New Testament. It was also briefly home to the Roman orator, Cicero.
This is a site whose presentation improves with every passing year. Once little more than a rubbish dump for pieces of Roman masonry, it has been beautifully restored and visitors can now amble up and down the wonderful marble-paved Syria Street, which was once lined with small shops and benches made from offcuts of old marble on which people used to sit to play the ancient equivalent of tavla (backgammon) beneath the porticoes.
On one side of Syria Street the site opens onto the ruins of an agora (market place) backed by a huge bathhouse, on the other a temple has been partially reconstructed with a glass walkway enabling visitors to gaze down on beautifully carved columns.
Behind the temple the basilican church mentioned in the Bible has been painstakingly reconstructed with all its glorious mosaic floors.
Further from the centre of the site you’ll come across the remains of a nymphaeum (monumental fountain) as well as two theatres (one of them restored) set into the hillside and offering panoramic views over the countryside.
Ongoing excavations have uncovered a spectacular wall with extensive remains of its painted plaster decoration – I can recall nothing like it elsewhere. At the end of 2023 another nymphaeum was also reconstructed to celebrate the centenary of the Turkish Republic.
Dotted about are the remains of villas whose courtyards were floored with marble or opus sectile. You can even go in search of the old stadium, now just an oblong outline in the grass, You can easily spend a couple of hours here. The site is at its best in May when poppies run riot amid the marble.
There is a small cafe and gift shop at the site. Bring water and a sun hat.
Transport info
Dolmuşes from in front of Denizli bus station plough up and down the road to Pamukkale and Karahayıt, passing within a km of the ruins of Laodikeia. It’s an easy, gently uphill walk the rest of the way although the site itself is still a bit of walk from the ticket office.
Nearby sites
Read more about a visit to Laodicea: http://www.turkeyfromtheinside.com/index.php?option=com_easyblog&view=entry&id=33&Itemid=218
