Hierapolis Antique City

Hierapolis Antique City

This is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and once you set foot in the ruins of the ancient city, you will quickly understand why.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and once you set foot in the ruins of the ancient city, you will quickly understand why. Great baths, temples, a theatre, pools, gates, and a necropolis are just some of the ruins located on a site that is set over hot springs that have been used as a spa since the 2nd century B.C.E. In fact, some of the antique pools are still open to bathing in the summer months, which is a testament to the engineering prowess of the Phrygians. Another example of this ingenuity is to be found in the form of a relief drawing on the sarcophagus of Marcus Arelieus Ammianos depicting a water-powered sawmill, the earliest known machine with a crank and connecting rod.