Laodiceia : This ancient which is approximately
9 miles (km) from Pamukkale is the site og one of the one
of the Seven Churches mentioned in Revelation by Saint John.
Known in ancient times as the 'City of Compromise'Laodicea
was rebuked by Jesus through St.John for its people's indecisivennes:
'I know your works; you are neither hot nor cold, I will
spew you out of my mouth! The remaining monuments are the
stadium, a large gymnasium, an odeon, a nymphaeum and two
theatres, both poorly preserved.
Aphrodisias
: the isolated ruined city
of Aphrodite lies some two and a half hours' drive
inland from Selçuk, on flat, fertile ground surrounded
by distand mountains. It owes its outstanding reputation
today to Professor Kenan Erim, a Turkish national
attached to New York University, who in 1961 began
excavations on the site, and devoted the remaining
30 years of his life to the site. He is now buried
here. The path leads first out toward the perfectly
preserved theatre, originally made, then converted
by the Romans for gladiatorial entertainment. Nearby
is the Agora and the theatre baths. Beyond the man-made
hill into which the theatre is set lies the impressive
Baths of Hadrian, with a handsome exercise ground
in black and white marble. From here the path leads
to the little odeon with nine rows of perfectly preserved
seats, the most charming remains at Aphrodisias. Next
to it is the so-called Bishop's Palace, with its delightful
blue marble columns from local quarries. Beyond looms
the gigantic Temple of Aphrodite itself, with 14 columns
reerected from the rubble left by the earthquakes
and by the building's conversion into a basilica (law
court) in the 5th century. v