Hi Guys, welcome to another episode of Ultimate Bucket List.
And on today's show, I show you around one of the most famous ancient ruined cities in the world.
The Ancient city of Perga (Perge) one of the most famous ruined cities in all of the free world,
Perga was established in Anatolia which is now where modern-day turkey is.
And it's famous for many reasons, but the two most important reasons - #1 it was captured and
occupied by none other than Alexander the Great. And #2, it’s the de facto temple of worship
for the Greek goddess of Artemis. The goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and chastity … for some
reason? The city itself is mainly Roman and Greek ruins that date back to about 200 BC,
but the city was founded way before that. And some parts of it date back to over 1000 BC, making
this site about 3,000 years old and considering how much of it is left after 3000 years - it's
actually awe-inspiring! Especially considering all of this was built before the age of machinery.
So when you do come here, it's simply a case of buying a ticket at the ticket
office and scanning through those turnstiles there. And don't be fooled
into thinking that you'll be done in an hour … this place is absolutely massive!
By the entrance you'll find one of the most imposing ruins that you'll ever see -
the Roman Theatre. It's an impressive structure and to see that thousands of people used to be
entertained here thousands of years ago, and this was built before the age of machinery, it's
absolutely breath-taking! Especially from up high.
Right next to the Roman Theatre is the Stadium. So yes this is where festivals used to be held
and this is where spectators used to watch various sports such as racing and wrestling etc.
It's pretty cool to walk around and see how much of it is actually left.
When you go into the main part of the city you'll come across
this - the Hellenistic gate. Which acts as the de facto entrance to the city of Perga.
One of the most impressive sites throughout all of this is probably this square here - the Agora.
And this acts as like a de facto marketplace for the entire city, and check out all of
these beams in the middle, and oh let's see what's in the middle here? Oh it's that.
I have no idea what that is but it's pretty cool.
When you wander around you can see the sheer expanse of this place. Especially if you go
through the west gate you'll come across things like the Palaestra and the Gymnasium. Believe
it or not this is probably actually nicer than the current gymnasium that I train at?!
You could see some really really cool things if you take your time such as this the Nymphamium.
This is the Necropolis. This is the Propylon.
You can see ruins of a Basilica which is like a worship place.
There's definitely evidence of things like aqueducts,
which is a precursor to modern plumbing.
But seriously take your time because you might miss some of the more salient details of this
site, such as the mosaics that adorn the floor. If you walk too fast, you might just miss it!
It looks very ornate with all the pillars going along as far as the eye can see.
But if you look carefully you'll actually realize that these are streets and roads.
And if you look carefully at these roads you can actually see where the horses and chariots
have eroded some of the brickwork so that's pretty interesting to look at.
Like I said guys take your time don't be in a rush to leave immediately. Okay it might be hot
on the day that you come here, but seriously take your time and explore the ruins in full detail
because you might just see some things that will astonish you.
Oh and by the way here's a tip for you - don't eat the oranges! There's lots of orange trees around
the ruins. But these orange trees actually grow inedible oranges. As you can see from the half
eaten oranges on the floor so it looks very tempting but don't try and eat these things.
But what you can do is pet the stray cats that live around these ruins.
Overall guys even if you're not a history buff like I’m not, it's definitely worth seeing once
in your life. But if you do want to watch a video that explains the entire history of this place,
I highly recommend that you check out Irena’s video on the Ancient Sites YouTube channel
and learn about it there. She does a much better job highlighting the history of this place and
I’ll leave the link in the description below. Honestly I love this place I really do! I can
literally spend all day here and if you are here in Antalya I highly recommend
that you pony up the money and actually visit these ruins. I guarantee you won't be bored.
Okay Ninh I’m sold, what do I need to do? Well you need to come here to the Ancient City of Perga.
It's situated in the northeast section of Antalya and the best way to get here is admittedly
use a taxi. It is the most expensive and to be honest I’m not feeling too good today
so I basically ponied up the money. A return taxi ride costs about €40. If you want to use
public transport the cheapest and easiest way is to get a tram from the middle of Antalya,
to a stop called Aksu. It's then just a 20 minute walk away from Aksu tram stop.
The cost? Well the entrance fee is 60 Turkish lira which works out at just £4, so definitely in terms
of value for money this is probably going to be the best historic thing that you'll ever visit.
I’ve been to lots of historic stuff and to be honest in other countries you pay a lot more to
see a hell of a lot less. Is there anything else I need to know? Yes, because these are ancient ruins
it's full of rocks. You've got to watch your footing everywhere you go because you could
quite easily fall. And also in really bad weather this place can flood a lot,
so if it is forecast for rain I highly recommend saving your trip to Perga
for a sunny day. To see the Roman Theatre you'll actually need to leave the site so bear that
in mind that you can actually visit the theatre without actually paying to see the actual city.
But whilst you're here and because it's only £4 you might as well.
So guys I highly recommend a trip here to Perga if you are visiting southern Turkey
aka if you're going to Antalya. But if you have enjoyed this episode please be sure to
like share and subscribe. Comment on the comment section below and if you've got any other bucket
list suggestions; you know what to do - tweet them at me! If I get enough suggestions I’ll go
ahead and do that. So guys thank you very much for watching and we'll see you in the next episode.
Ninh Ly – www.ninh.co.uk - @NinhLyUK