The site is noted for its travertine terraces, with 20m high cliffs and waterfalls, situated along on the foothills of the Cokelez mountains. The highest terrace is about 200m above the Curuksu plain and extends some 6km between the villages of Pamukkale and Karahayit. Thermal springs and travertine pools are located near to the site of the Roman town of Hierapolis at the south - eastern tip of the terraces and occupy an area 2,500m in length and 500m in width. Semi - circular pools occur in a step - like arrangement down the upper one - third of the slope; the steps range from 1-6m in height. Fresh deposits of calcium carbonate give the pools a dazzling white coating. The travertine deposits, Quaternary in age, are thought to originate from a fault in the contact zone between the Mesozoic crystalline rocks and the layers of the Neogen series. The water temperature averages 35°C with a flow of 25 litres per second (from four springs). The springs form part of a complex hydraulic system extending 70km to the north - west to Alasehir and west along the valley of the Menderes River. These canals take thermal water to nearby villages and agricultural areas, some over the years having accumulated travertine deposits up to 10m in height. The oldest rocks in the area are crystalline marbles, quartzites and schists and are located in the northern parts of the proposed park. Most of the rocks are, however, of the Pliocene period.
Near to the site are the ruins of the Roman town of Hierapolis which include the theatre (with the best preserved 'scaena' in Asia Minor), many tombs and the old 'thermae'. The town was founded at the end of the 2nd century BC, reaching the peak of its development under the Romans at the end of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. In structure, it follows the hellenistic tradition with the main buildings lining the main street which is 1km long, with side streets arranged at right angles. The buildings of major importance include the theatre, octagonus, monumental gate, nymphaeum and the necropolis. A major activity was the wool industry which benefited from the cleansing properties of the hot springs. The town became a bishopric in the 4th and 5th centuries.
History
There are only a few historical facts known about the origin of the city. No traces of the presence of Hittites or Persians have yet been found. However it was customary to build a temple on the site of such a natural phenomenon. The Phrygians built a temple dedicated to Hieron probably in the first half of the third century BC. This temple would later form the centre of Hierapolis. It was already used by the citizens of the nearby town Laodiceia, a city built by Antiochus II Theos in 261-253 BC.
Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the second century BC and given by the Romans to Eumenes II, king of Pergamon in 190 BC. The city was named after the name of the existing temple, or possibly to honour Hiera, wife of Telephos - son of Heracles by a Mysian princess Auge - the mythical founder of the Attalid dynasty. The city was expanded with proceeds from the booty from the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, where Antiochus the Great was defeated by Eumenes II who had sided with the Romans. Thus Hierapolis became part of the Pergamon kingdom.
Hierapolis became a healing centre where doctors used the hot thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. The city began issuing bronze coins in the second century BC. These coins give the name Hieropolis (town of the temple Hieron). This name eventually changed into Hierapolis (Holy city).
In 133 BC, when Attalus III the last Attalid king of Pergamon died, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Rome. Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. The Hellenistic city was slowly transformed into a Roman town.
In the year 17 A.D., during the rule of emperor Tiberius, an earthquake destroyed the city. In 60 AD, during the rule of emperor Nero, an even more severe earthquake left the city completely in ruins. Afterwards the city was rebuilt in Roman style with the financial support from the emperor. It was during this period that the city attained its present form. The theatre was built in 129 AD when emperor Hadrian visited the town. It was renovated under Septimus Severus (193-211). When emperor Caracalla visited the town in 215 he bestowed on the city the much coveted title of Neocoros, according the city certain privileges and the right of sanctuary.
This was the "golden age" of Hierapolis. Thousands of people came to town to benefit from the medicinal properties of the hot springs. New building projects were started : two Roman baths, a gymnasium, several temples, a main street with a colonnade and a fountain at the hot spring. Hierapolis became one of the most prominent cities in the field of the arts, philosophy and trade in the Roman empire. The town grew to 100,000 inhabitants and became wealthy. According to the geographer Stephanus of Byzantium, the city was given its name because of the large number of temples it contained (again a sign of wealth).
Antiochus the Great had sent 2,000 Jewish families to Lydia and Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, later joined by Jews from Palestine. There grew a Jewish congregation in Hierapolis with their own more or less independent organizations. It is estimated that the Jewish population in the region was as high as 50,000 in 62 BC. Several sarcophagi in the necropolis attest of their presence.
Through the influence of Paul the Apostle a Christian church was founded here while he was at Ephesus. Philip the Apostle spent the last years of his life here with his three daughters. In 80 AD he was martyred by crucifixion and was buried here. His daughters remained active as prophetesses in the region. The Martyrium was built on the spot where the apostle was crucified.
The city was visited for the last time by an Roman emperor in 370 by emperor Valens during his campaign against the Sassanid king Shapur II.
During the 4th century the Christians filled the Plutonium (a sacred cave, see below) with stones, thus giving evidence that the paganism had been entirely supplanted by the Christian faith. In 531 the Byzantine emperor Justinian raised the bishop of Hierapolis to the rank of metropolitan. The town was made a see of Phrygia Pacatiana. The Roman baths were transformed to a Christian basilica. During the Byzantine period the city continued to flourish and also remained an important centre for Christianity.
In the early 7th century, the town was devastated by Persian armies and again by a destructive earthquake. Afterwards came a slow recovery.
In the 12th century, the area came under the control of the Seljuk sultanate of Konya.
In the year 1190 crusaders under Frederick Barbarossa fought with the Byzantines and conquered the town of Philip the Apostle.
About thirty years later, the town was abandoned and the Seljuks built a castle in the 1220s.
The city was abandoned in the late 1300s.
In the year 1534, another earthquake toppled the remains of the ancient city. The ruins were slowly covered with a thick layer of limestone.
Hierapolis was first excavated by the German archaeologist Carl Humann (1839-1896) during the months June to July 1887. His excavation notes were published in his book "Altertümer von Hierapolis" in 1889. His excavations were rather general and included a number of drilling holes. He would gain fame for his discovery in Pergamon of the Pergamon Altar (reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin).
Excavations began in earnest in 1957 when Italian scientists, led by Paolo Verzone, began working on the site. These studies still continue. A restoration of the site has began. For example, large columns along the main street near the gate named after Domitian, that were toppled by the earthquakes, were erected again. They also unearthed a number of houses from the Byzantine period, including an eleventh century courtyard house.
Many statues and friezes were transported to museums in London, Berlin and Rome. In 1970 the Hierapolis Museum was built on the site of the former Roman baths.
After the large white limestone formations of the hot springs became famous again, in the 20th century, it turned into a tourist attraction, Cotton Castle (Pamukkale). The ancient city was rediscovered by travelers, but also partially destroyed by hotels that were built there. The new buildings were removed in recent years; however, the hot water pool of one hotel was retained, and, for a fee, it is possible to swim amongst ancient stone remains.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierapolis
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License
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