The ruins of this Roman and Byzantine spa city evoke life in a bygone era, in which Greeks, Romans and Jews, pagans and Christians, and spa tourists peacefully co-existed. It became a curative centre when founded around 190 BC by Eumenes II of Pergamum, before prospering under the Romans and, even more so, the Byzantines, when large Jewish and Orthodox Christian communities comprised most of the population. Recurrent earthquakes brought disaster, and Hierapolis was finally abandoned after a 1334 tremor.
Hierapolis's location atop the tourist magnet that is the 'Cotton Castle' seems to have blessed it with a budget rather more ample than most Turkish archaeological sites. The orderly paved pathways, well-trimmed hedges, flower-filled expanses, slatted walkways and shady park benches make Hierapolis far more genteel than even Ephesus. Wild and raw it is not, but for those wishing, or needing, to see an ancient site on well-maintained terrain, Hierapolis's curvaceous mountaintop home is ideal.
Byzantine Gate to the Roman Theatre
Entering at the south gate, walk through the 5th-century Byzantine gate , built of travertine blocks and marble among other materials, and pass the Doric columns of the 1st-century gymnasium . An important building in health-orientated Hierapolis, it collapsed in a 7th-century earthquake. Continue straight on for the foundations of the Temple of Apollo . As at Didyma and Delphi, eunuch priests tended the temple's oracle. Its alleged power derived from an adjoining spring, the Plutonium (named after the underworld god Pluto). Apparently only the priests understood the secret of holding one's breath around the toxic fumes that billowed up from Hades, immediately killing the small animals and birds they sacrificed.
The spectacular Roman theatre , built in stages by emperors Hadrian and Septimius Severus, could seat over 12,000 spectators. The stage mostly survives, along with some decorative panels and the front-row, VIP 'box' seats.
Martyrium of St Philip the Apostle
From the theatre, tracks lead uphill and left to the less-visited but fascinating Martyrium of St Philip the Apostle , an intricate octagonal structure on terrain where St Philip was supposedly martyred. The arches of the eight individual chapels, marked with crosses, originally had heptagonal interiors.
Differing accounts from ancient sources have created confusion over precisely which Philip was commemorated here – if it really was Jesus's apostle, he was allegedly hung upside down from a tree after challenging the pagan snake-worshippers at their nearby temple. An apocryphal ancient source claims that at Philip's death, a yawning abyss opened in the earth, swallowing up the Roman proconsul, the snake-worshippers, their temple and about 7,000 hapless bystanders. Righteous!
Whichever Philip was martyred here, his body has reportedly been found about 40m away, in a Byzantine structure excavated by Italian archaeologists. The sensational news of August 2011 revived interest in St Philip and Hierapolis. Considering that his martyrium clearly suffered fire damage in the 5th century, it is possible that the unearthed body was indeed relocated from the martyrium then.
Hellenistic Theatre to Frontinus Street
From the Martyrium, a rough path with fantastic views of the site and the plains beyond leads west across the hillside to the completely ruined Hellenistic theatre , above the 2nd-century agora . One of the largest ever discovered, it was surrounded by marble porticoes with Ionic columns on three sides, and closed by a basilica on the fourth.
From the theatre, follow the steep overgrown diaganol path towards the poplars to reach the agora (alternatively, backtrack to the Martyrium of St Philip the Apostle for an easier path down). Walking downhill through the agora, you will re-emerge on the ridgeline main path. Turn right on the colonnaded Frontinus Street , where some original paving and columns remain. Monumental archways once bounded both ends of this, the city's main commercial thoroughfare. The ruined Arch of Domitian , with its twin towers, is at the northern end; just before them, the large latrine building has two floor channels, for sewage and for fresh water.
Necropolis
Beyond the Arch of Domitian are the ruined Roman baths , and further past these, an Appian Way–style paved road leads to the north gate. An extraordinary necropolis (cemetery) extends several kilometres northwards. The clustered circular tombs here probably belonged to the many ancient spa tourists whom Hierapolitan healers failed to cure.
