Aerial view of the theatre at the ancient city of Hierapolis, near Pamukkale, Turkey

A ringside seat on history. A ringside seat, Roman-style

In the hills around Pamukkale, Turkey, you’ll find the ancient ruins of Hierapolis, which thrived here as a holy and healing destination throughout Greek, Roman and Ottoman times. The city was founded as a thermal spa in 190 BCE by Eumenes II, the king of Pergamon, and was probably named after the wife of the legendary founder of the Pergamene dynasty, Hiero.

The amphitheatre in this aerial view was built in the 2nd century AD under Roman Emperor Hadrian. Renovated several times over the next 160 years, it would once have seated about 15,000 people. An earthquake in 1354 finally toppled the ancient city and it was abandoned until excavation work was carried out by German archaeologist Carl Humann in the 19th century. Today, the complex retains some of the best-preserved features of any ancient Roman theatre, with friezes of Roman Emperor Septimus Severus and his family, as well as the Greek gods Dionysus, Artemis, and Apollo.