A Hellenistic royal capital on a hilltop above the modern town of Bergama, with a healing sanctuary and a vast Roman temple below. It is a UNESCO site and an easy trip from İzmir.
Last reviewed on 27 September 2026.
Pergamon is one of the great ancient cities of Turkey's Aegean coast, and it is quite unlike Ephesus. Where Ephesus is a port city laid out on flat ground, Pergamon is a royal capital built on the top and flanks of a steep hill about 300 metres above the plain. It has palaces, a library, temples and one of the most dramatic theatres in the ancient world stacked on terraces up the slope. Below it spreads the modern market town of Bergama, in İzmir province, which preserves the ancient name. On the plain around the town are two more major sites: the Asklepion, a famous healing sanctuary, and the Red Basilica, a huge Roman brick temple. Together they were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014 as "Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape".
Pergamon gets far fewer visitors than Ephesus, which is part of its appeal. It needs a full day to see properly, and a little planning, because the three main sites are some distance apart.
Pergamon rose to power in the 3rd century BC, in the turbulent period after the death of Alexander the Great. Philetairos, an officer who controlled a large treasure held on the hill, made himself effectively independent, and his successors of the Attalid dynasty took the title of king. They defeated the invading Galatians (Celts) and then allied with Rome against the other Hellenistic kingdoms. Under Eumenes II in the early 2nd century BC the city reached its peak, and most of the grand buildings on the acropolis date from this time. The Attalids spent lavishly on art and learning to present Pergamon as a new Athens.
In 133 BC the last king, Attalus III, died without an heir and left his kingdom to Rome by will. It became the core of the Roman province of Asia. Pergamon remained a wealthy and important city under Rome, expanding onto the plain below, and it had an early Christian community: it is one of the Seven Churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation. For the wider context see ancient Anatolia.
The upper city is the heart of the site. From the entrance a path leads through the main monuments, with good views in every direction.
The Attalid library was one of the most famous in the ancient world, a rival to the library of Alexandria. Its remains lie beside the sanctuary of Athena: a reading room with a statue base and the stone footings of the shelving. Ancient authors give large figures for its collection. Plutarch, for example, repeats a report that Mark Antony gave 200,000 volumes from Pergamon to Cleopatra. These numbers and stories cannot be verified and should be read as tradition.
The word "parchment" comes, through Latin pergamena (the material of Pergamon), from the city's name. According to Pliny the Elder, citing the earlier scholar Varro, parchment was invented at Pergamon after an Egyptian king banned the export of papyrus to stop the Pergamene library competing with Alexandria. Historians point out that writing on prepared animal skins was already known much earlier, so the story probably exaggerates. What is likely is that Pergamon refined and promoted high-quality parchment, and that the association stuck.
The theatre is the most spectacular building at Pergamon. Rather than being set in a natural hollow, it is cut into the steep western face of the hill, and its rows of seats (roughly 80 rows, for an audience usually estimated at around 10,000) fall so steeply that it is often described as the steepest theatre in the ancient world. The stage building was made of wood, so it could be removed to keep the terrace below clear. At the foot of the seating a long terrace leads to a small temple of Dionysus. Take care going down: the steps are high and uneven, and there is no rail.
The white marble temple at the top of the hill was dedicated to the deified emperor Trajan and completed under Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. It stood on a vast artificial terrace supported by vaulted substructures. German archaeologists have re-erected some of its columns and part of the entablature, and it is the most photographed building on the acropolis, standing out against the sky for miles.
Below the Temple of Athena, a large rectangular platform with a few trees is all that remains on site of the Great Altar, usually called the Altar of Zeus. Built in the 2nd century BC, it was decorated with a huge marble frieze showing the battle between the gods and the giants, one of the masterpieces of Hellenistic sculpture. In the 1870s and 1880s the German engineer Carl Humann excavated the altar and shipped the frieze and many other finds to Berlin under agreements with the Ottoman government. A reconstruction of the altar became the centrepiece of Berlin's Pergamon Museum. Turkish officials and commentators have argued for its return, and the matter is still debated. The Pergamon Museum has been closed for a long renovation, with the altar hall shut for years, so check the museum's own announcements before planning to see it.
Also on the acropolis: the foundations of the royal palaces, the Temple of Athena terrace, the arsenal and stretches of the fortifications. Lower on the slope are the large gymnasium terraces, the Temple of Demeter and the lower agora. These can be reached on the path down if you have the energy, and they are much quieter.
A cable car (teleferik) runs from a station at the edge of the lower town up to the acropolis, taking a few minutes and sparing you a long, hot climb. There is also a steep, winding road for cars and taxis to the car park near the upper entrance. Walking down through the lower city is a rewarding option in cool weather. Check the cable car's current operating times on arrival, particularly out of season.
On the plain south-west of the town, the Asklepion was a sanctuary of Asklepios, the god of healing, and one of the most famous medical centres of the Roman world. Patients came to bathe in the sacred spring, drink its water, take part in rituals and sleep in the sanctuary in the hope of dreams that the priests would interpret as guidance for treatment. The physician Galen, born in Pergamon in the 2nd century AD and later the most influential medical writer of antiquity, trained and practised here before going to Rome.
The visible remains include a colonnaded sacred way, colonnades around a large courtyard, a small theatre, the round Temple of Zeus-Asklepios, the spring and a long vaulted underground passage leading to a large circular treatment building. The walk down the tunnel, with light falling through openings in its roof, is one of the most atmospheric experiences on the Aegean coast. Parts of the land around the Asklepion are military ground, so stick to marked access routes.
In the middle of the modern town, the Red Basilica (Kızıl Avlu, the "red courtyard") is an enormous Roman brick building from the 2nd century AD, built as a temple for Egyptian gods, probably Serapis and Isis. It stands in a huge enclosure over the Selinus river, which runs beneath it in two vaulted tunnels. In the Byzantine period, a church was built inside it. The brick walls still rise to a great height, and the scale is overwhelming. Some writers link the reference to "Satan's throne" in Revelation's letter to Pergamon to this temple or the Great Altar, but there is no agreement. The side towers include some fine sculpture of Egyptian-style figures.
The streets around the Red Basilica are the old Ottoman part of Bergama, with a few old mosques, a covered market and a small bazaar. The Bergama Archaeological Museum in the town has sculpture and finds from the sites, plus an ethnographic section. Bergama is also known for its traditional carpets and kilims (see carpets and kilims).
The theatre, Trajaneum, library and altar site. Two to three hours. Reached by cable car or road.
Healing sanctuary on the plain. About an hour. Separate ticket and entrance, a taxi ride or longish walk from the centre.
In the lower town, about 30–45 minutes. Walkable from the museum and the cable car station.
Bergama lies roughly 100 km north of İzmir. Buses run regularly from İzmir's main bus station and take around two hours. Bergama's own bus station is outside the centre, and taxis or local minibuses link it to the town. Some travellers take the İZBAN suburban train north and then a bus, but check connections before relying on them. Driving is easy, and parking is available at each site.
Because the three sites are spread out, many visitors hire a taxi for a half or full day to move between the acropolis, the Asklepion and the Red Basilica. Agree the route and price beforehand. Organised day tours from İzmir and the resorts nearby also visit Pergamon, often in combination with other sites. Pergamon also fits well on a route along the coast between Çanakkale and Troy and İzmir, perhaps with a night in the seaside town of Ayvalık to the north. See getting around.
Tickets: the acropolis and the Asklepion are ticketed separately, and the Red Basilica has its own entrance. Fees and opening hours change frequently. Check the official museum pass website before you go.
Summer in Bergama is very hot, and the acropolis offers little shade. In July and August, start at the acropolis as soon as it opens and visit the Asklepion's shaded tunnel later. Spring (April to early June) and autumn (September and October) are the most comfortable times, and spring wildflowers make the acropolis particularly pleasant. Winter visits are possible and quiet, though days are short. See the best time to visit.
Yes. Bergama is the modern Turkish town that grew up on the site of ancient Pergamon and keeps a version of its name. The archaeological sites, including the acropolis, the Asklepion and the Red Basilica, lie in and around the town.
Buses from İzmir's main bus station reach Bergama in about two hours. From the town, a cable car climbs to the acropolis, and taxis connect the Asklepion and the Red Basilica. Driving yourself and taking an organised day tour are also easy options.
The foundations of the Great Altar remain on the acropolis at Bergama, but the frieze and the reconstructed altar were taken to Berlin in the late 19th century and form the centrepiece of the Pergamon Museum. That museum has been closed for long renovation work, so check its announcements before planning a visit.
Yes. A cable car runs from the lower town to the acropolis and saves a long, steep climb. A road also leads up to the upper car park for cars and taxis.
It was a sanctuary of Asklepios, the Greek god of healing, where patients came for water cures, rituals and dream interpretation. The famous physician Galen was born in Pergamon and practised here. Its colonnaded courtyard, small theatre and long underground passage survive.
The word parchment comes from the Latin pergamena, meaning the material of Pergamon. Ancient tradition, reported by Pliny, says the city invented parchment when Egypt stopped exporting papyrus. Writing on skins was known earlier, but Pergamon seems to have developed and popularised it.