Sagalassos is located among rugged mountains at 1500m elevation and is accessed today via a 2 hour drive up windy mountain roads (made all the more treacherous by the local driving habits). By any standards it is quite a difficult place to reach. It was founded at this location by the Pisidians around 1,500 BCE. They were a warlike people and they likely chose the location as it could be defended by attacks from below. However, one such attack came from Alexander the Great, and the hill where he breached the city defenses still bears his name. Sagalassos reached its cultural and economic peak in the Roman Imperial period around the 2nd and 3rd century AD. |
Photos Angela van den Berkt ©