Original subtitles

[theme music]

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): Today's Turkiye

is an absorbing mixture of the modern

and the ancient of Eastern and Western influences,

vibrant cities, and archaeological sites,

and stunning natural landscapes.

Modern Turkiye is a global powerhouse.

But this is nothing new, as the country

has been an important player on the world stage

throughout the past.

The history of the region dates all the way back

to ancient antiquity, and some of the earliest civilizations

were established in this area, leading to many thousands

of years of kingdoms, empires, and states.

It's this rich and fascinating history,

combined with the country's cultural diversity, world

famous cuisine, and a rapidly modernizing infrastructure that

makes it a very popular destination with visitors

from all over the world.

Ancient history has never been made

more alive than in Turkiye's magnificently preserved

archaeological sites.

Be immersed in these remarkable destinations

as we take a glimpse into the lives and times of the people

who lived in them so long ago.

[soft music]

Welcome to Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities...

Revealed from the air and from the ground.

[soft music]

The history of Turkiye is mythical and at times violent,

dating back many thousands of years

to the ancient antiquity, when the area was known

as Anatolia or Asia Minor.

In this four-part series, we're going to visit quite a number

of these sites to marvel at what they are today

and come face to face with what life

was like when they were thriving

cities and communities.

Much of our journey will follow the mail route of ancient Rome,

which went through the major population and

political centers of the time.

We've called this series Turkiye's

Astonishing Antiquities because that's what they truly are...

Astonishing.

Guiding us along the way, a leading experts

on the history of this area, especially the cultural

and religious aspects.

David Trim is a historian, archivist,

and educator who specializes in European military

and religious history.

He's been a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London

since 2003.

It's a privilege to be part of this project.

As an historian, I love visiting

Turkiye because it fires my historical imagination.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): Dr. Marina Garner

grew up in Brazil, where she studied theology and taught

religion before moving to the USA

in 2013, where she has since completed

a PhD in religious studies at Boston University.

At the inception of the Republic of Turkey,

Turkish laws regarding women were ahead of its time.

Before many countries allowed women to vote,

Turkish women were voting.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): Dr. John Paulien

is Professor of New Testament and Dean

of the school of religion at Loma Linda

University in California.

He's authored over 25 books and is a keen traveler.

I love the sights, the sounds,

and the smells of Istanbul.

You may not be aware of it, but it's

the only major city in the world that actually

lies on two continents.

And the continents are divided by a body

of water called Bosporus.

[jazz music]

# #

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): History

will come alive as we travel through the rich past and

exciting present of Turkiye.

The sites of so many ancient cities

remain preserved across the country.

Some have been more extensively excavated than others,

but all provide tangible links with the lives

and times of their populations over millennia.

Empires came and went.

There were times of prosperity and periods of decline.

Many of these places were important centers of commerce,

of learning, of culture or of religion,

and the richness of the lives of people

who lived many thousands of years

ago often comes as a surprise to the modern observer.

But the evidence is here, in these remarkable ruins.

Let's take a quick overview.

This is what remains today of a city called Laodicea, located

in Southwestern Turkiye.

It was established in the middle of the third century BC

by the Seleucid King Antiochus II,

and named after his wife, Laodice.

Situated on the River Lycus and on the junction of two

major trade routes, Laodicea flourished under Roman rule,

becoming a center for banking and finance.

An important medical school was also established in the city.

And additionally, it was known for a luxuriously

fine black wool, which created a lucrative textile industry.

[jazz music]

Laodicea's great wealth is still evident in what

remains of the city today.

The fact that anything at all remains

is actually quite miraculous, as the ancient city was all but

destroyed on a number of occasions by major earthquakes,

and significant damage was also inflicted

by invasions at various times during its long history.

[jazz music]

Excavation work is ongoing here,

but what has been revealed over the last couple of decades

provides a great impression of what life

would have been like here, when Laodicea

was a thriving metropolis.

This paved and colonnaded street would have been lined

with shops and stalls, and the city's central agora,

or public square, was huge, around 35,000 square meters,

another indication of just how significance this place was,

especially during Roman times rule.

There are two amphitheaters with the largest, which dates

back to the third century BC, now

mostly restored with banked tiers of stone seats.

It could seat up to 8,000 people.

[jazz music]

Laodicea today is in the middle of nowhere.

The reason that a city was there,

that eventually grew to about 300,000 people,

was because it was at the crossroads

of the two major trade routes running through Anatolia.

The north-south and the east-west

passed right through what is Laodicea.

So because of the trade that happened and that sort of

became sort of a town right on the cusp,

they made a lot of money.

It was a very wealthy city.

They had running water long before most

people knew about such things.

But there was a problem with the water.

You see, their water came from Hierapolis.

Hierapolis was about six, seven miles away.

And it was hot water that came up out of the ground,

and it was full of minerals.

So it didn't taste very good.

And by the time it got to Laodicea,

it wasn't even hot anymore.

It was lukewarm.

[jazz music]

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): A nearby spring

supplied the ancient city with fresh water

via an aqueduct, parts of which can still be seen.

Terracotta pipes then directed the water to public baths,

and Laodicea boasted at least four

of these complexes, some of them quite large.

[jazz music]

There was enough water for decorative fountains,

including a large and elaborate nymphaeum,

which would have been truly impressive in its day.

A nymphaeum is part monument, part fountain,

and tended to be highly decorated with statues,

frescoes, and mosaics.

But only a collection of blocks remain here now.

Laodicea was one of the earliest centers

of Christianity, and a fourth century Byzantine-era basilica

has been extensively excavated since it

was discovered in 2010.

Not all the ancient cities of Western Turkey, the area known

as Asia Minor or Anatolia, have survived quite as well

as Laodicea, and a number have been built

over in more recent history.

[jazz music]

Founded towards the end of the second century BC on the site

of what was once ancient Philadelphia,

is now almost entirely lying beneath the modern Alasehir,

and now home to over 104,000 people.

Philadelphia was another important center

of early Christianity.

[jazz music]

The church in Philadelphia is a thriving church,

so much so that it continues to thrive up

until the fourth century, really,

where we find representatives of the church in Philadelphia,

in church councils that decide important Christian doctrines.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): One of the key archaeological sites

here in Alasehir is the remains of the Church of St. Jean

the theologian, also known as the St. Jean Church.

It was built around 600 AD and would have

been an imposing structure.

Three of its six substantial main pillars

remain, giving some idea of the building's size.

They were built using repurposed stone for the base,

with bricks at the top.

The roof would have been made up of multiple domes.

Carved sections of internal columns

still remain on the site and suggest that the interior would

have been richly decorated.

As has happened far too often over the centuries in this part

of Turkiye, the St. Jean Church was destroyed by an earthquake.

[jazz music]

Around 50 kilometers northwest of Alasehir

is another truly astonishing ancient site.

This is Sardis, and its origins are lost in the mists of time.

But it's known that there was a well-established settlement

here as early as 1500 BC.

Excavation work has been going on here for over a century.

During the Roman period, Sardis had a large and thriving

Jewish community, and one of the many highlights

on this site is the partially restored remains

of a third-century synagogue.

At the time, it was the largest outside Palestine.

Unusually, not only was this synagogue located right

in the middle of a Roman city, but it

was also part of a large complex of baths,

and a gymnasium.

Impressive in its sheer scale, the whole complex

covers around 5.5 acres and dates

back to the second century AD.

It included both hot, warm, and cold baths, a swimming pool,

public latrines, areas for games and exercising,

and a central courtyard where you could

just sit around and socialize.

Sardis reached the peak of its prosperity under Roman rule,

and this complex shows just how civilized and comfortable life

could be for its residents.

Another exceptional structure on this site

is the Temple of Artemis.

At over 100 meters in length, it was the fourth largest

ionic temple in the world.

Construction began sometime around 300 BC using marble,

but what can still be seen today

dates mostly from the Roman period.

In ancient Greek mythology, Artemis

was the daughter of Zeus and goddess

of among many other things... the hunt,

the wilderness, wild animals, vegetation,

childbirth, and chastity.

That's quite a portfolio.

The temple at Sardis was most likely dedicated

to both Artemis and Zeus.

Only two complete columns remain standing today,

but the large number of surviving base sections

indicate just how impressive this building would have been,

both inside and out.

About 160 Northwest of Sardis is

Pergamum, which is undoubtedly an astonishing antiquity.

In a country full of breathtaking

archaeological sites, this is one of the most breathtaking.

We'll be taking a much more extensive tour of Pergamum

in the next episode of Turkiye's

Astonishing Antiquities.

But a brief look at some of the many highlights

will undoubtedly whet the appetite for more.

The remains of ancient Pergamum are located

in and around the modern city of Bergama, and mostly date

from the Roman and Byzantine eras.

But the original settlement was founded around 800 BC.

A standout highlight is the amphitheater to top

all amphitheaters, literally.

It's set into a steep hillside and originates

from the third century BC.

The 80 rows of seats could accommodate an audience

of around 10,000, and views from these

top seats are still stunning.

[jazz music]

Not surprisingly, the whole site of Pergamum

is UNESCO World Heritage-listed.

Sitting atop a steep mountain, the Acropolis of Pergamum

is the oldest part of the ancient city,

and most of the remains here are

from the Hellenistic period, which dates from 300 BC,

until the Romans arrived in 88 BC.

Incidentally, the word Acropolis

translates from ancient Greek as "the city above".

Among the ruins are the many palaces that were used

by the kings of Pergamum...

Each had his own...

And a number of temples to the Greek gods

such as Athena and Dionysus.

The Temple of Trajan is of Roman origins

and has been partially reconstructed,

so it's now quite a prominent feature

of the ancient Acropolis.

It was constructed to honor the Roman emperor Trajan,

and was later also dedicated to Hadrian,

who succeeded him in 117 AD.

Today, the views from the Acropolis

are of the busy center of Bergama.

But standing out from all modern buildings

is the distinctive Red Hall.

It was constructed during the first half

of the second century AD, and was

originally a temple dedicated to the Egyptian god Serapis.

It's immense in size and would once have been part of a temple

complex, which included more of the two

smaller circular buildings alongside the main structure.

These two were temples dedicated to Egyptian gods.

Quite a feat of engineering, the complex was built directly

over the River Selinus, which necessitated the construction

of 196-meter-long bridge and two channels to take

the water under the Red Hall.

[jazz music]

The old and the new also sit side

by side in the city of Izmir, situated on the Aegean Coast.

It was once known as Smyrna, and is believed

to be the birthplace of Homer.

Smyrna was actually a Greek-speaking city.

This was true of many of the port cities

of the Turkish Coast.

They were Greek-speaking, even though they were

part of the Persian empire.

Smyrna had actually appealed to Athens and other Greek cities

for help to achieve its independence from the Persians,

and this was one of the causes of

the famous Greco-Persian wars.

[jazz music]

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): Izmir is

today the third-largest city in Turkiye and a very busy port.

The harbor made Smyrna a successful commercial center

too, with all the trappings of prosperity,

including wide paved streets, numerous temples,

and places of leisure, such as gymnasiums and public baths.

What remains of ancient Smyrna's agora

is a small oasis of history within busy modern roads

and sleek tower blocks.

It's from the Roman period, rebuilt

after the original Greek structures were destroyed

by an earthquake in 178 AD.

Notable features are the Corinthian colonnade

and the vaulted chambers, which were

originally in the basements of two long stoas.

These chambers were probably shops, and the stoas above them

were public spaces that, among a variety of uses,

provided shelter from the weather.

[jazz music]

The area known as Kadifekale, which translates as "velvet

fortress," sits atop the ancient Mount Pagos,

and is the site where Smyrna was refounded at the beginning

of the third century BC after the original

settlement was largely destroyed by the Persians.

Legend has it that Alexander the Great was resting on Mount

Pagos, and in a dream was instructed by goddesses

to rebuild Smyrna here.

Construction didn't actually begin until long

after his death, but the resulting

city was considered one of the most beautiful in the world.

[jazz music]

Virtually nothing now remains of the ancient settlement

on Mount Pagos, and the castle walls that are seen today

are medieval, but the views all around are still stunning.

Smyrna continued to be a Greek-speaking city all

the way into the early 1920s.

By the end of the First World War in 1918,

the Ottoman Empire was in danger of being broken up.

It had been utterly defeated by the Western Allies,

and the empire lay prostrate.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): By the time

the Romans were in control, many of these cities

were not only culturally diverse due to the variety

of influences from earlier history, but also

religious melting pots.

To the panoply of Greek and Egyptian gods,

the Romans added the imperial cult which gave their emperors

divine authority.

Temples and shrines were built in their honor

as places of worship.

Furthermore, the presence of strong Jewish communities

in cities such as Sardis and Smyrna

provided the foundation for the beginnings of Christianity

in Asia Minor.

The concept of the Messiah was a distinctly Jewish concept,

and the preaching by the first apostles

was often in synagogues.

[jazz music]

When Paul was born there, sometime around the 5th year

AD, Tarsus was already an ancient city,

with settlements dating back to the third millennium BC.

During the time of the Hittites,

it became the capital of the ancient province of Cilicia,

and its strategic location on key trade routes

made it a target for invasion.

The Greeks, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Macedonians,

the Seleucids, and then the Romans

were in charge over the Millennium

up to the time of Christ.

Subsequently, the city's rulers were

Byzantine, Arab, Seljuk, Turkic, Armenian, Egyptian,

and Ottoman.

Not surprisingly, then, Tarsus has

a number of significant brushes with history.

It's the place where Alexander the Great, after conquering

the Persians, almost died after swimming in the freezing waters

of the River Cydnus.

The great Roman orator Cicero lived here when he

was the governor of Cilicia.

After Julius Caesar visited in 47 BC,

the city's name was changed to Juliopolis.

But perhaps most famously, this was where Marc Anthony first

met Cleopatra when she sailed up

the Cydnus on a ceremonial barge dressed like Aphrodite.

It would have been quite a scene.

And in his play, Antony and Cleopatra,

Shakespeare imagined the Egyptian queen's

spectacular arrival.

"The barge she sat in like a burnished throne,

burned on the water.

The poop was beaten gold, purple the sails

and so perfumed that the winds were lovesick with them.

The oars were silver, which, to the tune of flutes,

kept stroke, which made the water which

they beat to follow faster."

[jazz music]

A number of Southern Turkish provinces

make up what was once Cilicia, and the modern city of Tarsus

is in the province of Mersin.

Little from ancient times remains as it's been built

over on a number of occasions.

Tarsus, as the apostle Paul said, was no mean city.

It lay in East Cilicia near important trade routes.

The ancient trade route from the Levant and Syria

through to Asia Minor passed about 30 miles from Tarsus

through the ancient mountain pass

known as the Cilician Gates.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): The Cilician Gates

are in fact a series of narrow gorges cutting

through the Tarsus mountains, and which

connects the low Cilician Plains

on the Mediterranean Coast with the great Anatolian

plateau to the north.

Today it's known as the Gulek Pass,

and is mostly occupied by the motorway

from Tarsus to the Turkish capital of Ankara.

But it's a geologically created convenience

that's assisted troops, traders, and travelers in

their movements for millennia.

Alexander the Great and his army

passed through here on his campaign

to conquer the Persians.

And around 1,300 years later, so did the first crusaders

heading for Jerusalem.

And although the Cilician Gates are never

mentioned specifically in the Bible,

the apostle Paul would have likely used

the pass on many occasions, but certainly

on his first missionary journey to Galatia.

Near the village of Saglikli, about 16 kilometers north

of Tarsus, a section of the Roman-era road

has been excavated.

This would have been part of the original route from the

Cilician Gates into the city.

Built in the first century AD,

this three-kilometer section is an excellent example

of Roman road-building skills.

These roads were designed for horse-drawn vehicles

and would be as much as 3 meters wide in order

to accommodate passing.

Curbstones would be laid on either side in order

to keep the wheels from slipping off the pavement.

This road was in use for more than 400 years,

and now, 2000 years after the road was laid down,

the limestone pavers are still in good condition.

Tarsus was the nearest major city to the Cilician Gates

and it was also a port.

It was on the River Cydnus, the mouth of which

lay only 10 miles away.

So Tarsus was a very strategic city,

and a very wealthy city, also a very sophisticated city.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): It would

have been a very multicultural place

as well, the result of the many historical influences,

and from the many comings and goings along

the east-west trade routes.

The ancient Greek geographer Strabo actually

felt that Tarsus exceeded Athens

and Alexandria in its learning, in its education

and its sophistication.

Now, today, of course, we think of Athens and Alexandria

as the epitome of ancient civilization.

But Strabo actually felt that Tarsus

exceeded those two cities.

So I think it's important to remember that the apostle Paul

comes from this very, this extremely,

extraordinarily wealthy, cultured,

and sophisticated place.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): The continual development of Tarsus

means that there's not a lot left

that can be directly linked to Paul's time in the city.

But there are some notable sights.

The St. Paul's well is said to be

where Paul's house once stood.

And while this is unlikely, the deep well

is certainly from Roman times.

[jazz music]

We know that Paul was very well educated

in the ancient Jewish scriptures, taught by

the prominent rabbi Gamaliel.

Paul tells us this himself in the New Testament.

But what he doesn't say, but what must undoubtedly be true,

is that Paul bore the imprint of the major, sophisticated

city that he came from.

Paul was very much a citizen of Tarsus.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): The nearby church,

dedicated to the Apostle, originates from

the 12th century and was significantly

rebuilt during the 1860s.

Although now not used on a regular basis for services,

it remains a Christian church and is considered

important enough historically to be a UNESCO World

Heritage-listed building.

[jazz music]

A much closer association with Paul

is an excavated section of street in the Republic Square,

which dates from the middle of the second century BC

and is made from distinctive black basalt blocks.

It certainly would have been a busy thoroughfare

during his time in the city.

Cambered to allow for drainage and with evidence of a sewer

system beneath, this street is further evidence

of the civilized living conditions

enjoyed by the citizens of these ancient cities.

So are the elaborate mosaics, courtyards,

and the remains of houses also being gradually

uncovered at this site.

Life was not only civilized in Paul's Tarsus,

but it was also comfortable too.

A Roman-era gate, located on what is now

a roundabout in Central Tarsus, is also sometimes called

the St. Paul's gate or the Cleopatra gate,

although it has no direct links with either.

Rather less glamorously, it's also referred to as Kancik

Kapisi, the gate of the bitch.

A little further up the road stands the rather imposing

statue of Suleiman Shah ibn Qutalmish,

who founded an independent Seljuk

Turkish state by conquering the Byzantines in 1071.

He ruled in this area from 1077 until his death in 1086.

The statue is another reminder of the ebb and flow of history

that continually shaped and reshaped cities like Tarsus.

Although the Byzantine Empire was finally overthrown

by the Ottomans in 1453, Tarsus didn't

come under Ottoman control until 1516, when it was

claimed from the Egyptians.

After this, the Christian churches were either demolished

or converted into mosques.

Tarsus's Grand Mosque, or Ulu Cami,

was built in the mid-16th century

and stands on the site of a Christian church, which

previously in the ninth century,

when the city was under Arab rule, had also been a mosque.

The roof comprises a total of 16 domes, which are supported

on the inside by columns.

And there's a clock tower as well as a minaret.

In the mosque courtyard is a fountain.

Also inside are a number of tombs,

including supposedly that of Seth, the son of Adam and Eve.

According to Islamic legend, Seth was the founder of Tarsus.

Since the eighth century, the minaret has also

been used by a mosque's muezzin or announcer

to call believers to prayer, and this happens five times

a day.

[jazz music]

Once the muezzin would have climbed

the tower to issue the call.

But now it's delivered via microphone and loudspeaker

from the main prayer hall.

[islamic chant]

The timing of the five calls is related

to the position of the sun...

Starting at first light and finishing

when the last light disappears from the western sky.

[islamic chant]

In the main prayer hall, the faithful kneel

in rows facing the qibla wall, which faces

Mecca and hence dictates the direction of prayer.

Shoes are removed before entering the hall and clothing

needs to cover the core of the body,

while women must also cover their heads.

The prayer areas in a mosque for men and women are separate.

Prayers can take place in any suitable location that

is clean and quiet, but typically the longer Friday

prayers are conducted in congregation at a mosque

and can include an address or sermon.

Before prayers, Muslims are expected

to perform a purification ritual called Wudu.

This starts with the washing of the hands

so they're clean for the rest of the ritual.

First, the right hand is washed three times and then the left.

These three times represent the spiritual, the mental,

and the physical motivations.

Next, the mouth is washed three times

to signify that what you say will be

consistent with your actions.

Then the nose and the whole face

are also separately washed three times.

This is followed by the arms as distinct from the hands...

Again, right and then left, each three times.

The hair is wiped over front to back and the ears are cleaned.

Finally, the feet are cleaned up to the ankle...

Right, then left again three times.

This washing represents both a physical and spiritual

preparation for prayer, ensuring a purity

of body, mind, and spirit.

Symbolic washing is a part of many religions,

and the early Christians, including

Paul after his dramatic road to Damascus conversion,

were baptized by being fully submerged

briefly in a river or lake.

This practice carries on even today.

After this experience, Paul became Christianity's leading

evangelist, and much of the rest of his life

was spent on missionary journeys

throughout modern-day Turkiye, Greece, and Syria.

Paul single-handedly is responsible

for most of the spread of Christianity

throughout Asia Minor.

He is responsible for writing more than half of the letters

that we see in the New Testament,

for converting to Christianity several thousands of people,

and for interpreting the plan of salvation,

the plan of what Jesus even came to do in this world.

That interpretation is the single most

predominant interpretation in the history of Christianity.

It is no exaggeration to call Paul

the most influential figure in the history of Christianity.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): One of Paul's first assignments

was to go and help the fledgling Christian community

in the city of Antioch, which was then in Northern Syria.

It's in Antioch that the first followers of Jesus

are labeled Christians, and it subsequently

became a very important place in early Christianity.

What's really interesting is that Saul,

before his conversion, was called in Hebrew,

a shaliach, someone who is sent.

That's the meaning of that word.

He was sent by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem

to the synagogues.

After his conversion, he's called

an apostle, which in Greek means someone who is sent.

He is sent to the Gentiles to preach the gospel.

Before and after his conversion,

Saul and Paul are shaliach, just with a different purpose.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): Antioch

is also known as Antioch on the Orontes, which

was the name of the river running through it,

to distinguish it from the city of the same name

further west in the ancient region of Pisidia,

north of the Tarsus mountain.

Today, this Antioch is the modern Turkish city of Antakya,

and the region is now known as Hatay.

The Orontes is now called the River Assi,

and these views of the city were filmed

just a few months before it was devastated

by a huge earthquake.

[jazz music]

In fact, two earthquakes hit the region roughly nine hours

apart and with deadly magnitudes of 7.7 and

7.8, respectively.

[somber music]

Most of the city was left in ruins,

and over 20,000 people were killed, with many thousands

more deaths across the region.

[somber music]

Around 70% of the city's homes were

destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands with nowhere to live.

It was the deadliest earthquake to hit modern-day Turkey

since one that struck the Antioch era in 526, killing

a quarter of a million people.

[somber music]

For a time, many residents expressed the sentiment

that Antakya is finished.

But the city that was founded in around 300

BC has survived before, and the long recovery is still ongoing.

[non-english singing]

There are many glimpses of this long history in the Hatay

Archaeological Museum, which houses an important collection

of ancient floor mosaics.

While the museum building sustained some damage

from the earthquake, its precious contents

escaped unscathed.

Spread through a number of rooms,

the museum's vast collection of mosaics comprise 210 panels

covering an area of 3,500 square meters and include

the Bacchic dancers, the Jugglers, the drunken Dionysus,

the Negro fisherman, the buffer mosaic,

and the happy hunchback.

The museum has many remarkable relics from the Old Testament

period, including the statue of King Suppiluliuma

I of the Hittites, who was both a statesman and great warrior.

When you're talking about a history of Turkey,

you're really talking about two very different things.

One would be the history of the Turkish people who

began to arrived in the area of Asia

Minor around 1,000 years ago.

But recorded history goes back another 2,500 years in that

territory of Asia Minor.

And it all goes back to a people called the Hittites.

The Hittites are known to many people

because they have quite a role in the Bible.

For a while there, people thought

the Bible was mistaken, that there were

no people like the Hittites.

But then some amazing sights in the center of Turkey were

found, and there was a Hittite empire from

about the middle of the second millennium,

about 3,500 years ago.

[jazz music]

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): The Hittites

were the rulers of the Anatolian Peninsula, what

is today modern Turkiye, from around 1650 BC to 1200 BC,

and was a civilization in both scale and sophistication

to rival the ancient Egyptians and the Assyrians.

But then the Hittite empire crumbled.

And for quite a while, there were smaller kingdoms

like Lydia and Phrygia in that area for maybe 800 years

or so until the Persians came under Cyrus,

and they united the entire territory

that we call Asia Minor.

And they were replaced by Alexander the Great 100 or so

years later.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): Also surviving the earthquake

is the church of St. Peter, better known locally as the St.

Pierre Church, which dates back to the fourth century

and is built into a natural cave

at the base of Mount Starius.

The original cave is thought to have been a safe meeting

place for the earliest Christians in Antioch,

among them the apostle Peter.

It's one of the oldest Christian churches,

and some surviving sections of the mosaic floor, as well as

the remains of wall frescoes, have

been dated back to the fourth or fifth century.

The facade was added by the first Crusaders

after they had captured Antioch at the end of the 11th century.

And what is seen today is a mid-19th century restoration.

Around 30 kilometers southwest of Antakya,

this was ancient Antioch's seaport

before the harbor eventually silted up

during the fifth century AD.

Very little now remains of the port city, which once boasted

a population of 30,000.

But near the village of Cevlik, which now stands on the site,

is a fascinating archaeological site

where the remarkable Vespasian Titus tunnel can be explored.

It's named after the two Roman-era emperors who

commissioned the tunnel to deal with both severe flash flooding

and the resulting silt build up in the harbor.

Construction began in AD 69, and the 1,400-meter-long

complex of tunnels and channels was

designed to divert floodwaters away from the port.

A 350-meter section near the end had to be cut through solid

rock, and of course, it all had to be done with manual labor.

Not surprisingly, the project took nearly 70 years

to complete and is now considered

to be one of the great feats of ancient engineering.

In the next episode of Turkiye's Astonishing

Antiquities, we'll also be traveling

to another ancient port city, which was hugely important

in its time, and today is arguably

the most magnificent of Turkiye's archaeological sites.

Ancient Ephesus was established on the Aegean

Coast by the Greeks in the 10th century BC.

But what remains today is truly impressive because there's

just so much to see.

Even in ruins, the magnificence of Ephesus in its heyday

is still easy to see.

And this extensive site is a truly immersive experience

for the 21st century visitor.

Ephesus was one of the wealthiest cities in the

ancient Eastern Mediterranean.

It had not become the seat of its own kingdom

as Pergamum had, but it was powerful.

It was very affluent, with much trade going in and out.

Ephesus was the gateway to the Asia Minor hinterland.

DAVID SUCHET (VOICEOVER): There are a great many highlights,

and today's visitor can follow in the footsteps

of the ancient Ephesians, along the very

same streets that were at the heart of the ancient city.

Fountains, temples, baths, complexes,

several amphitheaters, and excavated houses,

all give a real sense of what life would have been like

here over 2,000 years ago.

This stunning facade has been rebuilt

and was once the entrance to the Library of Celsus.

Built in the early part of the second century AD,

it eventually contained a total of 16,000 scrolls,

making it one of the largest libraries in the ancient world.

We'll be exploring the magnificent site at Ephesus,

as well as those at Pergamum and other fascinating places,

both on the ground and from the air,

to create a truly unique visual experience.

Make sure that you come along for the ride.

[jazz music]