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| Climbing to Pedasa acropolis c. 1985 |
I first visited Pedasa in about
1985. Access was via a hard climb from the Bodrum to Turgutreis main road, or a
jeep trip through the centre of the Bodrum rubbish tip, (which was a revelation
with its Dickensian rag-pickers living amidst the garbage), and then a rock
strewn walk through mud and prickly shrubs. When we arrived at the acropolis, apart from a sense
of achievement at finding the site and a fantastic view of the sea to the North
and South, we appreciated very little of the archaeology as nothing had been
excavated. If you have read my
posts on Syangela and Termera you will know that access to most of the
Lelegian citadels still involves a brisk walk and climb and I can understand
why visitors to Bodrum are reluctant to waste a day hiking through rough
terrain to see a “pile of stones” (my daughter’s description of most
archaeological sites.)
Time has rolled on and now there
is no excuse to leave Pedasa off your itinerary. Extensive excavations are
underway and a new road has been constructed. Now it’s possible to drive all the way to the newly
discovered Temple of Athena and the Sacred Road and the path to the acropolis
has been laid with railway sleepers to aid access
According to Homer, the founders
of the Lelegian towns in Bodrum
came originally from Pedasos near Troy and moved South after the Trojan war. Pedasa was the most important of the 8
settlements and it was the most
mentioned in ancient sources. The current archaeological excavation, which
started in 2007, dates the town from the 2nd millennium BC to the 13th
century AD. Pedasa now has
its own web site, pedasa.org unfortunately only in Turkish, but I recommend you have a
look for the great photographs of ceramics, glass, jewellery, statuettes and
coins found during the excavation plus aerial views of the site.
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| Steps to Pedasa acropolis 2014 |
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| Recently uncovered sacred road to the temple of Athena |
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| Well sign-posted road to Pedasa from Konacik |
Posts
How exciting, B to B. Actually, we're planning a trip to Bodrum soon and we are looking forward to visiting the archaeological sites you've described there. Thanks for this tip!
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm here to show you a few when you arrive.
DeleteWe'll have to come back for another Famous Five adventure - looks great!
ReplyDeleteThe sooner the better.
DeleteI wish I shared your enthusiasm for archaeology but I'm afraid I feel much like your daughter. The view out to sea is beautiful though x
ReplyDeleteThe dog is more interested in archaeology than my daughter.
DeleteI can't see myself ever getting there....but like other of your archeological posts it will send me back to my books which is a reasonable substitute, though without the views!
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed what is published on the internet. If only I had the time to read it all
DeleteThose Lelegians certainly liked playing hard to get. The new Pedasa website is excellent. Perhaps you could persuade them to have an English version (and offer to translate it for them)?
ReplyDeleteIf I'm feeling very worthy - I may just do that.
DeleteAbsolutely fascinating, maybe I can convince my little ones for a visit there this summer. I hope they make the Pedasa website in English too, looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to get too - I think your two would love it.
DeleteI'm not a history boffin, but seeing all those stones sends my imagine into overdrive thinking about the poor people who did the carrying and building. They did a much better job than we did today depute having less well-developed means.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the stone was nicked to build in Bodrum, so it was carried back down the hills again.
DeleteBoth of us really appreciate 'piles of stones' - definitely something on the list to see next time we are in the area.
ReplyDeleteHilary's son actually manages to continue to appreciate 'piles of stones' despite having been dragged round a great many as a child (he liked them best when swords and armour were involved).
Thanks, Buddy. I have also enjoyed your blog and will continue to check in to read your posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Mandy
DeleteCan't wait to visit there -- I'm a sucker for piles of stones! Thanks for the website link.. some great photos and information on their website.
ReplyDeleteIt is well worth the visit. Great for a long or short walk.
DeleteDear Annie, thank you for the website. I wish I could have read it, but just looking at the artifacts and the reconstructed buildings is inspiring. That first building--is it a burial site like the beehive sites at Mycenae in Greece????
ReplyDeleteThe Sacred Way you show in one of your photographs reminds me of the Sacred Way I walked on at Delphi. Thank you so much for sharing your love of archaeology with us. Peace.
Well spotted Dee. There is a vast necropolis with beehive, rock cut and slab tombs .
DeleteLovely! There is so much history to be discovered in Turkey! I wish more people would search it out like this. Just today, I heard about that 1600-year-old-church in the sea by Iznik. I miss stuff like that! :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and I love the reference to the recently uncovered sacred road.It brought home to me just what a wealth of history and archaeology there is in Turkey, some (much?) still to be uncovered.
ReplyDelete