Monday 20 January 2014

No Excuses

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.



Steps to Pedasa acropolis 2014



Recently uncovered sacred road to the temple of Athena

Well sign-posted road to Pedasa from Konacik

23 comments:

  1. 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope I'm here to show you a few when you arrive.

      Delete
  2. We'll have to come back for another Famous Five adventure - looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The dog is more interested in archaeology than my daughter.

      Delete
  4. I 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm amazed what is published on the internet. If only I had the time to read it all

      Delete
  5. Those 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)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I'm feeling very worthy - I may just do that.

      Delete
  6. Absolutely 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is so easy to get too - I think your two would love it.

      Delete
  7. I'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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A lot of the stone was nicked to build in Bodrum, so it was carried back down the hills again.

      Delete
  8. Both of us really appreciate 'piles of stones' - definitely something on the list to see next time we are in the area.
    Hilary'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).

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, Buddy. I have also enjoyed your blog and will continue to check in to read your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can'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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is well worth the visit. Great for a long or short walk.

      Delete
  11. Dear 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????

    The 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well spotted Dee. There is a vast necropolis with beehive, rock cut and slab tombs .

      Delete
  12. Lovely! 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! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great 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