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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 |
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