Aspendos Roman Theatre & Aqueducts

Located 45 kilometers east of Antalya near Serik, ancient Aspendos is celebrated globally for possessing the best-preserved Roman amphitheater on Earth. Engineered during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius between 155 and 180 AD by the Roman architect Zeno, a local son of Aspendos, the theater could accommodate 12,000 spectators and has survived for nearly two millennia with almost zero structural loss. What sets Aspendos apart from every other classical theater is its completely intact, two-story stone stage building (scaenae frons), decorated with 40 marble columns, niches, and an elaborate pediment featuring a relief of Dionysus. Its acoustic perfection is astonishing: even a coin dropped in the orchestra center can be heard by someone seated on the uppermost 59th tier of limestone benches. Nearby, the monumental ruins of Roman aqueducts with siphon towers stand as an engineering triumph over the river plains.