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Türkiye’s Terussus
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Alexander the Great tried to conquer Tertesus, but failed. Today, the incredible abandoned ruins of this once powerful city, which perched like a fortified eagle nest in the mountains of southwestern Turkey, can be conquered by those who want to hike here.
But few have ever done so.
Termessos will be empty. The isolated and preserved magnificent archaeological gems are only seen by a few travelers from nearby tourist hotspot Antalya beach resorts.
That’s a shame for those who missed it. For those who explore it, it’s a huge bonus. They can roam on their own one of Türkiye’s most impressive ancient cities.
It’s a place with an incredible atmosphere: history and scenery. View and silence. Nature and Destruction – combine everything to create one of the great, unnamed archaeological wonders of the Mediterranean.
Here, slowly engulfed by the vegetation and scattered in time is a breathtaking theatre on a hill that offers views that stretch miles around, with huge spirits, vast underground aquariums, temples and ramparts, breathtaking theatres of Machu Picchu, offering miles of views around.
Despite its emptiness, Termessos is easy to reach. It only takes about 45 minutes to drive from Antarya’s transport-type downtown to the gates of Mount Gruk Termisos, a shelter for protected wildlife surrounding the ruins.
After paying a gate fee of 3 euros (about $3) at the park entrance, visitors are riding a pine-and-gos-clad hill for another 10 minutes along a switchback road that reaches about 1,000 meters above sea level.
Eventually, the roads appear in what appears to be an uninteresting parking lot with public toilets. In fact, this was once a huge Agora or city market that was bustling with traders and citizens two thousand years ago.
This is where the Termessos adventure begins.
And it starts with death.
Hidden in the vegetation at one end of the Agora is the ruins of what once was a spectacular street that runs along the hillside but is strewn in stone. Instead of a house or shop, this was lined with the rich and powerful tombs of Targetus.
The ancient stone cos are scattered, like shields and spears for warriors, given clues to who once locked up. Some are small and others are huge. It provides clues for wealth and power levels. Some are unfinished, and their huge pedestal hints at what happened.
They were all broken by the Raiders for centuries and even though they were once closed with metal clasps, their walls were broken or they respected the lid. Tree roots and ivy creepers also meander through stonework.
“The thieves who work here were very good at their work,” says Önder Uğuz, an art teacher and licensed guide, based in Antalya, which offers tours of The Tormessos since first coming here in 1996 (“It fell in love at first sight!”).
To reach the heart of an ancient city, you will need to hike uphill along a slightly rough, steep, leafy route. Visitors here should be equipped with sturdy footwear and equipped with OK for gentle, intense hikes over tricky terrain. In summer, it is best to visit early before temperatures start to rise and bring in water.
Soon the wall below will appear in your view. This is the first hint as to how often properly defended Termessos are, perhaps, when enacted around the 4th or 5th centuries BC, long before the Romans appeared in engineering skills that changed the known world.
Which raises the question: How did the people at Termessos do that?
Uz doesn’t laugh at any mysterious suggestions here. In his opinion, we are too caught up in the achievements of our technological age to understand even the basic abilities of our distant ancestors.
“You and I, we’re nothing without our computers and social media accounts,” he says (just after taking a snap for his own Instagram feed). “Tracking them, we are helpless. Not these people. They worked in stone for centuries. They had nothing else.
The people on the subject were known as Solims, descendants of Lewyan, an ancient civilization spreading in what is now Turkey, but were overlooked by archaeologists until the past decades. To this day, little is known when Solyms and when they built their own city, but the first excavation on a site announced in 2025 could change.
But Solim knew exactly what they were doing. Their choice of location showed a genius of strategic thinking. It was not only a major trade route, but also allowed them to become wealthy with goods and payments from those heading into the Mediterranean, making it easier for their altitude and commanders to protect.
So, when Alexander the Great appeared around 333 BC – when Tersesus made his first real appearance in a book of history, he apparently failed to invade or blockade the city into surrender despite multiple attempts. He is said to have called the city “Eagle’s Nest.”
The Romans then managed to rule the city. It says through force, not through force, but through more insidious means, such as providing autonomy under the “protection” of Rome. “The Romans were like the mafia,” he suggests.
Climbing up the hillside on rocky paths that germinate with fragrant wild sages, there is more evidence of how sophisticated the refined life at Termessos has been. On the left is the marble ruins of the city’s gymnasium, a type of university campus for trainees with baths and dining halls.
Part of the main building remains intact, indicating that an impressive arch once ran over the previous wall. Inside there was a two-storey building and an underground safe for storage. In front of you is the Palestra, an area used for wrestling and combat training, and is now a littered Palestra, a gymnasium with terracotta roof tiles.
Of course, it is mostly abandoned. Termessos was thought to have been destroyed by an earthquake in the 4th or 5th centuries, although the exact date is unknown. What remains is not the work of archaeological reconstruction. This is the real condition that the building has been left behind for the past 1,600 years.
Here, on our visit in June 2024, the silence and emptiness of the place allows the imagination to wander. It brings these warriors back to life and allows for visualization of mock combat in places that have not changed over time.
The excavation work, which began in the summer of 2025, focuses on Spirit US, Necropolis Roads, ancient water structures and Hadrian Gate, reported HürriyetdailyNews.
“One major Necropolis Road stretches 400-500 metres, with graves and stone cos lined up, and many fall. The podium will be restored and rebuilt. Two watering structures will also be cleaned and repaired.”
Furthermore, the walls above provide a better perspective than those who command the forest below and are trying to sneak up on for an invasion. Beyond them there is more evidence of civilization.
There are ruins of a covered water drainage system. And for cities with few water sources, they are one of their most impressive assets. It is a huge multi-chamber underground aquarium carved by hand into solid rocks and lined with plaster.
These spongy containers, which can hold up to 1,500 tons of water, were essential for the survival of cities where there was little natural source of H2O. Today they are filled with broken pillars and other tile blemishes, and may have been abandoned there when the city was abandoned. There is speculation and could be behind the decision to eventually move the city elsewhere.
Nearby are the impressive exterior walls of the main streets and assembly houses, with another central Agora dating back to the pre-Roman era, which would have been the city’s power seats, and ruins of the lined streets that once housed the city’s most exclusive shops.
“This is the champion Elise of The Termessos,” says Uğuz. Like Paris’ luxury retail boulevards, he explains, this was a place where wealthy people spent their cash. The best olive oils, cloth, leather products and items imported from all over the Mediterranean would have been sold here.
All of these are sideshows to the city’s shortpper attraction: theatre.
After the final scrambling of a huge marble slab, the views peer at the highest point of the city, opening up into a spectacular panorama of large performance spaces.
The setting is breathtaking, with mountain valleys cascaded on either side. It makes me dizzy when it falls thinly behind the wall above the theater. It’s a reminder to be careful when exploring unfenced ruins for safety.
With a room of about 4,000 people, the semicircle of the stone terrace faces abandoned ins, although it was a stage. The theatre was probably before the arrival of the Romans, but was later updated along the Roman lines.
In Termessos, the location is particularly important as it is located on the other side of the mountain, which was once sacred to the city’s residents. It’s easy to see why this is such a sacred place. On days without haze, it stretches to the port of Antarya.
Again, it’s a place where you can imagine what life was like nearly two thousand years ago. Such a theatre would have been used by the Romans, according to Ouse, a propaganda tool.
This is pretty spectacular as the lessons of history progress.
Uğuz (can be contacted by email: onder.uguz@gmail.com) says he will never tire to explore Termessos. He also offers tours of other more popular archaeological sites in the area, but the quietness and beauty of this hidden ancient wonder brings him back again and again. He especially loves to soak up the view from the walls above the city.
“Normally I sit with my wife, under the juniper tree in spring, this beautiful blue sky with this stunning view,” he says.
“It’s perfect for me. It’s just you and nature. Little squirrels and archaeology. All I lack is cold beer.”
