With a history of 5,000 years, Aphrodisias was dedicated to Aphrodite, one of the Greek goddesses, and got her name from there; It is an ancient city registered in the “UNESCO World Heritage List”.. Today, we will tell the story of the discovery of this ancient city, located in Aydın’s Karacasu district, rather than its historical features and structures.. Nobody knew about the existence of this ancient city, which was unearthed after the loss of a photographer’s way, and which hosts tourists not only from our country but also from many countries of the world – including the villagers who built a village on it – until 60 years ago..
A Village on an Ancient City
The photographer who accidentally passed through this village is Ara Güler, who passed away recently. The year is 1958, Kemer Dam will be opened in Aydın.. The government asks Ara Güler to take pictures of the dam. Güler, who came to Aydın, asked the Governor’s Office to arrange a vehicle and driver for him.. Güler, who reached the dam during the daytime with the driver, waits for a suitable position at a high point until the evening due to the reverse light.. Stating that he is in a hurry in the evening, the driver says that he will reach the city by a shortcut.. They set out, but towards the night they realize that they are always wandering on the same roads.. They have to go to the nearest village and head towards the idea of accommodation, and the real story begins after that.
The first thing Ara Güler, who stopped by the coffee house at first, noticed that the column holding the roof of the coffee house was a Roman column with snakes.. After carefully observing his surroundings, the artist is in for an even greater shock, because the things the villagers are playing with are not the table, but the head of the column. asks for the answer. He photographs what he sees at night and waits excitedly for the morning.. In the morning, he tells the villagers to show him all the stones in the vicinity.. Black and white photographs of how many ruins, statues, sarcophagi there are. In his memoirs about this, Ara Güler: “I walked around the village in the morning and saw the women crushing the grapes they had stuffed in the sarcophagus with their feet.” says.
The artist, who saw many statues, columns, pedestals, sarcophagi, as well as the ancient theater and hippodrome during his tour in the village, excitedly shows his photographs to the people around him and archaeologists when he comes to Istanbul.. However, if there is no one who shows the necessary interest, they cannot have them published in any newspaper.. Finally, he reaches Nihat Erim, a professor at New York University, and makes him write about the region.. After this article, color prints of the photographs that attract the attention of the outside world are published in the Times.. Prof.. Dr.. Nihat Erim brought his team from America and started the “Aphrodisias excavations” that lasted for about 30 years until his death. and it has become the center of attention of the whole world with its temple, theatre, hippodrome and many statues that have survived for thousands of years.
Sources
www.araguler.com.tr
www.youtube.com