A day trip from Antalya to Sagalassos and Burdur Museum

Sagalassos is a Roman-era city in the Taurus Mountains, about 110 km north of Antalya. It sits above the town of Ağlasun in Burdur province. This route pairs the ruins with Burdur Museum, where the finds from the excavations are kept. You need a car or an organised tour: no public bus goes up to the site.

The road from Antalya

Leave Antalya on the D650, the Antalya–Burdur road, and head north. Turn off east for Ağlasun. In the town, follow the signs uphill through the centre. The last stretch is about 7 km of mountain road with hairpin bends. Guides give the drive from Antalya as one and a half to two hours each way.

Without a car the trip is harder. Minibuses link Ağlasun with Antalya, Burdur and Isparta, and their timetables change by season. From Ağlasun the site is still 7 km uphill, and a taxi is not always available.

On the site

The city lies at 1,500–1,700 m on terraces of the mountainside. It was one of the main cities of Pisidia under the Roman Empire, and a team from the University of Leuven has excavated it since 1990. Start at the Upper Agora, the paved main square. On its north side stands the Antonine Nymphaeum, a fountain built in AD 160–180. Its restoration began in 1998, and spring water has run through it again since 2010. The statues in the niches are copies.

Above the square are the Heroon, a monumental tomb known for its reliefs of dancing girls, and the Neon Library. The theatre, with about 9,000 seats, is higher still. The way up includes steps and a short climb, and the fallen blocks are unstable, so walk with care. The Roman Baths and the Lower Agora are in the lower part of the city. Information panels stand along the route. Allow two to three hours. A small café by the entrance sells drinks.

Afternoon: Burdur Museum

All finds from Sagalassos go to Burdur Museum in the city centre, at Özgür Mahallesi, Halk Pazarı Caddesi No: 3. To get there, drive back down to Ağlasun and continue to the Burdur–Antalya highway. The Ağlasun road meets it 14 km from Burdur.

The museum holds the heads and feet of two colossal statues of the emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. They were found in the Roman Baths of Sagalassos in the 2007–2008 excavation seasons, and the statues stood more than 4 m tall. The original statues from the Antonine Nymphaeum and the dancing-girls frieze from the Heroon are here too. Some pieces have been lent to other exhibitions in the past, so ask at the desk what is on show.

Practical notes

From Burdur the D650 leads straight back south to Antalya. Start early: the site and the museum together fill a whole day.