Bergama

Bergama, in Turkey's Aegean region, sits about 118 kilometres north of Izmir and some 27 kilometres inland from the coast near Dikili. The modern town occupies the site of ancient Pergamon, capital of the Attalid kingdom from 281 to 133 BCE and later a major city under Roman rule, with a population once estimated at around 150,000 at its ancient peak, far beyond the roughly 106,000 residents recorded across today's wider district in the 2022 census.

The hilltop Acropolis remains the site's centrepiece, its ruins including a steep ancient theatre and the remains of a great library, alongside the nearby Asklepion healing sanctuary, one of the ancient world's foremost medical centres, and the Roman-era Red Basilica in the town centre below. Many of Pergamon's most famous treasures, including its monumental altar, were removed to Berlin in the nineteenth century and remain on display there rather than on site.

Sitting a short drive inland from the Aegean coast near Dikili and Ayvalik, Bergama makes an easy day trip from the water, and it remains a popular stop for gulet charter guests exploring Turkey.