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Day 35: Described as one of Turkey’s more impressive archeological sites, but less-visited than its most famous, Esphesus, Afrodisias would have been hell to get to by local transport, so we accepted the deal of direct minibus transport (25 lira return) from our hotel in Pamukkale.

Adopted by New York University in the 1960s, and still under its restorative care to this day, I was impressed by the extent to which they have been able to bring the city to life. (It must be a great selling point for the Archeology Department at NYU to be able to tell its undergrads that in the summer they’ll be taking part in excavations at the ancient Roman site of Afrodisias in Turkey.)

Our circuit of the site took in the town’s theatre, its southern and northen agoras (marketplaces), the Bouletron (administrative centre), a temple later converted into a Christian church and a magnificent stadium, larger and more impressive than the one even at Delphi, with 360 degrees of its tiered seating restored (although the earthquake damage which destroyed it is still evident).

There was a little museum on site, surprisingly not that great on English explanation, but with some of the better finds from the city and one or two of the friezes that had been rescued from the theatre depicting its benefactor being lauded by mythical figures of importance.

It’s amazing how few people visit here. While there were a few half-hearted souvenir sellers, we were unable even to find a cafe or restaurant to grab a bite of lunch. Now that is saying something.