Hubert

Austria - 17-Jul-24 -

If you like taking photos of white columns against a blue sky, Laodikeia is the place to go.
Laodikeia is located on a flat hill and offers panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, as far as to the travertine terraces of Pamukkale. The size of the archaeological site is impressive and gives an idea of the importance of the city during its heyday in the late Roman and early Byzantine periods. At that time, it was the second largest city in the province of Asia after Ephesus. Laodikeia was located on important trade routes and gained its wealth mainly through the production of cotton and the trade in textiles. And its proximity to the thermal springs of Pamukkale certainly contributed to its prosperity.

Laodikeia is really a large area. If you arrive by car, you can drive to the café in the middle of the archaeological site after you have passed the ticket office. Right next to the car park is the eastern end of the ancient street that runs through the former centre of the city. Here you should start your visit. Most of the visible remains are located along the remains of this street: the agora, temples and churches, the central baths etc. And all the white columns mentioned at the beginning (the photo shows the re-errected corner columns of Temple A).  
The best-known building is also located in the central district: an Early Christian Basilica from the 4th century. It was only discovered in 2010 and has been open to visitors for a few years now. Most remarkable are the remains of the floor mosaics.

The T-List entry on the WHC website provides a detailed listing of the type and number of remains. In particular, the fact that there were two theatres, the largest stadium in Anatolia and extensive bath complexes is seen as evidence of the size and importance of Ancient Laodikeia.
The restoration of the Western Theatre was recently completed (in 2022). Carlo Sarion has a link in his review below where you can see photos from before and after the restoration. Now the theatre is open to visitors, you can walk down half of the rows of seats. Construction work on the stage is still ongoing and it seems it is planned to use it as a theatre again in the future.

The Stadium is located on the edge of the archaeological site. It may be one of the largest of its kind, but the remains are little more than a pit in the ground. Only a few rows of stones have survived, most have lost their original position or have disappeared completely and been used for other purposes. There is actually not much to see in the entire southern and western part of the site. From the visible remains, you hardly get an impression of the structure of the city and the large bath complexes. But you get an idea of what might still be hidden underground, waiting to be discovered. You have to bear in mind that modern excavations and research only began in 2003 and are still ongoing. And the nearby tourist hotspot Hierapolis-Pamukkale is certainly the trigger to make the site more attractive for visitors. I wouldn't be surprised if Laodikeia is nominated for inscription in the near future. There is certainly a reasonable chance for success.

If you are short on time, one hour should be enough to visit the central area and the Western Theatre. To explore the entire archaeological site, it takes considerably more time. I spent about three hours there in total. In the warm season (my visit was in May 2024), the blue sky in my photo also means that you are constantly exposed to the sun, there are hardly any shady spots there, actually none at all.

With 21 sites, Turkey is certainly underrepresented on the World Heritage List. But there are already several archaeological sites from the Roman province of Asia on the list. And the remains of Laodikeia cannot compete with Ephesus, Aphrodisias or Hierapolis-Pamukkale. Hence a thumbs down from me at the current stage.

All in all, I enjoyed my visit very much. When exploring the outer areas, I had the site to myself, I like that. But I missed the unique selling point, the special feature that makes Laodikeia different from other archaeological sites already inscribed. So, what stays in my memory most of all are the white columns and the blue sky.

Clyde

Malta - 22-Nov-21 -

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 as a side trip on my way back from Aphrodisias WHS. It lies very close to Akhan Caravanserai and the Pamukkale-Hierapolis mixed WHS.

The archaeological site of Laodikeia is practically the remains of a whole ancient city built on the river Lycus (Çürüksu). It was located in the Hellenistic regions of Caria and Lydia, which later became the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana. Apart from the usual colonnaded street, the western theatre, agoras, etc., the highlight for me were the restored fragments (actually a whole jigsaw puzzle of them!) of painted hallways at the far end of the colonnaded street with pigments and motifs very similar to those of the Villa Oplontis in Campania, Italy. Moreover, there are also the remains of one of the seven churches (early Christianity) of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Visiting in the late afternoon (ideal to avoid the scorching heat on a sunny day even in Spring!), I had the ancient city to myself and several little owlets that were attentively following me from one column to the next. There seems to be a lot left to be excavated before this site aims for inscription but I wouldn't be surprised if it were to make it on the WH list just like other classical WHS in Turkey. When I visited it was possible to buy a combined ticket to visit Laodikeia and Hierapolis-Pamukkale.

Carlo Sarion

Philippines | New Zealand - 17-Apr-20 -

Laodikea was an ancient city during the Hellenistic period that was later assimilated into the Roman republic. As it sits on earthquake-prone terrain, it had been rebuilt several times until people have had enough and settled somewhere else. Good thing it was never demolished or completely perished during subsequent earthquakes--otherwise, we won't be able to see these beautiful ruins! It was not really part of my itinerary but having a newly found love for ancient Greek/Roman ruins, I decided to visit Laodikea as my third ancient Hellenistic city within the area of Denizli, after Hierapolis and Aphrodisias. This visit was 3 years ago, in August 2017.

I started the half-day trip by going to Denizli bus station, where I planned to take a public bus that was supposed to go past the site, as mentioned by some sources. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find such bus hence I decided to take a taxi. When I arrived at the site, the taxi driver looked at me as if he was questioning my sanity for going to a rarely visited site alone and in the middle of a hot sunny day.

It was indeed very hot. I went to the only store at the entrance of the site (at the Syrian Gate) and most of what they were selling were souvenirs, cold drinks and ice cream. From what I can remember, the man at the ticket booth was so surprised that a traveler showed up at this time of the day. On the other hand, I thought that this would be a good time to visit as I could have the entire site to myself.

I wasn’t wrong. It was just me roaming around the site. I started walking through a street that used to be colonnaded. At the end of this street was a series of Corinthian columns of what could have been part of temple(s) or public building(s) in the agora. On the right was a large roofed portion of the ruins, indicative that this might be in the process of excavation or highly vulnerable to elements. Past this structure, I walked around the remains of several ancient buildings, with columns looking more like tree stumps. I took several pictures of the intricate designs on some of the columns and walls. Two amphitheaters (North and West theaters) can be found on the northern end of the site, although at the time of visit, both seemed to be in bad state of preservation. 

The stadium and what seemed to be the remains of a bath is situated at the south end of the site. The stadium is on the edge of this elevated part of the plains and the “seats” of this stadium follows the contours of the slope.This ancient stadium is said to be the biggest in Anatolia. I would say that it was a nice spot to view the bright white travertine terraces of Pamukkale, which I think is probably more than 10 kilometers away. After a couple of hours, I ended my tour with a nice tub of ice cream.

[UPDATE: Feb 2023] -> I believe that the site offers a strong case to be inscribed as a WHS. It was a large and important commercial and cultural center and played a role in Christian (and biblical) history. While at the time of visit I did not think it was at par with the neighboring Aphrodisias and Hierapolis in terms of preservation, the changes made in the past few years showed how much restoration and excavation had been done. With that, I am excited to see its inscription in the future.