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Nysa, a City Built on Both Sides of a Deep Ravine

A Valley on the Foothills of the Messogis Nysa lies in the Sultanhisar district of Aydın, on the Aydın-Denizli highway.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye6 Kasım 2026
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Nysa, a City Built on Both Sides of a Deep Ravine

A Valley on the Foothills of the Messogis

Nysa lies in the Sultanhisar district of Aydın, on the Aydın-Denizli highway. According to the Aydın Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the city is about 30 kilometres east of Aydın and some 3 kilometres northwest of Sultanhisar. The page of the Archaeology Department of Bülent Ecevit University gives the same distance as about 34 kilometres; we followed the official directorate and used an approximate figure. The city was built on both sides of the narrow, deep valley formed by Tekkecikdere, one of the hundreds of valleys on the slopes of the height now called Malgaç Dağı, on the southern foothills of the Messogis Mountains. The Büyük Menderes Plain stretches to its south. Today the area is covered with olive trees, and some parts are maquis scrub. This texture determines the shade, the colour and the course of the paths as you walk the site. Because the valley is steep, the buildings were stacked in tiers, which gives the city an interesting appearance both from above and from inside its buildings. To understand Nysa, first picture this topography in your mind.

From Athymbra to Nysa

The Aydın Provincial Directorate and the Culture Portal base the founding of the city on the accounts of Strabo and the historian Stephanos, and write that it was founded in the Hellenistic period, in the first half of the 3rd century BC, by Antiochos I Soter, son of Seleukos. The Bülent Ecevit University page, by contrast, says that according to ancient and epigraphic sources the city was first founded under the name Athymbra, and that according to modern researchers it probably took the name Nysa in the late 3rd century BC. This small difference between the sources calls for a cautious account of the foundation. After the Treaty of Apameia in 188 BC, Nysa, like many cities of western Anatolia, came under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Pergamon. By the will of Attalos III the Pergamene lands passed to Rome, and the province of Asia was founded in 129 BC. Inscriptions about Khairemon, son of Pythodoros of Nysa, and his family show that the people of Nysa kept good relations with Rome. Thanks to this relationship, buildings such as the agora, the Gerontikon, the theatre and the amphitheatre could be built in the Late Hellenistic and Early Augustan period. According to the university page, in the middle of the 3rd century AD the city was detached from the province of Asia and included in the province of Phrygia-Caria.

Bridges and Vaults That Join Two Banks

What makes Nysa special is that it was built not on a single level ground but on the two sides of a ravine. The directorate page says that in antiquity a fast-flowing river forming a deep gorge divided the city in two, and that three bridges joined the two banks. According to the Culture Portal, with its buildings set into the valley in harmony with the topography, the city offers fine examples of Roman architecture and engineering. Buildings, streets and squares on the two sides of a very steep gorge were supported by vaulted substructures. This method turns sloping ground into level foundations for buildings. West of the stream bed are the gymnasion and the stadium, to its north the library and the theatre, and to its east the agora, the council house and the Roman baths. This layout gives you a natural order when you plan your walking route. Crossing the bridges and looking under the vaults is the experience that sets Nysa apart from an ordinary archaeological site.

The Theatre and the Bouleuterion

The theatre stands in the city centre on the eastern slope and is described as well preserved on the directorate page. The shape of its cavea goes slightly beyond a semicircle. The same page reports that the theatre held ten thousand people. According to the Bülent Ecevit University page, the scaenae frons of the stage building dates to AD 180-200; excavations in 1982-1988 brought statues and figured podium friezes out of the stage building. On your visit, read the theatre by looking at the remains of the stage building and the slope of the cavea. The bouleuterion is the building Strabo called the Gerontikon, the council of elders. Inside the rectangular building lies a semicircular cavea. The Culture Portal lists the bouleuterion among the well-preserved structures of the city. According to the university page, the excavation, documentation and restoration work around the Gerontikon was carried out by Musa Kadıoğlu in 2006-2009, and its results were published in 2014. When you enter the bouleuterion, concentrate on the semicircular plan and the rows of seats.

The Agora and the Gymnasion

East of the bouleuterion lies the agora. According to the directorate page it is a marketplace of halls surrounded on all four sides by colonnades, measuring 89 by 105 metres. The university page reports that excavation, documentation and restoration continue in the Market Basilica and Forum areas and on the main street of the city, known as Street 1. Excavations in the shops of the north portico of the agora have also offered clues about everyday trade in the city. The gymnasion west of the stream bed was the sports building where the young were educated both intellectually and physically. The building measures about 165 by 70 metres and, according to the directorate page, must have been smaller in Strabo's time. The same page writes that the stadium, set on the widest of the stream beds, measures about 192 by 44 metres, that the seating on the west was placed on natural ground, and that today it is damaged by floodwater. These measurements help you grasp the size of the area more than standing columns do. Walking between the agora, the gymnasion and the stadium, you can think of the daily life, trade and sport of the city along a single line.

The Library and the Tradition of Learning

In ancient times Nysa was a city famous above all for education. The directorate page says the geographer Strabo studied in this city. The buildings used for education were the gymnasion and the library. The library has two storeys and, according to the Culture Portal, is among the well-preserved ancient libraries of Anatolia. The Bülent Ecevit University page writes that the library building was also used as a meeting and court hall. The same page notes that in the 2nd century AD the city must have lived one of its most brilliant periods in architectural building, and that construction was under way on structures such as the library, the gymnasion and the colonnaded street. The library and the theatre lie close together north of the stream bed. Seeing the two storeys of the library and the vaults of its facade is the point where you can best understand the educational identity of the city. The excavations and research that Strocka carried out in the library were published in 2012. These studies have made it possible to understand the plan and function of the building better.

A City in an Earthquake Zone and the Excavations

According to the university page, Nysa, like the entire Menderes basin, lies in a first-degree earthquake zone with active fault lines, and because of these tectonic movements there are many underground hot springs around. About 2 kilometres west of the city, on the ancient road to Tralleis, one of these springs is the site known as Akharaka; the necropolis also lies on this road. The wine region described by Strabo, known for its taste and medical use, is mentioned only as part of ancient agriculture and trade. The first research began with the visit of the German colonel W. von Diest in 1907; in 1909 documentation was carried out with Dr. H. Pringsheim and K. Graefinghoff, and the results were published in a monograph in Berlin in 1913. In 1921-1922 the Greek archaeologist K. Kourouniotis worked in the agora and the bouleuterion, in the 1960s the İzmir Museum, and in 1982-1988 the Aydın Museum. Between 1990 and 2010 a team led by V. İdil carried out systematic excavations on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Ankara University. Since 2017 the excavations have continued under S. Hakan Öztaner, with the street system, the Market Basilica and the forum areas in the foreground.

Visiting Tips

According to the Culture Portal, Nysa can be reached from central Aydın Efeler by metropolitan buses and Sultanhisar minibuses. The address of the site is Eskihisar Mahallesi, Sultanhisar. Entry hours, fees and visiting conditions can change, so check current information through the Aydın Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism and muze.gov.tr. The recommended route begins on the west bank of the stream bed with the gymnasion and the stadium, crosses the bridges to the library and the theatre, and then continues to the bouleuterion and the agora on the east bank. The shade of the olive trees along the way is limited, so choose early morning hours in the hot months. The paths are uneven; bring sturdy shoes and enough water. Walk carefully in the vaulted passages and do not climb on the structures. For photographs, early morning and late afternoon light show the theatre and library facades at their best. You can finish the day by resting in Sultanhisar.

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