Almost first thing we got a clue that there were plenty of sheep in the area - this mother and her two lambs so young their umbilical cords were still attached. Mother moved away with great dignity on being photographed. Lambs tried their first gambols - quite successfully, too, if a bit wobbly.
We didn't find any weavers on our way to Bergama, but we settled into a hotel highly (and rightly) recommended by Lonely Planet and stared out the window. This is what greeted us: a full frontal view of the Acropolis.
That evening we walked around the lower city and found a carpet shop - one of several, but the man looking after this one seemed particularly friendly and relaxed. He showed us dozens of carpets, including this and some others made in the area from traditional designs. We were quite pleased that his starting prices seemed to be in our range. We'll be back.
The next morning we went to the museum across the street. This is such a quiet time of the year that we were the first visitors of the day - while we were there another tourist couple arrived, and that was it.
There were a lot of the usual statues and things from the Hellenistic and Roman periods of the town, but there were also a very few Byzantine items. I was struck by how Celtic they looked, including this bit of architectural ornamentation.
Then we went to the Acropolis. Started in Hellenistic times (after Alexander the Great & before the Romans) and renewed by the emperor Hadrian, it's far more interesting to explore than Athens' Acropolis. You can climb over everything and even break your neck if you choose to be careless.
This arch looked down over the city, a monument to the Romans' ingenuity in discovering this simple and elegant structure.
The real treasure of Pergamon, as Bergama was known in ancient times, was its library. When Marc Antony looted it to give to Cleopatra, he took 20,000 scrolls. Parchment was invented here, because the jealous Egyptians stopped shipping papyrus to Pergamon.
Then we headed to the Aesclepion, an ancient wellness centre. Galen, the 'father of medicine', was born in Pergamon and came back after training at all the best medical schools of the time. He became famous treating his home-town's gladiators. He also worked at the Aesclepion, using both physical and spiritual methods to help heal.
The waters of the healing spring still flow and are still used by local people today as a remedy for whatever ails you.
The Aesclepion still seems to be a good place to live, at least as far as tortoises are concerned. This was the second we saw. He/she was heading straight for one of the healing pools, perhaps looking for some juicy worms or greens or something on the way.
On our way out of town we discovered the carpet weavers' co-op building and took a tour. It was set up to display and sell the local weavers' work - the village women get almost all the proceeds. We saw how they process silk (they raise silk worms here) and how they know the carpets. There were some beautiful designs, slightly more expensive than the shop in town, we thought, but excellent quality. We'll definitely be back.
Tomorrow we're off again, this time to Capadoccia to see the solar eclipse and a bit of the local scenery. So stay tuned.
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