Perge is the great Roman city on the plain of Antalya, 17 kilometres from the city centre: a 300-metre colonnaded avenue with a water channel running down the middle, a Hellenistic gate flanked by two round towers, an almost complete stadium for 12,000 people, baths, an agora and a theatre. It's flat, spacious and full of light, so it is easy to take in without much effort.
St Paul passed through on his first missionary journey, and the statues that came out of the excavations fill the Antalya Archaeological Museum. On a day of archaeology along the coast, Perge is the morning stop.
A little history
Tradition says Perge was founded by Greek heroes on their way home from the Trojan War. Under Rome, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, it was one of the leading cities of Pamphylia, vying with Side for the title of capital, and almost everything you see today was built then. A wealthy woman, Plancia Magna, priestess of Artemis Pergaia and a generous benefactor, paid for the remodelling of the gate and filled the city with statues; her name appears on inscriptions all over the site. Apollonius, the mathematician famous for his work on conic sections, was born here in the 3rd century BC.
According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas came through Perge around AD 46, and in Byzantine times the city was the seat of a bishop. It declined with the Arab raids and was eventually abandoned; Turkish excavations began in 1946 and are still going on.
What to see in Perge
The stadium
As soon as you arrive, on your left, is the 234-metre stadium, its tiers of seats intact on top of vaults that once served as shops. It held 12,000 spectators, it's one of the best preserved in Anatolia, and you can walk its whole length.
The theatre
Opposite the stadium, set against the hillside, is the theatre, with room for 12,000 spectators or more and a stage building decorated with reliefs from the life of Dionysus. It has been closed for restoration for several seasons; if it's still shut when you visit, you can see it from outside.
The Roman gate and the Hellenistic gate
You enter the city through the Roman gate, and straight away the Hellenistic gate appears: two tall round stone towers from the 3rd century BC, which Plancia Magna turned into the backdrop of a courtyard lined with statues. This is the classic image of Perge.
The colonnaded street and the water channel
The main avenue is 300 metres long and 20 metres wide, with columns on both sides and a water channel down the centre that kept the street cool in summer; people crossed it on small bridges. The shops along the sides still have traces of their mosaics, and at the far end stands the nymphaeum, a two-storey monumental fountain with the statue of the river god Kestros.
The baths and the agora
To the left of the Hellenistic gate are the South Baths, with their marble halls and the underfloor heating system laid bare; to the right is the agora, a square market with a round temple in the middle.
Tips for your visit
Allow an hour and a half. The whole site is flat, with dirt paths, so it suits almost everyone, but there's no shade.
- Come first thing in the morning, before Aspendos: it's the stop with the least shade of the day.
- Bring a hat, water and closed shoes.
- Visit the Antalya Archaeological Museum before or after: the statues from the gate and the nymphaeum are there.
- If you're visiting with children, the stadium and the water channel down the main street are the parts they enjoy most.
Tickets and prices
Entry costs €12 under the official 2027 tariff published at the time of writing (2026). On my tours, the ticket is either included or handled by the guide.
Where it is and how to get there
Perge is 17 kilometres from central Antalya, next to the Aksu district, off the airport road: about 25 minutes by car. The tram runs out to Aksu, and from there it's two kilometres on foot or a short taxi ride.
How we visit it on my tours
Perge is part of the archaeology day from Antalya, together with the theatre of Aspendos, on the Turquoise Coast tour. Because of St Paul, it also belongs on a biblical route: the Biblical Türkiye tour follows his footsteps at Ephesus, and Perge can be added to a tailor-made version of it. For everything else in the area, see what to see and do in Antalya.
If you're following St Paul's route or want some archaeology from the coast, tell me about it in plan your tailor-made trip.