74-6 



The National Geographic Magazine 



slavery, that the city became what it is 

 today — one vast field studded with heaps 

 of ruins. 



Considering the ravages caused by 

 ■earthquakes, time, and war, Laodicea, 

 however, even at present, is still in a re- 

 markable state of preservation. The 

 ■stadium is almost intact. The steps re- 

 pose in the sides of a hill, which forms a 

 natural base for this monument. The 

 plan of the gymnasium is so well pre- 

 served that almost the entire building can 

 t>e seen. Two theaters, one of which 

 was devoted to music, are practically 

 complete. Scattered over the field, in 

 one mass of entangled ruins, are no end 

 of temples with the base of columns still 

 in place. The ancient aqueduct is par- 

 tially preserved, and shows clearly how 

 the water was conducted from a long 

 distance upon the hydrostatic principle 

 of its seeking its own level. The aque- 

 duct is not a lofty archway, such as 

 characterize those of Roman origin 

 throughout Asia Minor and Italy, but is 

 fouilt close to the ground, and the water 

 was conducted to the city in massive 

 stone pipes up hill and down from a dis- 

 tant mountain range. In the bed of the 

 little river of Asopos stand the broken 

 piers of a bridge which once led to a 

 Christian cemetery on a neighboring hill 

 opposite the city. The ancient pagan 

 necropolis was situated just outside the 

 city limits, near where the village of Gon- 

 jeli now stands. Many interesting sar- 

 cophagi have been found and removed to 

 various museums. Laodicea once had 

 three gateways which pierced the solid 

 walls which extended around the circum- 

 ference of the plateau. The archways of 

 one are still well preserved, but the base 

 lies deeply buried in the earth. Of the 

 great double gateway which opened upon 

 the road leading to Hierapolis, nothing 

 "but the buttresses which supported it on 

 either side of the deep ravine which 

 formed the approach to the city may 

 still indistinctly be traced. Over this 

 gateway there was a viaduct which con- 

 nected the acropolis with the small 

 theater. 



As yet nothing has been done by the 



archaeologist in the way of excavating 

 Laodicea. This is surprising when we 

 take into consideration that of all the old 

 cities in Asia Minor none has been or 

 could be excavated with greater ease. 

 The debris and earth which cover the 

 city could be easily carted away and 

 dumped at the foot of the hills. Prob- 

 ably no ancient city would repay the ef- 

 fort more than this one. As at Ephesus, 

 an excavation would probably reveal 

 various periods of architecture, each 

 built upon the other. Certain it is that 

 the buildings which now stand above the 

 earth's surface are more or less of late 

 Greek or Roman origin. Certain it is 

 also that the Laodicea which was 

 founded by Antiochus II some 250 years 

 B. C. was erected upon the site of a much 

 older city. 



HIERAPOLIS, THE HOLY CITY 



Hierapolis is probably the most inter- 

 esting spot in Asia Minor. It has always 

 been one of the. most fascinating places 

 in the Orient. As the ancients were at- 

 tracted toward it on account of the 

 matchless mineral springs and awe- 

 inspiring Plutonium, so today the stray 

 traveler seeks it out in order to feast his 

 eyes upon the most perfect ruined city in 

 the world. It is indeed a marvelous city. 

 To the student of history it is an object- 

 lesson unparalleled elsewhere ; to the phi- 

 losopher it is an inexhaustible mine of 

 contemplation ; to the ignorant nomad 

 who wanders in these parts it is an actual 

 example of the power of magic; to the 

 archaeologist it means nothing, at least 

 that which is visible to the eye, for the 

 reason that what he seeks lies beneath a 

 calcareous incrustation which paves the 

 whole plateau, and belongs to a far an- 

 terior period than the present ruins. 



Hierapolis is a veritable city of the 

 dead. Outside the walls, there are no 

 less than four immense necropolises in a 

 splendid state of preservation. Naturally 

 every mausoleum and sarcophagus has 

 been opened and plundered centuries 

 ago, but it was done in such a manner 

 that the tombs were not destroyed, and 

 they may be inspected today in exactly 



