Bergama: Ruins, Rain, and Random Goat Encounters
it started raining the moment i stepped off the bus in bergama. not a drizzle-a full-on sky tantrum. the temp was hanging around 11.5°c but with 86% humidity, it felt like the clouds were breathing down my neck. pressure was low, my hair was a disaster, and i hadn't even seen the acropolis yet.
first stop: the red basilica. it's this massive red-brick ruin that used to be a temple to serapis, then a church, now just a moody pile of history. i overheard a local say it's haunted by a roman soldier who got lost on his way to the afterlife. no idea if that's true, but it added a nice soundtrack to my wandering.
"Don't go up the hill after dark," someone whispered in a cafe. "The goats follow you."
of course, i ignored that. goats are just misunderstood, right?
next, i hiked up to the acropolis. the road is steep, winding, and lined with olive trees that look like they've seen everything. the views? chef's kiss. you can see the whole town spread out like a messy puzzle. i took a photo of a stray cat sitting on a broken column-it looked like it owned the place.
for lunch, i ducked into a tiny lokanta near the bazaar. had the best lentil soup of my life. the owner, a woman with hands that told stories, insisted i try her homemade baklava. i did. twice.
"The museum closes early on tuesdays," a shopkeeper told me. "But the guard likes baklava, so..." He winked.
Bergama isn't huge, but it's packed with layers. literally. the asklepion is a short walk from the center-an ancient healing center where patients were treated with water, dreams, and probably a lot of hope. i sat on a fallen column and imagined what it sounded like when it was full of life.
if you get bored, izmir and Çanakkale are just a short drive away. but honestly, bergama deserves more than a day trip. it's the kind of place that sneaks into your bones.
i just checked and it's still raining there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. bring a raincoat and a sense of humor.
for more on bergama's history, check out the official site or read up on the asklepion at unesco. and if you're into local eats, yelp has some solid recs-just don't trust the goat rumors too much.
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