Travel Guide Sardi

90 km east of Izmir on the road to Afyon and 7 km from Salihli. Interest of archeological site: the ruins of a shopping street of the Byzantine era and those of the famous temple of Artémis.This excursion is made more easily from Izmir or Manisa. Sardes, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Lydie (680-547 BC), is worth a detour both for its legendary history and for the enchanting site of the Temple of Artema and the location that houses its ruins, in a valley lined with olive trees, vineyards and melons.To go there: from Izmir Otobüs Garajı, take the bus that goes to Salihli and ask the driver to stop at Sart (7 km before Salihli).Visit of the site. By heading towards the east, after having walked a hundred meters and paid an entrance fee, you will find yourself in an impressive Byzantine shopping street. Only its walls and foundations are visible, but your imagination will easily revive the animation of the time.A little later, on the left, is a third-century synagogue dating back to J.C., decorated with beautiful mosaics (the ones we currently see are copies, the original are located at the museum of Manisa). Nearby, the uneloquent ruins of a Roman gymnasium precede those of the stadium, agora and theater (20,000 places). To contemplate the temple of Artema, go back to the village and walk around ten minutes in the opposite direction. A second entry fee is required.The two columns, witnesses to the whims of history, are quite impressive and show that this temple built by Crésus, destroyed and then built again by Alexander the Great, was among the four largest of Asia Minor. Nearby is a small Byzantine church of the xiith century.