Sardes Archaeological Site

Sardes, in the Gediz valley of Manisa province, was the capital of the Lydian kingdom, and legend credits a king named Meles with founding it. Its people are remembered for minting some of the world's first coins. After the Persians ended Lydian rule in the sixth century BC, the city became the seat of a Persian governor, kept its importance under Hellenistic and Roman rule, and later grew into a significant Byzantine bishopric.

The most striking area for visitors is the bath-gymnasium complex. The eastern half is a colonnaded palaestra, a square courtyard for exercise, while vaulted halls to the west housed the baths. A two-storey columned space links the two, and a basilica-shaped hall beside the palaestra rewards a closer look.

The site sits on the slopes of the hills north of the Paktolos stream, beneath the mountain the ancients called Tmolos, so the setting is as memorable as the ruins themselves.