Assos Ancient City: A Stone Chronicle Above the Aegean
A concise guide to Assos Ancient City in Çanakkale: Archaic Doric Athena Temple, city walls–agora–theatre, famed necropolis sarcophagi, Ottoman heritage and practical visiting tips.
Yerel Gündem 
Assos Ancient City: A Stone Chronicle Above the Aegean
MEDICENTER TV / ÇANAKKALE, TURKEY
A cliff-top polis carved in andesite
Rising some 236–238 meters above the Aegean on a volcanic promontory in Behramkale (Ayvacık, Çanakkale), Assos was founded, according to ancient authors, in the 7th century BCE by colonists from Methymna on Lesbos (Midilli). Recent archaeological work pushes the site’s story back to the Bronze Age. Nearly every major structure you see today was hewn from hard-to-work yet remarkably durable andesite—one reason the city’s defensive line and civic fabric still read clearly in the landscape. In 2017, Assos entered UNESCO’s Tentative List, underscoring its combined cultural and natural value.
The Athena Temple: Anatolia’s sole Archaic Doric example
Commanding the akropolis, the Temple of Athena was dedicated in the 6th century BCE to the city’s protectress. It is the only known Archaic-period Doric temple in Anatolia. Except for the long-lost roof, the sanctuary was built entirely of local andesite: 13 columns on the long sides, six on the short. Friezes and metopes depicted mythic scenes—among them Heracles and the Centaurs—and animal combats. Surviving relief blocks today reside in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums as well as the Louvre (Paris) and the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston).
Walls, agora, theatre and the so-called ‘flesh-eating’ sarcophagi
Encircling the settlement, Assos’ fortifications run for roughly 3.2 km and stand, in places, up to 20 meters. South of the akropolis, the agora spreads across stepped terraces, framed by a two-story stoa to the north and a four-story stoa to the south. East of the square are the remains of the bouleuterion (council house); to the west lie the gymnasion and bath complexes. Further down the slope, a 5,000-seat theatre—Roman in plan yet perfectly cradled in a natural hollow—faces Lesbos and, after careful restoration, can once again host performances.
Outside the walls, the east, west and north sectors served as necropoleis. The best-preserved West Necropolis features the “Archaic Street,” its surface paved with large stones and flanked by family enclosures, monumental tombs and andesite sarcophagi. In Roman times these coffins were prized across the Mediterranean. Because organic matter within them seemed to decompose quickly, they were nicknamed “flesh-eating” (sarkophagos) and exported widely.
Three archaeological phases, one living site
Scientific exploration of Assos unfolded in three landmark waves. The first (1881–1883), led by J. T. Clarke for the Archaeological Institute of America, documented the city’s architecture and published results in 1921. In 1981, Prof. Ümit Serdaroğlu (Istanbul University) reopened work with a focus on the West Necropolis and sondages on the akropolis; conservation progressed at the Athena Temple. Since 2006, Prof. Nurettin Arslan (Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University) and team have carried excavations and conservation forward. Finds are exhibited at the Troya Museum and Çanakkale Archaeology Museum, while international pieces illustrate the site’s long collecting history.
Ottoman layer: Hüdavendigar Mosque and Behramkale Bridge
Assos and its hinterland came under Turkish rule in the 14th century. The single-domed Hüdavendigar Mosque—attributed to Sultan Murad I—stands on the akropolis’ northern corner, knitting the Ottoman chapter into the ancient stonework. Down in the valley, the Hüdavendigar (Behramkale) Bridge arches over the Tuzla (Satnioeis) River; entirely intact, it remains in daily use.
Planning your visit: gates, routes and seasonal hours
There are two main entries: one through the village up to the akropolis (for the Temple of Athena and sweeping sunset views), the other via the historic West Gate on the road descending to the harbor (ideal for the necropolis, gymnasion and agora). Typical seasonal hours are 08:30–20:00 in summer (with ticketing closing 30 minutes earlier) and 08:30–17:30 in winter; during peak months, closures may extend to 21:00–21:30 in line with sunset and local authority decisions. A Museum Pass (Müzekart) streamlines entry. Time your ascent for late afternoon: the temple’s colonnade, the Aegean’s steel-blue plane and Lesbos on the horizon turn golden at dusk—a tableau as didactic as it is beautiful.
*
*
*
*
