PERGAMUM ( BERGAMA )
The windswept remains of Pergamum, which circle the modern town of Bergama, are amongst the most magnificent in Turkey. Pergamum was one of the world’s leading powers although it had only a relatively brief moment of honor, notably under the rule of Eumenes II (197 BC–159 BC), who built the city’s famous library. Of more lasting importance perhaps was the city’s Asklepion, an early medical center that had its heyday under the renowned first physician, writer, and philosopher Galen (131 AD–210 AD). By then Pergamum was the capital of the Roman region of Asia, which for centuries provided the empire with great wealth. Bergama has not been profoundly influenced by tourism, except perhaps for the carpet shops at the base of the Acropolis road. People still ride lead donkeys, tractors, and drive herb trucks through town, and a bus inching along behind a herd of sheep is not an unusual sight.