Feature: Turkey lures more tourists to its World Heritage sites

The city of Bergama and its ancient multi-layered cultural landscape, located in west Turkey, has become world-known since it was added to the UNESCO's World Heritage List last year.

Local resident Ugur Kara with a famliy of four, living around 100 kilometres away from the site, told Xinhua in an interview that UNESCO's approval of Bergama adds to "Turkey's great honour."

Bergama, known as Pergamon in ancient Greek, is regarded as a city of wealth and power in history. It has reached its peak of prosperity in the time of Alexander the Great and ancient Rome. Today, the modern city stretches about 1688 square kilometres, with a population of 70,000.

A local book seller Osman Bozkurt told Xinhua that more and more American and European tourists have been flocking to Bergama, and Chinese travellers are also increasing fast.

The city is obliged to update infrastructure and hotel facilities to cope with the fast rising number overseas tourists.

The three-tier Acropolis, centre of the ancient site of Pergamon, was situated on a slope of over 300 metres high. The palace, temples and the cistern were built on the upper tier of the Acropolis.

The middle tier includes educational institutions such as the stadium and the parish, with civilian communities and markets on the lowest tier.

The palace, located on the top of the Acropolis, overlooks the splendid view of the city of Bergama. Beyond the city wall are the spectacular sights of Bergama's natural landscape, along with stone-built military warehouses and military camps.

Walking along the courtyard surrounded by Greek-styled hallways and pillars, chambers were built centring the courtyard. Mosaic tiles of various delicate designs can be found in nearly every chamber of the palace.

The Temple of Trajan, one of the most magnificent piece among the work of architectures in Bergama, dates back to the time of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian.

The 18-metre-high temple was built upon the highest terrace of the Acropolis. Much of its appearance has faded during the endless wars and conquests, leaving only the gigantic stones which shaped the temple, unchanged.

Turkish government has been developing tourism as one of its economic pillars and has become a major tourist destination in the Mideast region. Endit