Temple of the
Healing Arts
Late afternoon sunlight filters
through the marble columns of
an ancient marble temple dedicated
to the arts of healing as two
visitors take a last look at
yet another of Turkey's two-thousand-year-old
wonders....
The Asclepion
of Pergamum (or
Pergamon) was among the world's
earliest and greatest medical
centers. Here the great physician
named Galen laid
down the basic rules for
all the doctors who would
come after him for centuries.
Medicine has come a long way
since then. We've gained a lot.
But perhaps we've lost something
as well. Patients here were treated
in a facility of surpassing
architectural beauty known
also for the greatness of its library.
(Indeed, parchment was
invented to act as the recording
medium when the library at Alexandria,
Egypt, jealous of the growth
and renown of the Pergamon Library,
cut off exports of papyrus.)
In addition, a huge theater with
a dramatic view over the valley
below entertained
those well enough to attend.
Located between Çanakkale and Troy to
the north, and Izmir, Ephesus and Kusadasi to
the south, Bergama (Pergamon,
Pergamum) makes a good morning
or afternoon stop, or a day-trip,
or even an overnight stop, with
several suitable hotels
and pensions. |
