Bergama's Red
Hall(Kızıl
Avlu) or Red Basilica was
built for worship of the Egyptian
gods Serapis, Isis and Harpocrates at
a time in the 2nd century AD when
Egyptian religion was reaching into
the Roman
Empire.
Faced with marble and surrounded
by a colonnade, the huge building looked
very different in Roman times. A stream
ran beneath it in stone channels, its
waters used for ritual bathing and
ablutions.
The Byzantines preserved the sacred
space, building the Church
of St John the Apostle within the mammoth
ancient walls.
The building is sacred still today,
containing the Kurtuluş Camii (mosque)
in one of its towers.
