Sardis
Capital Of Lydia And Later A Roman Provincial City; On The UNESCO Tentative List, With The Largest Ancient Synagogue Known And A Temple Of Artemis · Salihli, Manisa
Sardis was the capital of Lydia, and Lydia's contribution to the world was money: the first coins of standardised weight and stamped value were struck here in the seventh century BC, from electrum panned out of the Pactolus stream that still runs through the site. Its last king was Croesus, whose name survives as a byword for wealth and who lost the lot to the Persians. What stands today is mostly Roman and Byzantine: a gymnasium whose marble court facade has been spectacularly re-erected, a row of Byzantine shops along a colonnaded street with their owners' trades still legible, and - built into the gymnasium complex - the largest ancient synagogue ever found, its floor and walls covered in mosaic and coloured stone. A kilometre away up a side road, the Temple of Artemis lies in a valley with two enormous columns still standing. Almost nobody comes, which for a site this consequential is hard to explain.
Sartmustafa Mahallesi, Sart Oren Yeri, Salihli, Salihli, Manisa, Turkiye
Open daily with longer summer hours and an earlier winter close. The site is in two parts about a kilometre apart with separate entrances - the gymnasium and synagogue complex beside the main road, and the Temple of Artemis up a side road through the village. Check whether one ticket covers both, which has varied.