Perge Theatre
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Antalya, Aksu
Perge theatre is a two-tiered theatre. The first tier has a total of 29 rows including the row with a backboard below the central walkway, and there are 12 radial ways with steps dividing up the rows. In the second tier above the central walkway there are 19 rows divided by 23 stairways. There are some reliefs carved in marble of the god of the theatre, most of the faces of which have been destroyed, around the seven doors to the stage on the facade of the stage building, which, apart from the ruined side towers, is mainly still standing. Its well-preserved cavea makes it one of the most impressive theatres in Anatolia. Supporting walls encircle the cavea resting on the slope and complete the hemisphere. The high external wall of the stage building is strengthened with arched special support walls. A decorative pierced marble balustrade on the edge of the orchestra that did not impair the view of the audience was added in the late period because of gladiator and wild animal fights. Part of the covered upper section of the cavea, which resembles that of Aspendos theatre, still stands. There is an additional gate right in the middle of this section. The upper tier is accessed from the seven-foot-wide central walkway by seven stairways. The east facing theatre is 31 feet above sea level. The radial stairways were carved from the rows of benches in situ. The two niches that have survived in the front wall of the theatre show a likeness between this theatre and Pamukkale Theatre (Hierapolis). The orchestra has a width of 52 feet and 12 inches, which places it third after Ephesus and Aizanoi in the ranking of Turkish theatres. When it was fully standing, the stage building must have been about 70 feet tall.
The theatre has a capacity of approximately 11,500.
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