This exhibition is a product of the course on "Architecture of Antiquity and the Byzantine Period"given by Prof. Dr. Turgut Saner in the graduate programme of the İTÜ Faculty of Architecture. It is based on the presentations on the city of Ancient Pergamum and its buildings given by first year graduate students as part of the spring term of the 2006/07 programme. Throughout the term the course focused on Pergamum, and the course included a field trip to Pergamum to study the site in situ.
Pergamum, although carrying traces of earlier settlements, was established and developed asa city during the Hellenistic age. Especially under the rule of the Attalids, during the 3rd and 2nd century BC, Pergamum was meant to be a second Athens, and a lot of buildings were constructed. Pergamum thus, was an important political, commercial and cultural centre. The city has all the basic building types of Ancient Greek and Roman architecture and the buildings are perceived very well in context of their spatial organizations. The exhibition explores the most important buildings starting from the highest part of the steep hill: palaces, Trajan Temple, Sanctuary of Athena, theatre, Dionysos Temple, Altar of Zeus, Sanctuary of Demeter, gymnasion and town walls. The sacred Asclepeion and the Roman construction Red Basilica are also included as separate topics.
Since 19th century, Pergamum is being excavated and explored by German researchers. Successful layout plans and partial restorations lead to better preservation of the ruins. Obviously, it is thanks to Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Radt, the vice-president of German Archaeological Institute’s Istanbul Branch, who worked on the field for the last 30 years, that the city is better preserved and acknowledged through scientific publications.
For the exhibition, the students worked in groups but it was accepted that each explored a different aspect of the building type assigned. Architect Cem Kozar is responsible for the general design of the posters. We should also mention the contributions of the research assistants at ITU department of History of Architecture, Gül Cephanecigil and Mehtap Serim and students Ertunç Denktaş and Tutku Sevinç. Although the students have used various sources for their research, "Pergamon, History and Buildings of an Ancient City" by Wolfgang Radt (2002, Istanbul) has been their main reference.