Assos

Situated at the settlement Behramkale on the Bay of Edremit to the south of Q anakkale are the remains of the ancient city Assos. The settlement is positioned as an acropolis city, at an altitude of 200 m, on andesite rocks. According to the artifacts uncovered by the excavations carried out in the area it appears that the city was established by the Etruscan/Luwian tribes coming down from the Balkans circa 3000 B.C. The name of the city is "Assa" in the Etruscan language, meaning "High Place." Name of the city which is located in the area of the ancient Mysia was later changed into Assos. In 365 B.C. Aristotle established a school of philosophy and gave lectures. The name of the city which, in the 3rd century B.C., became a dependency of the Macedonians and then, through the Kingdom of Pergamum, of the Romans, was changed into "Makhramion" during the Byzantine era. The castle city located at an altitude of 200 m on the settlement Behram Kale of today is surrounded all around by polygonal walls reaching up to 20 m and with 7 small gates. Watchtowers of square floor plan are visible on the city walls. At the site of the ruins the first thing that catches the eye is the Temple of Athena measuring 15x30 m, located at a point commanding a good view of the sea, assumed to have been built during the 6th century B.C. The temple with 16 fluted Doric columns measuring 6x13 m built of the Doric order has a pronauos (forecourt) and a cella. The friezes on the front of the architrave block on the columns depict the figures of sphinxes, bulls and the mythological instants. On the section of the temple with mosaic-paved floor a basilica was built during the Byzantine era and a gymnasium of a quadrangular floor plan was added next to the basilica. Located to the east of the gymnasium is the Agora Square encircled with a stoa built in the Doric order, measuring 160x60 m. To the south of the agora are the remains of the temple, odeon, stoa and colonnaded street.