If you knew such a date, which was accepted as the beginning of a sad end, you would cry. While I was telling you the story of such a city, I could not put aside my feelings or hold back my tears.
Sagalassos' eyes are her heart, her heart is a place of festivity.
The Story of the 'Ağlasun' Fountain of Love
The history started with the Luwians, an important branch of the Hittites, and due to security concerns of that time and having rich mineral deposits, in the shadow of the 2271-meter peak of Akdağ, in a position overlooking deep valleys, at an altitude of 1750 meters, Akdağ's steep slope facing south was terraced. Many romances took place in Sagalasos, which is an engineering marvel and hosts the best examples of Roman architecture. 1850 years ago from today, the palaces known as Sagalasos, the Capital of the State of Psidia, which stood on the slopes of the mighty mountains to which the cities of Antalya, Isparta and Burdur were connected, and whose skirts were surrounded by strong walls, emerald green forests, fragrant rose gardens, vineyards, large olive groves, In the very rich city, famous for its theatre, agora, bath, squares and fountains, there lived a very beautiful girl named Isabella. Known for her legendary beauty, Isabella's name, which means "dedicated to God and love", was named together by her midwife mother and merchant father. Her mother and father had educated and raised the most beautiful daughter of Ağlasun (Sagalassos) in the best way. Isabella took lessons from philosophers who used the Sakalasos Library as a classroom. Isebella was tall, white-skinned, with green eyes. While she was posing for the sculptors, her braided hair, which fell to her heels, was decorated with bunches of daffodils, and her white silk dress crawled on the ground. Every day, like a flock of swans, the daughters of Ağlasun, with Isabellea at the forefront, would dance every day in front of the musicians against the sunset on sunny days in Ağlasun Square. Because; the kings of the city declared all sunny days to be holidays for young girls so that "the beauty will come out and the people will be happy". In those days, on special days, warriors first show their war skills in front of the king of the city and the people; Then again, like swans, the daughters of Ağlasun, who were at the forefront, and Isabella at the forefront, would dance in the city square to the accompaniment of music.
When Isabella, who was legendary in beauty, reached the age of marriage, princes from many cities, many brave men who were successful in the war, and wrestlers aspired to her. Isabella's father, at the request of his daughter; He wanted water to be brought to the city from the cascading springs in the Isparta Mountains so that future generations would remember the beauty of his daughter, and the world's most beautiful love fountain to be built right next to the Sagalasos Square before the wedding. While all those who want Isabella are waiting for the positive news that will come to them with hope; Isabella's father intended to give his daughter to Hector, the King's son, and her mother to whomever her daughter loved.
Isabella was telling her close circle that she had chosen the valiant Ağlasun, the valiant she would marry in her dreams at night and would never forget, and that she would not reveal the name of the valiant she fell in love with before the engagement. Isabella the young military commander; Antonin, the most handsome and talented of the valiant, was infatuated. He kept this secret from everyone, including his mother. The valiant Antonin was the winner in all war games. He was unmatched in valor and valor. His reputation spread to seven cities. He had won the army command with the dexterity of his wrist and mind, in sports competitions and war games open to the people of the city. Isabella's father didn't know who her daughter loved, but one day, her daughter said, "It will be a memory of her love, which will be legendary as a dowry from the groom she will marry, on the square of the city of Sakalasos, which will be a memory for as long as the world lasts," He had heard that the ' 's would ask the waterfall springs to bring water to this fountain. In fact, Isabella showed the chief architect of the city where the love fountain that she wanted to be built for her, which would tell her joy of living and her love, dominates the city square. He asked architects and sculptors that "the beauty of the fountain should not fall short of its own beauty". In the days when the army was under the command of Antonin, the King of Ağlasun sent emissaries to Isabella's father and asked for Isabella to his only son Hector, whom he would abdicate. In fact, the ambassadors said that the King would gladly have the fountain built as a dowry by Isabella; From the cascading springs of Isparta's mountains to this fountain, people and wolf; that he will bring plenty of clear water for the bird to drink, and that he will present his palace made of green marble to her for Isabella to live in, and that they can stay in this palace with their parents if they wish; they even stated that if they have other requests, they will fulfill those wishes.
Isabella's merchant father graciously greeted the incoming envoys. The envoys told the girl's father and mother, "when the king died, his son Hector, who would replace him, fell in love with Isabella, and they came to give this good news". To the ambassadors sent by the king who came to ask for a girl, Isabella's father said with delight, "There is no palace in Sagalasos more glorious than the King's palace, and that he does not know a handsome valiant over the King's son, Prince Hector", in his absence and his daughter's. without even considering his consent; He gave the marriage word on behalf of his daughter. Thereupon, the envoys left the house very satisfied. That night the King's son wanted this girl, except for Isabella's beloved Army Commander Antonin and his soldiers who went to war; heard by all Sagalassians. Except for Isabella, curiosity, joy and excitement surrounded everyone, saying that "Isabella and Hector, son of the King, will marry". That night Isabella spent like a thousand nights. It is as if he died forty times and was resurrected forty times. Because before Antonin went to war, he fed the fortune chickens and the fortune chickens did not eat the food with appetite. The previous night, in Sakalasos, two comets had glided in the sky with an interval of five minutes. Word had to be sent to Antonin hastily. Unfortunately Antonin was not in town on that ominous night when the king's envoys came to ask for a girl; he was on the go. If he had been in the city, the ambassadors could have taken Isabella from her horse before the girl arrived at her father's house and smuggled her into one of the castles attached to her that night. If Antonin had sold his war clothes and weapons for his love, it would have cost only three hundred oxen. This money was not even enough to build a part of the memorial fountain. Unfortunately, twenty Talant weight gold coins were needed to build the Fountain of Love and to bring water from the cascading springs from the Isparta Mountains. Antonin could not find a way out other than to go to war and return with the booty by convincing the King of Sagalasos to have the Fountain of Love built, which would be a monument to express his love to his beloved. What happens when Antonin takes permission from the King of Sagalassos and goes to war with his army towards Adada Castle, whose treasure is full of gold, in the east of Sagalassos, which is 7 days away; to the head of the 7 black mountains that see each other in order to communicate with Isabella, just in case; He set up seven sentries and asked Isabella to light a red smoking torch every morning at dawn if there was good news every day, and to light a smoking torch if there was bad news.
With the soldiers of Antonin, Isabella's lover, seven days away from Sagalasos, they besieged the castle of the city of Adada; It had been only three weeks since he had gone there to seize and loot hundreds of Talant's weights of gold bars that he had previously heard from his own agents. The bastions of Adada Fortress were strong, it had enough water, but the number of soldiers and the amount of food in it were small. Sagalassos Army Commander Antonin to the pleading delegation coming from Adada Castle every morning; As a condition of peace, Alexander the Great was saying, "I have only one condition, surrender, I don't want anything but you." Against Antonin's mighty army, the people of Adada did not have a chance to hold out for long. Every morning, at sunrise, the people and soldiers of the island sent their begging delegation without giving up the castle; They were asking for help from Antonin, who had come to pay tribute and take the castle. Except for their castles and freedoms; They were ready to pay whatever tribute they could give. But Antonin wanted to take both the castle and the gold, which is said to be hundreds of Talants, so that he could return to Sagalasos with a great deal of booty, victory, glory and honor. But things did not go as Antonin had hoped. Contrary to receiving news with images of red smoke every day on the 13th day of the siege of Adada by Antonin's army, which established its headquarters on a hill overlooking the mountains; That day, the guards holding torches in the mountains smoked black smoke in their torches, meaning there was bad news from Isabella. The black news crossed the black mountains with black smoke; The dark news from Isabella reached her lover early the same day. Antonin, who saw the black smoking torches on the mountain tops; Upon this dark news from Isabella, he realized that morning that it would not be right to continue the war, he lifted his helmet from his greed and stole it on the stones, and he plunged his spear into the stone in front of the commanders under his command and broke it. Antonin received the last arriving Adada city pleading committee in a time of despair. A short bargain was made between the two sides. Antonin took the expenses of the expedition from the people of Adada city, which was 72 mule loads of silver money, and seven elephant loads of 70 Talant gold trophies, three of which were to be distributed to the King of Sagalasos, two to himself, the Army Commander, and the remaining two to his soldiers; An agreement was reached that satisfied both parties. After this agreement, which pleased both sides, kösler, trumpets, drums were beaten, the siege was lifted, and the order was given to return to the army. The returning army took the 7-day journey in five days and returned to Sagalasos just at dawn. The army, which entered Sagalasos, was met by the King, members of the Senate and the community of elders a league outside the city. At the forefront was Antonin, the commander of the army, which returned with loads of booty. As Antonin, wearing his armor, helmet on his head, dismounted from his white horse and entered through the crown gate at the entrance of the city, Isabella kneeled before him and presented a huge bouquet of red roses meaning "I love you very much". The girls, women and grandmothers from Ağlasun, who looked out of the windows of the Sagalasos palaces, did not miss this sight, immediately "The girl's heart is not in Prince Hekor; They started to gossip about the army commander Antonin. As the victory procession passed, the trumpets and trumpets were played, the archers shot so many arrows towards the sky with joy that those who returned from the expedition remained in the shadow of the arrows, the sky was invisible from the arrows for a short time. At the forefront were hundreds of officers, each riding horses and clad in armor, followed by seven elephants, each carrying ten Talant trophies of gold, and 72 mules loaded with silver coins. The arrival of chariots carrying the army's supplies, a caravan of camels used to transport food, and heavy infantry clad in armor carrying swords, spears, maces, maces and shields were worth seeing. Antonin sent three elephant loads of gold to the King's Treasure, calling it "the King's right." He demanded that two elephants of gold be distributed as two shares for the officers and one share for the soldiers without rank. He had the remaining two elephant loads of gold landed in the King's Trust to have the Fountain of Love built for him. 72 mule load silver coins, which were covered by the treasury, were also returned to the treasury. In honor of the soldiers' return from the campaign with loot, the King of Ağlasun organized a feast in the afternoon on the same day to honor the warriors and share the joy of the booty with the people. Sacrifices were made to the gods of the city, sacrifices were made, and meat was piled up. The butter poured on the pilaf flowed like floods and waters. Before the meal was started, first the girls of marriageable age danced in the town square of Sagalasos, and then the dancing girls invited their loved ones to the dance. On that day, on the right side of the King, at the place of the feast, Crown Prince Hector was sitting, and on his left side, the Commander of the Army Antonin, who had just returned from the expedition in the morning, had taken off his war suit and had just put on his ceremonial robe. The square was so packed that if you throw a needle, it would not fall to the ground. All the notables and people of the city were there. Everyone's eyes were on Isabella and her lover Antonin, who looked great on each other. Behind the king were his armed guards, Prince Hector, as well as his bodyguard, the famous sniper Archer, whose quiver was full of arrows. Prince Hector was both absent-minded and very angry that day. Because he was upset that he still did not get a clear answer from Isabella. Isabella did not answer "yes" or "no" about marrying him, only with the intermediaries, "His Royal Highness should not worry; The army will certainly know my answer the day it returns from the campaign.”
When the orchestra played again, Isabella glided among the girls in the square like a pheasant and, contrary to what those waiting in the square had hoped, did not dance Prince Hector, but Antonin, the Commander of the Army. As soon as the dance of these lovers started, Prince Hector lost his mind and lost consciousness, he went mad; he went mad; “Shoot Antonin,” he said to the bowman next to him. Within seconds, the Archermaster launched the arrow and aimed at the Commander of the Army Antonin; Isabella saw him pull the bowstring and shoot the arrow in a blink of an eye and pushed Antonin away from the arrow that came to Antonin, but he couldn't get rid of the arrow stabbed in his own neck. Had the King not said "stop" to the Archermaster there at that moment, he would have killed the Archer, Antonin, with another arrow shot. Isabella's wound was serious, she was about to die in the arms of her lover Antonin in front of the public in a short time, and it is rumored that the following words came out of her tongue:
“I couldn't wear a wedding dress;
let my father cry over this!
Tell my mother to make quick decisions!
Let Antonin build a fountain of love here;
Let the waters flowing from the fountain be my tears!..
Let freckled gold be scattered on the masters who make fountains, May the luck of the unfortunate girls rise here!”
Upon the death of Isabella, who was shot by an arrow while dancing with her beloved, in the arms of her beloved, the festivity was ended at that moment by the order of the King.
The official parade organized by the army was also cancelled. The feast of that day; that day's feast was poison to all the people of Sagalasos. Everyone started to mourn with their inner feelings. Black smoke was blown from the bastions. The people of Sagalasos are group by group; they cried. Then the pain came upon him. The valiant soldier Antonin could not bear to breathe his last in the arms of his lover. Within two hours, he drank the poison that he carried under the fig tree in the garden of his house and said, "Oh Isabella!.. Oh Isabella, living without you is forbidden for me in this world…Now" I'm coming to meet you!..” he groaned and died again. The sane elders said, “Now it has happened, enough is enough for us, it is up to us to mourn for their glorious love. ” The king and the notables of the city, together with the clergy, attended the funeral of Isabella and Antonin. The King's son Hector and Archerhead did not attend the funeral, probably because of their embarrassment. All the people of Sagalassos put the two lovers together on the same day in two graves at once, crying. On top of Isabella's and Antoni's graves, the gravediggers planted a flame-red rose, which symbolizes incurable love, and white rose branches, which represent purity. On top of Antoni, they also put his armor, helmet and silver inlaid dagger on his tomb to commemorate the wars he had won, and planted a laurel tree at his bedside. Seven days and seven nights of mourning were declared in Sagalasos. The following poem he wrote for Isabella came out from the Commander of the Army Antonin:
APPOINTMENT TO THE PEOPLE OF SAGALASSOS:
“Know this well, people of Sagalassos:
Isabella and I were madly in love with each other;
Saray and you people of Sagalassos denied our love.
And we saw that the angels in the sky were jealous of us.
Waiting for me in the other world today to meet Isabella Drinking the poison I hid in the brow of my ring I'm leaving you right now;
I request you not to interfere with my will.
Won by the power of my wrist and sword By spending the gold I brought from the Adada Castle Expedition;
Telling the town square my love for Isabella Build a fountain that has no precedent in the world;
It is one of the cascading springs in the Isparta Mountains, which is 21 leagues away from this fountain.
Bring clear and roaring waters This is Isabella's advice to me and I to you.
For those who believe in true love to remember us...
Name it "LOVERS FOUNTAIN".
Let the sculptors engrave on the marbles in that fountain Our immense love for each other.
And describing our love Next to the fountain, which will have no precedent in the world;
“O visitors passing by here;
Now these winds, these cascading waters, tell you Let them write our unfinished sad story.”
The bad luck did not end with Antonin's suicide to reunite with Isabella. Forty days after Isabella and Antoni died, there was a severe earthquake in Sagalasos, and the city was destroyed; and the old king died in that earthquake. The day has come when the jealous Hector becomes king of Sagalasos. Hektor, the king's unfortunate son, who loved Isabella very much but could not find any return for his love, said, "I promised myself to mourn Isabella's death because of my torment of conscience until I die, what am I going to do without Isabella, the crown and the throne palace?" He lifted the royal crown presented to him on a golden platter and threw it into the pool of the palace and stated that he did not want to be king of Sagalasos in the World without Isabella. The members of the Senate, consisting of the elders of Sagalassos, immediately took the king's crown out of the water, since the King had no other sons; They put it on the head of the king's eldest daughter.
Prince Hector, who ordered "shoot Antonin" in the court of senators, could not be summoned because he was a member of the royal family; was not prosecuted. At that time, the members of the dynasty everywhere were irresponsible for everything they did, so no one could hold them accountable. These noble people were exempt from every law and had the right to do whatever they wanted. Hector was not put on trial, but lived like a half-craz in Sagalasos, in ruined houses, with pangs of conscience for preventing Isabella and Antoni from reuniting until his death. Okçubaşı, who shot arrows at those who loved each other without thinking and pitying and accidentally shot Isabella that day, was tried in a court made up of Senate members and was considered an "evil warrior". Sagalasos was stripped of his citizenship, with the same decision, he was blindfolded and exiled to the Sinai Desert, where the Roman legion was located, and served his sentence there until his death.
When the events calmed down, it was time to build the Fountain of Love, which would be the symbol of Antonin's love for Isabella as the world stood still. Country by country, city by city bellmen were removed; architects, stonemasons, sculptors were called to work. Stone traders brought the marble stones that make up the main columns of the fountain from Dokimeion (Iscehisar), which is located within the borders of today's Afyonkarahisar, by road. The marble stones used in the construction of the decorations on the right and left sides of the fountain come from the Karistos Marble Quarry on the Eğriboz Island in the Aegean Sea, and in the construction of the sculptures on the landing, which adorns the right and left sides of the structure, where water is poured into the fountain's oyster shell, as "horn marble" or "filtered marble". It was built by bringing marbles from Aydın Aphrodisias (Karacasu-Palamutçuk Village), where the marble stones used in the construction of the world's most distinguished sculptures, which are also called the world's most distinguished sculptures, were extracted. In the construction of the fountain, seven kinds of marble stones brought from seven different places were used so that the peak of art would shine with sunlight and it was desired to increase the joy of life in people. After everything calmed down in Sagalassos, architects, engineers, sculptors, muralists and masters worked for seven years and a lot of manual labor; They made the 28-meter-long and 9-meter-high fountain, which tells about the love of Isabella and Antoni, which is unique in the world, by spending 2 Talant gold coins that Antonin bought from Adada Castle. With ceramic pipes made from the soil of Ağlasun Mamak Plain, engineers, craftsmen and workers brought rushing, abundant and clear water from the cascading springs of the Isparta Mountains, 21 leagues away, and poured it into the pool in front of this masterpiece of art. When the Sagalassos Fountain of Love emerged in all its splendor and the work was finished, an opening ceremony was held in proportion to the importance of the work done. In this ceremony, the King of Sagalassos gave honors to the artisans and masters who contributed to the construction of the Sagalassos Love Fountain. A protocol was arranged for the artists and masters who received this honor to watch the plays played at the Sagalassos Theater with the king at the front. Since then, people, wolves, birds and insects have been drinking from the waters of the Antonine fountain for hundreds of years for healing purposes.
It is rumored that the moon would come to this fountain, which has no precedent in the world, telling about Antonin's love for Isabella, twice a year to secretly bathe. The rays of the sun created a riot of colors every time it collided with it. The tones of light formed spectra in the water, and on nights when the sky was clear, frogs and stars played together in the pool of this fountain. When the pigeons drank from the water of this fountain, they would raise their heads to the sky and pray for the souls of Isabella and Antoni. Nightingales landed on rose branches in Ağlasun; They would read each other the epic of this love. It is also rumored that brides and grooms who will marry in the ancient city of Sagalassos, which is one of the rare places to be seen in the world, especially in the vicinity of Antalya, Burdur and Isparta, definitely come to visit before marriage; Explaining that this Isabella could not reunite with Antonin so that "it would be the most important memory of their life" and "to be noted in history" and Isabella said, "This is my tear, let it flow forever. May the luck of the unfortunate girls be opened here!" They had lots of souvenir pictures taken in front of the waters flowing from the LOVE FOUNTAIN, where they made their wish.
Sagalassos Ancient City
Sagalassos is one of the best preserved ancient cities in Turkey and has received provisional acceptance to be included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. It is located only 7 km north of Ağlasun. Every summer since 1990, a scientific team of researchers from the University of Leuven, Belgian, Turkish and other countries, carries out excavations in Sagalassos. From the very beginning, the people of Ağlasun work with the team in excavations and restorations. The unearthed and restored works are the work of the people of Ağlasun. Those who visit Sagalassos today can see a restored monumental fountain in the Upper Agora (square) of the city, approximately 13 meters. tall honorary columns, two arched gates and the remains of the structures surrounding the agora. The ancient city also has a huge Roman bath, a library, a small fountain whose water flows from its spring, a city mansion, a 9000-seat theater and many other artifacts describing the city's millennial history. The finds and world-famous sculptures unearthed during the excavations are exhibited in the Burdur Museum. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, the city was connected to the Roman Empire in 25 BC and developed rapidly. The greatest monuments were built when the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) gave Sagalassos the title of the first city of the province of Pisidia (today the Lake District). Plague and earthquakes caused the collapse of the city in the early 600s AD, but despite the disasters, life in the city lasted until the 13th century AD. Ağlasun is an extension of Sagalassos in every respect. The name Ağlasun also comes from Sagalassos. When the Seljuk Turks came to the region, they settled on the plain, in today's Ağlasun. They built a caravanserai in the center and a small bath attached to it. It is known that Ağlasun was an active settlement in the 16th century AD and the market of the region was established in Ağlasun.
Important Artifacts of Sagalassos Ancient City:
1.Busts of Ares, Heracles, Hermes, Zes, Athena and Poeidon in the Lower Agora
2. Marcus Aurelius Statue
3.Adrian Statue
4.Tiberian Period Gate
5. City Council Built in 100s BC
6.Doric Cesme
7.Neon Library
8.Antonine Fountain
There are three different routes in the ancient city of Sagalassos, depending on your detailed travel preference. The shortest route is approximately 1.5 km and takes 1 hour. The second route is approximately 2.5 km and you can walk around in 2 hours. If you want to fully explore the ancient city, you can complete the 4 km tour in approximately 4 hours.
