Alabanda, the Las Vegas of ancient world

Claimed to be the place where the first horse races were organized in the world and known as the Las Vegas of the period with its entertainment centers, the ancient city of Alabanda in western Turkey is waiting to welcome visitors.

While excavations continue throughout the year in the ancient city of Alabanda, which is believed to be one of the favorite cities of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and attracts attention with its Temple of Apollo, archaeologists are also looking to find the stadium where the great horse races were organized.

Aydın, which has been home to many civilizations throughout its history and is an open-air museum due to its cultural heritage, is home to the ancient city of Alabanda, which is believed to have been a place like Las Vegas, one of the largest entertainment centers in the world in 350 B.C. The ancient city is among the ones that symbolized entertainment and luxury in its period.

Noting that Alabanda had been one of the places with significant future potential, Aydın Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Associate Professor Umut Tuncer said, "The ancient city of Alabanda is one of the 17 places where archaeological works are ongoing in Aydın, and it is a place where we see great potential for the future. We carry out our work under the chairmanship of Professor Ali Yalçın Tavukçu."

"Alabanda's history dates back to the 350s B.C. As far as we know, 'Ala' means horse and 'Banda' means race in ancient Greek. Therefore, we think that ancient horse races were organized in ancient times there and that it was a kind of entertainment center. In this respect, it should have a big stadium, and we are working to find this stadium. I hope we will announce it to the public as soon as we find the stadium but already a...