The Kestros Fountain started flowing again after 1800 years.

Located 17 kilometers east of Antalya, in the Pamphylia region within the borders of Aksu district, the excavation works at the ancient city of Perge, which served as the capital, were initiated in 1946 by Prof. Dr. Arif Müfid Mansel and are currently being carried out under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Jale İnan, Prof. Dr. Haluk Abbbasoğlu, and today, Prof. Dr. Şebnem Sedef Çokay Kepçe.

1800 YEAR GAP

Thought to have been established during the Bronze Age and considered one of the richest and most beautiful cities during the Hellenistic period, the ancient city's most magnificent historical fountain, Kestros, has once again flowed with water after 1,800 years, as listed in UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage Temporary List.

"REGAINED ITS WATER"

Providing information about the works carried out at the Kestros Fountain, where the goal was to have water flow since the time of Perge's first excavation president, Prof. Dr. Arif Müfid Mansel, the Deputy Chair of the Perge Ancient City Excavation, Dr. Lecturer Aytaç Dönmez, stated:

"We conducted the first water flow test at the Kestros Fountain in 2022. We carried out a study to see how it would be if water flowed and where the leaks occurred. As a result of this study, we understood that the flow of water in the structure would not cause any problems and that it was possible to implement the project. The project we have been working on since 2022 was realized this year with the support of our Ministry of Culture and Tourism's 'Heritage for the Future' project. The Kestros Fountain has regained its water after 1,800 years."

"WE HAVE NOT YET ENCOUNTERED AN EXAMPLE IN ANOTHER ROMAN CITY"

Emphasizing that the Kestros Fountain is one of the unique structures of the Perge Ancient City, Dr. Lecturer Aytaç Dönmez explained that the fountain is different from other structures in the city with the following words:

"Kestros is one of the most unique structures for Perge. We know that there are different fountain structures in the ancient city, but the most important feature that stands out in this structure is that water flows into a pool and then travels along a channel connected to that pool, covering all the north-south oriented streets of the city. In fact, as a result of the excavations, we saw that it continued outside the city as well. We have not yet encountered an example of such a luxurious-looking, pool-shaped channel in another Roman city during the Roman imperial period. In this context, the structure actually possesses a quite luxurious and special status.