Call of Aphrodisias

“Call of Aphrodisias”

The ancient city of Aphrodisias, which was the most renowned centre of sculpture for 600 years, had fallen into oblivion until being rediscovered and brought to public attention through photographs taken by the esteemed photographer Ara Güler. This event is without doubt foremost among Güler’s countless contributions to awareness of Turkey throughout the world.

In 1958 Ara Güler travelled to the town of Karacasu in Aydın province to photograph the Kemer Dam, and stumbled across Aphrodisias by accident after losing his way on the return journey from the dam. Photographs that he took during that first and several subsequent visits to Aphrodisias were published in many Turkish and foreign newspapers, periodicals and books, but until now have never been gathered together in a single publication. Call of Aphrodisias presents a large selection of these photographs.

In publishing this collection of Ara Güler’s photographs we wish to honour the memory of Prof. Kenan T. Erim, who from 1961 until his death in 1990 devoted himself to Aphrodisias to such a degree that his name came to be identified with the city; and Sevgi Gönül, who initiated the founding of the Geyre Foundation in 1987, but whose unexpected death in 2003 prevented her seeing the Sebasteion Sevgi Gönül Hall, one of the concrete results of her work on behalf of this spectacular ancient city.