Pergamon Revealed: Epic Journey to a Lost Hellenistic Empire

It was a marvellous experience, one of the best tours we ever had! The guide Ekim has a really good knowledge about the places we visited and other things as well. He told us a lot of interesting stories which satisfied our curiosity and gave us enough context for the places. We had it as a private tour, with pick up and drop off to our hotel in Izmir. The vehicle was very comfortable, and the driver was very experienced.

Erman Usly is an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable and very nice. We were extremely pleased throughout the tour.

Crowded House Tours arranged for Ahmet to be our guide for our Pergamon/Bergama Tour. From our very first communication with Ahmet, he went out of his way to assist us in making the most of our visit to the ancient city. We had problems with collecting our hire car and were much later than we had arranged to meet Ahmet. At all times, he was understanding and flexible and even talked us through our LOST scenario! Upon meeting up with Ahmet, he suggested a slight detour to a hill in Ayvalik to view the surrounding area. Our visit to Bergama was very special - we were amazed at the buildings, and the history was explained to us with such passion. Following our tour, Ahmet suggested a visit to a Women's Rug making Co-operative where a delicious and authentic lunch was provided at no charge. It turned out to be our most expensive lunch ever as we purchased rugs!! What had started out as a very stressful day, turned out to be very memorable thanks to Ahmet.

This was our third tour with the agency. Among all of them (Ephesus and Pamukkale included), this one turned out to be the most expensive, and not entirely justified in terms of price. However, since this time it was just the two of us (my friend and I), the cost was offset by the fact that it became a private tour. Our guide for the day, Mr. Zafar, truly brought the ancient city of Pergamon to life with plenty of anecdotes and fascinating stories. In terms of ranking, I would place this site right after Ephesus, and definitely above Pamukkale. Lunch was included—this time not buffet style. Overall, it was a good and worthwhile tour.

It was such a treat to get to go to Pergamon!! Allergen was incredibly pleasant and knowledgeable and we also had the best driver!! Lunch was super!! I’m so glad I got to go on this trip. 10/10 would recommend!!

This was a nice (shorter) day. We left Izmir at 8 and returned at 3:30. Excellent driver and guide. I had the same guide from a previous tour, so I knew I was in good hands. Definitely add Pergamon to your itinerary if you like unique amphitheaters!

The guide Alperin Ugur was very knowledgeable and also helpful. He made the ruins come alive! The lunch buffet was also great with many choices. Overall a very pleasurable experience.

What a wonderful experience! Our guide, Alperen Ugur, was outstanding. He was extremely knowledgeable and clearly enjoyed sharing the history of each site with our group. This made our tour such a memorable learning experience. The views from the Acropolis in Pergamon were breathtaking.

1. IDENTIFICAÇÃO DA EXCURSÃO: Fizemos uma excurso para Bergamo (antiga cidade de Pérgamo) com a Gezenthi Travel Agency. Nosso guia foi o Erman Uslu, que nos levou no dia 11 de maio. Agendamos pelo site do trip advisor mesmo e todo o processo foi muito tranquilo. O valor foi pago em moeda R$ (real brasileiro) conforme a nossa preferência. 2. PARTICIPANTES: houve poucos inscritos. A agência entrou em contato avaliando a possibilidade de adiar o passeio porém estaríamos em outra cidade no dia sugerido. Achei que o passeio seria cancelado e haveria reembolso porém a agência manteve o passeio e acabamos fazendo o passeio de forma privativa (apenas eu e minha mãe). O guia nos atendeu muito bem e não teve pressa no evento 3. PLANEJAMENTO E LOGÍSTICA: Um dia antes a agência de viagem entrou em contato perguntando se o passeio poderia ser adiado. Como não tínhamos essa possibilidade, foi mantido e recebemos todas as orientações necessárias. Um pouco mais à noite, o guia também entrou em contato e nos deu informações de como nos encontraria no dia seguinte. Nos buscou no hotel e também nos deixou lá de volta 4. ATIVIDADES REALIZADAS: Após deixarmos o hotel, fomos para a cidade de Bergamo (antiga Pergamo) enquanto o guia nos dava muitas informações históricas e interessantes. O senhor Erman falava muito bem tanto inglês quando espanhol e conseguia trocar entre os idiomas sem problemas (eu falo melhor em inglês e minha mãe em espanhol - e ele nos ajudou da mesma forma, o que achei muito gentil). Lá, vimos a estátua de Galeno, o centro médico de Asclepio e a Acrópole de Pergamo. O guia teve muita paciência, nos ajudou a tirar fotos e esclareceu todas as nossas dúvidas. Vimos tudo dentro do cronograma e ainda conseguimos passar na Basílica Vermelha (ou o que resta dela - parte em restauração). No fim, finalizamos com o almoço próximo à estrada. Achei muito gostoso, não tenho do que reclamar. 5. CONTEÚDO E APRENDIZADO: aprendemos muito não só sobre a história de Anatolia, como sobre a cultura turca, sobre a histórica de Pergamo e outras informações da medicina na antiguidade. Recomendo muitíssimo o passeio a outros colegas. 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE TOUR: We went on a tour to Bergama (the ancient city of Pergamon) with Gezenthi Travel Agency. Our guide was Erman Uslu, who took us on May 11th. We booked the tour through the TripAdvisor website, and the whole process was very smooth. The payment was made in Brazilian reais (R$), according to our preference. 2. PARTICIPANTS: There were only a few people signed up. The agency contacted us to evaluate the possibility of postponing the tour, but we would be in another city on the suggested date. I thought the tour would be canceled and we would get a refund, but the agency went ahead with the original plan, and we ended up doing the tour privately (just my mother and I). The guide was very attentive and didn’t rush any part of the experience. 3. PLANNING AND LOGISTICS: The day before the tour, the agency contacted us to check whether we could postpone it. Since that wasn’t possible for us, they confirmed the original date and provided all necessary instructions. Later in the evening, the guide also contacted us and gave us detailed information about where and how he would meet us the next day. He picked us up at our hotel and dropped us off there afterward. 4. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT: After leaving the hotel, we headed to the city of Bergama (ancient Pergamon), while the guide shared a lot of historical and interesting information along the way. Mr. Erman spoke both English and Spanish very well and was able to switch between the two languages effortlessly (I speak better in English, and my mother in Spanish – and he supported us both equally, which I found very thoughtful). Once there, we saw the statue of Galen, the medical center of Asclepius, and the Acropolis of Pergamon. The guide was very patient, helped us take pictures, and answered all our questions. We followed the full schedule and still had time to stop at the Red Basilica (or what remains of it – part of it is under restoration). At the end, we finished with lunch near the road. I really enjoyed it and have no complaints at all. 5. CONTENT AND LEARNING: We learned a lot not only about the history of Anatolia but also about Turkish culture, the historical background of Pergamon, and the origins of medicine in ancient times. I highly recommend this tour to colleagues and friends.

We loved our day in Pergamon! Our guide Erman was very knowledgeable and friendly. He went at a relaxed pace, so the day did not feel overwhelming, and we had plenty of time for photos. We visited the Asclepieion first, which was fascinating. Then we went to Pergamon (not in a cable car, but rather in a taxi), which was also excellent. The lunch was nice, but nothing special. Pergamon is not as spectacular as Ephesus, but if you are looking for a more low-key set of ruins, it is a wonderful day trip and we were in great hands with Gezenthi Travel Agency.