Hadrian's Gate
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Hadrian's Gate (, meaning "The Three Gates") is a memorial gate located in
Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, which was built in the name of the Roman emperor
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
, who visited the city in 130 CE. It was later incorporated in the walls that surround the city and harbor, of which it is the only remaining entrance gate today. The gate was rediscovered by the Irish
hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...
Francis Beaufort Sir Francis Beaufort ( ; 27 May 1774 – 17 December 1857) was an Irish hydrographer and naval officer who created the Beaufort cipher and the Beaufort scale. Early life Francis Beaufort was descended from French Protestant Hugu ...
in 1817, while commanding on '' HMS Fridericksteen''.


Description

Hadrian's Gate consists of two colonnaded facades, three entry arches rising above four pylons and a tower standing on either side. It is about 8 meters (26.2 feet) high. The Southern Tower, known as the Julia Sancta, is from the Roman era but was likely built independently of the gate. The bottom section of the Northern Tower is from Roman times, but the upper part was rebuilt in the first half of the thirteenth century AD during the reign of
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
sultan Alaeddin Keykubat I and contains an inscription in Arabic script. It is considered to be
Pamphylia Pamphylia (; , ''Pamphylía'' ) was a region in the south of Anatolia, Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the ...
's most beautiful gate. The upper part has three apertures in the shape of a cupola, and except for the pillars (made of granite) is built entirely of white marble. The three passage ways are decorated with floral and rosette reliefs. The ornamentation is very striking. The original gate was two stories, and although little is known of the top story, it is believed to have held statues of the emperor and his family. An
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
on the top of the Gate extends to both sides with a height of 1.28 meters (4.2 feet). It includes a
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
decorated with floral motifs and an ornate
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
with lion heads. Formerly the city walls enclosed the outside of the gate and it was not used for many years. This may be the reason why it has not been harmed, and it was only revealed when the walls collapsed in the 1950s. The gate was restored in 1959. The pavement was stripped away to reveal the original Roman era walkway, which can be seen through perspex flooring while walking through the main arch. Visitors to the Gate can look down and see incredibly deep grooves where the pavement was worn away by countless carts passing in and out of the city. When the gate was uncovered and restored, a dozen bronze letters were found at the foot of the gate. These letters were part of an inscription honoring Hadrian. As of 2017, the letters are split between different museums and private collections around the world. Nine letters are in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, two are in
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, and there are some in
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, at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and the
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...
in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
. It is believed the missing second story would have also held an inscription.


Legends

According to local legend, Sultana Belkis, the
Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba, also known as Bilqis in Arabic and as Makeda in Geʽez, is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts for Solomon, the fourth King of Israel and Judah. This a ...
, is said to have passed under those gates and enjoyed a happy day in the palace in
Aspendos Aspendos or Aspendus ( Pamphylian: ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ; Attic: Ἄσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. The site is located 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya. It was situated on the Eurymedon Ri ...
on her way to visit
King Solomon King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
. However, if she did so, she would have passed through a predecessor version of Hadrian's Gate, as she and Solomon lived approximately a thousand years before Hadrian.


Gallery

File:Hadrian’s Gate, Antalya, Turkey - View Feb 2022.jpg, Hadrian's Gate front view File:Hadrian's_Gate,_Antalya_01.jpg, Hadrian's Gate back view File:Hadrian's Gate (cropped).jpg, Hadrian's Gate side view File:P9271454 Hadrian's Gate Antalya.jpg, Hadrian's Gate arch detail File:Hadrian's Gate walkway.jpg, Hadrian's Gate walkway (vertical view) File:Hadrian's Gate walkway grooves.jpg, Hadrian's Gate walkway (horizontal view) File:Hadrian's Gate - DPLA - d7efb9544e2db56fc9d47f932d9438eb.jpg, Hadrian's Gate, ca. 1880; from the Nicholas Catsimpoolas Collection of the Boston Public Library


See also

* Arch of Hadrian (Athens) * Arch of Hadrian (Jerash) * Arch of Hadrian (Capua) *
List of Roman triumphal arches This is a list of Roman triumphal arches. Triumphal arches were constructed across the Roman Empire and are an archetypal example of Roman architecture. Most surviving Roman arches date from the Roman Empire, Imperial period (1st century BC onwards ...


References


External links

* http://www.turkishclass.com/turkey_pictures_gallery_211 Pictures of the gate.
How to go to Hadrian' s Gate
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century Ancient Roman triumphal arches Buildings and structures in Antalya Tourist attractions in Antalya Anatolian Seljuk architecture Hadrian Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Turkey Muratpaşa District 1812 archaeological discoveries